Philosophy 1. Learn from history. There are many examples of how to and how not to do a project. - The pen- when confronted with the issue of a pen not working in space, NASA spent $$$ to build a space pen, Russia chose to use a pencil. - soyuz vs. shuttle- soyuz flies.... keep it simple, have production AND r&d, but don't mix the two. Move in slow incremental steps, never more than one variable at a time. - Tim is the expert in this area. 2. Accept that space is a "bipolar" business- it has very high highs and very low lows. need to keep a balance and perspective.failures will happen, probably more often than successes. learn from all mistakes and don't repeat them. Keep moving ahead in incremental steps. 3. theory and practice- keep a balance, think a little, do a little more. You learn more by doing than by just talking about it. 4. accomplishment, accomplishment, accomplishment its the only thing that really matters in the business world Combine all of our philosophies and vote to say yes that is part of our philosophy, or no that totally sucks, lets not do that. Maybe actually vote on project issues or decisions? Not in a way that slows down progress though. If a majority decision ultimately fails on a specific issue, then the minority decision will be retried. ------------- Example issue open for discussion: Being open vs.closed - i.e. non-profit vs. commercial, public vs. private funding, an issue that came up last meeting. MySQL database software model - Has a dual license- if your open were open, if your closed(commercial) were closed. Keep a deliniation between the two? I'm still working on this one.... If a project is open, then get credit for it through publications- keep it closed until significant data is gathered, publish it, get credit for it, then publicly release all of the raw data for anyone to use. similar to open source code model. If a project is closed, then get credit for it through a contract- In business from what I've seen, there is lots of IP theft, eventually the law catches up, but by then its too late, the user pays their fine, then moves onto the next theft. The legal system is built to protect the ones with $$ usually. Call me cynical. I still think you could start a paypal-like acct. and have anyone contribute to the cause with a 501-3c group. All the financial info and project funding needs could be posted on the web, and once a project is funded, then it could begin and the public could watch us complete it (a reality-based webTV show?) the people's space program ----------- what I can contribute: - past aerospace experience (flight payloads and biology research) - I can help put the pay in payloads? - biology perspective - experiment planning, data analysis and management - project management - futuristic problem solving - creativity - web development, unix sysadmin, info systems to make processes/work more efficient Maybe everyone should add in their resumes so we know more about each other? what I can learn and what I would like out of our efforts: - applied math. I suck at math, but computers are good at it so.... - biocomputing/control theory applied to guidance and control - cluster development for processing of research datasets - start thinking of the rocket as an organism (evolvable hardware/software etc.) - publications - biofuels - learn how groups work. I'm trying to find a best place to fit in the group adn will gladly take on anything that you need done,unless theres someone that can get it done quicker if were on a deadline. I'm not an engineer, but am great at reverse engineering due to biology background. I've used the same skills to learn unix systems, web dev. etc. I really really love to problem solve too. I'm really trying to find a balance and a future where biology and computers are merging. I think there are a lot of opportunities there and a lot of solutions to problems in building rockets and similar complex systems. nature already has most of the answers in design through trial and error (evolution). ------------------------------- Timeline/milestones- Phase I - gox hybrid (happening now) Phase II- lox hybrid small scale, full scale Phase III- LV3 (active guidance and propulsion control) "slow" launch capability (<3 g?), multiple parabolic apogees(?). Phase IV- commercially reliable (99% launch success) LV3 (workhorse), incremental improvements Phase V- Research Payloads (can this be done profitably?) considering competition? need a niche market (high-quality high-access low-g environment for an affordable price. 3-5 LV3s (or more) that are portable (can launch from "anywhere") and quickly prepped for flights, excellent standard operating procedures and reproducability, cycle through the rocket launches in quick succession (1-2 days) for customers to conduct micro-g research. generate enough revenue in phase V, to move to Phase VI Phase VI- nano-orbital payload. and while were dreaming..... Phase VII- partner with some commercially successful human-rated launch group and build interplanetary spacecraft with (is the name still PSAS by then?) PSAS unique equipment. Phase VIII- start human migration off the planet straight from Oregon (yes our engines will be that good, who needs equatorial launching?, yes we will get downrange safety clearance, spaceshipone will have paved the way). Pick up where the Oregon trail leftoff... (I'm the 2nd or 3rd customer) Phase IX- setup rocket shop and homestead on the moon....