"Tarver Engineering"
"Going on memory and willing to be corrected, I recall Rutan
saying that NASA has trained only 105 astronaut pilots
during its 40 year stranglehold on American spaceflight.
He asked the interviewer "Doesn't that **** you off?"
Clearly Rutan is angry."

I think he was referring to the "age" of the astronauts in this case
which he claimed, the average to be sixty years old. There are only so
many spaces to fill, so the number trained is probably close to being
appropriate but young graduates should be given a chance also.

Rusains are comercializing space and Rutan has a a vested interest in the
same.

The USA also promotes the commercialization of space. Who do you think
designed and payed for your TV, communications, and radar mapping
satellites? A Canadian company in Vancouver is one of the world leaders in
the radarsat business that does agricultural and environment studies.

In that case, you will support the effort to use an air breather for the
first 50,000 feet. That does shut Cape Canaveral, a tourist attraction.

This is already being done. A Canadian satellite was resently launched
from the USA by this method. It seems to be cost effective in some cases!

No, New York has 950 MW sitting idle, for the Green vote. Adding
transmission capacity exports pollution, but it is not the only way to
bring
the electrical grid into balance.

If utilities are interested in energy conservation why is there a high
pressure mercury vapour or sodium vapour lamp installed along our streets at
four house intervals? I don't know the pricing information in the USA but
some utilities in Canada charge less for electricity as you use more energy.
Is that energy conservation????? Some say lighting stops crime, but in NYC
crime went down during the blackout. The presents of more police on the
streets had something to do with this! If lighting contolled crime,
downtown Chicago or other major cities would be the safest places in the
world. Is this the case????? Aren't we getting "off topic" again for a
military aviation newsgroup?????

Ed