Monthly Archives: April 2009

Light Blogging

Posted on April 25, 2009 by Jonathan Goff

This next week is going to be pretty intense. Between trying to finish the mods to our XA-0.1B-750 (aka B-750) vehicle and trying to get it in the air, preparing for a presentation I’m giving at a local AIAA conference … Continue reading →

Posted in Administrivia | Leave a comment

RLV Markets III: Counter-Intuitive Ramifications of RLV Passenger Transportation

Posted on April 25, 2009 by Jonathan Goff

One of the most common metrics used in discussing new launch vehicles and particularly RLVs is the price in $/lb delivered to LEO. You almost can’t have a discussion about the Space Shuttle, Saturn V, SpaceX, new commercial RLVs, or … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Commercial Space, Launch Vehicles, RLV Markets | 32 Comments

RLV Markets Part II: The Black Aluminum Analogy

Posted on April 22, 2009 by Jonathan Goff

[Editor’s Note: It’s been too long since I wrote the first article in this series, and I wanted to write some more on this topic.  My tendency to try to cram everything into one ginormous ominbus post has been almost … Continue reading →

Posted in Commercial Space, Launch Vehicles, RLV Markets, Space Transportation, SpaceX, Technology | 37 Comments

Fascinating Article

Posted on April 22, 2009 by Jonathan Goff

I was reading my RSS feeds tonight, when I stumbled on this article.  I remember discussing this concept of cycles of history with both my mom, and my brother-in-law.  Jame’s Delong’s description of the “Special Interest State” I think fits … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, NASA, Politics | 1 Comment

Pot-Kettle Comparitive Chromatography

Posted on April 21, 2009 by Jonathan Goff

Thus sayeth the esteemed Dr Griffin: Engineers do not deal with “perfect”. Your viewgraphs will always be better than my hardware. A fictional space program will always be faster, better, and cheaper than a real space program. Now…someone remind me … Continue reading →

Posted in ESAS, NASA | 3 Comments

CxP Bleg

Posted on April 20, 2009 by Jonathan Goff

Does anyone here have solid budget numbers for how much has been spent to-date on the Constellation Program?  Especially Ares-I and Orion?  Just curious.

Posted in ESAS, NASA | 3 Comments

Good For Dr. Griffin

Posted on April 14, 2009 by Jonathan Goff

I just saw an news article stating that former NASA Administrator Michael Griffin will be taking a position as a professor at University of Alabama, Huntsville.  In spite of all the disagreements I’ve had over the years with Dr. Griffin’s … Continue reading →

Posted in NASA | 1 Comment

Constellation’s Future? [Updated]

Posted on April 11, 2009 by Jonathan Goff

Several recent news items paint an interesting budgetary picture for the future of NASA’s preferred approach for spending tens of billions of dollars to send a few government employees to visit the Moon sometime supposedly starting in 2020. The three … Continue reading →

Posted in ESAS, Lunar Exploration and Development, NASA, Space Policy | 5 Comments

Peter Yuri Goff

Posted on April 7, 2009 by Jonathan Goff

I got a call from Tiff around 10:30am letting me know that she was going into labor.  I raced home and then down to Bakersfield, and the baby arrived at 12:44–about 30min after we got to the hospital (fortunately there … Continue reading →

Posted in Family | 31 Comments

Frazzled

Posted on April 4, 2009 by Jonathan Goff

It’s been really crazy over the last few weeks.  Tiff’s in her final week now (today was the original due-date).  We just moved apartments to a bigger three-bedroom one in the complex.  I have a new church calling that is … Continue reading →

Posted in Administrivia | 1 Comment