All posts by Chris

SpaceShipOne propulsion

Space

A few comments by Jim Benson from SpaceDev made me realize I hadn’t mentioned the propulsion prospects for SpaceShipOne. I think Scaled is considering a hybrid rocket engine, which uses a combination of solid and liquid fuel techniques. Specifically, they’re using a rubber solid fuel and nitrous oxide liquid oxidizer.

SpaceDev, one of the companies competing to provide the rocket, is a local (San Diego) company I’ve been admiring from afar for a while. With government-funded spaceflight facing a hostile climate, it’s good to know that someone in the private sector is taking on the challenge.

Thanks, Jim!

Syria, you’re next?

Politics

An article in The Star says Bush won’t let anyone have dictators, and he personally will rout them out.

It’s basically, “Syria, you’re next,” and I love the quote:

In meetings in Damascus with British and Saudi envoys, Syrian President Bashar Assad again denied all U.S. accusations.

“For the president of the United States to come on television and say that Syria must co-operate, my question is who, in the name of heaven, does he think he is?” asked Syrian political analyst Mohammed Aziz Shukri. “Is he the god of this Earth?”

Ahem. I believe that is indeed the question.