No, funding is not his biggest issue. This is his biggest issue:
“And there are several companies building them right now,” he said in his presentation. “They’re basically an aircraft with a variety of engines, whether it’s a scramjet engine or rockets. It takes off and lands like an aircraft and it’s made of titanium. You can launch it and re-enter, and you can do it over and over again. And it’s a lot safer.”
Although some of Lauer’s website visuals and early plans call for a launching pad, Lauer said his development’s focus will be on horizontal takeoffs and landings and not launches.
Which companies? The only company that I’m aware of developing a horizontal takeoff and landing system is Radian, and they need a sled. To quote the former senator from Wisconsin in a different context, I wouldn’t give him one penny for this nutty fantasy.
He wants Las Vegas for a spaceport.
Vertical launch and desert all around seems not as safe as horizontal launch. Not sure if it is, but it will likely seem that way. Vertical launch says “rocket” and horizontal says “plane” to most people. “Rocket” says “scary, unsafe, better launch over the ocean in case it blows up”, while “plane” says “we know how to do it, there are airports all over the place (including in the middle of some cities), so putting it next to Las Vegas is safe.”
So I think that’s why he favors horizontal launch.
Spaceport Vegas, with cheap excursion charters to Boca Chica Tx. and Titusville Fla.
For a moment, I was spooked by your note: named Lauer? horizontal takeoff?
Unfortunately passed away a few years ago, at least in this timeline. And the first name’s different, at least…
Back in the day we had some ups and downs, but things had long since healed by the time he left us.
I had to check the story to find that it was a different person quoted as well.
Same here. Though this guy is definitely channeling the late, great Chuck Lauer. And he’s presenting a view of the future that was current in the early 1990s, never materialized, and will never materialize. Chuck and I were friends, and I was saddened by his passing. His passion for space development never waned.