Rutan hits 200k feet! Almost there!

In article . net,
"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote:

"Vaughn" wrote in message
news

Sorry, but I have to go with Pete here, the relevent point is that
it is being done by a small private corporation...and they are making
it look easy!

What is significant about a private corporation duplicating a feat that a
government agency accomplished decades earlier?

They don't need a cast of thousands and a couple hundred million to do
it.

On Fri, 14 May 2004 22:44:42 -0700, Steve Hix
wrote:

In article . net,
"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote:

"Vaughn" wrote in message
news

Sorry, but I have to go with Pete here, the relevent point is that
it is being done by a small private corporation...and they are making
it look easy!

What is significant about a private corporation duplicating a feat that a
government agency accomplished decades earlier?

They don't need a cast of thousands and a couple hundred million to do
it.

The X-15 program didn't have a cast of thousands. It also didn't cost
a couple hundred million. In fact, it didn't even have a cast of a
thousand, now that I think about it. Maybe two or three hundred
people, for all three vehicles, at most. The cost was in the
millions, of course, but not hundreds of millions.

Mary

--
Mary Shafer Retired aerospace research engineer

On Sat, 15 May 2004 10:54:58 -0700, Mary Shafer
wrote in Message-Id: :

The cost was in the millions, of course, but not hundreds of millions.

What would the cost be adjusted for four decades of inflation?

--

Irrational beliefs ultimately lead to irrational acts.
-- Larry Dighera,

In article ,
Mary Shafer wrote:

On Fri, 14 May 2004 22:44:42 -0700, Steve Hix
wrote:

In article . net,
"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote:

"Vaughn" wrote in message
news
Sorry, but I have to go with Pete here, the relevent point is that
it is being done by a small private corporation...and they are making
it look easy!

What is significant about a private corporation duplicating a feat that a
government agency accomplished decades earlier?

They don't need a cast of thousands and a couple hundred million to do
it.

The X-15 program didn't have a cast of thousands. It also didn't cost
a couple hundred million. In fact, it didn't even have a cast of a
thousand, now that I think about it. Maybe two or three hundred
people, for all three vehicles, at most. The cost was in the
millions, of course, but not hundreds of millions.

I'd be surprised if the X-15 program could be duplicated now for
anything close to original cost and manpower.

And I don't think that that is a Good Thing(tm), either.