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Microcap & Penny Stocks : PLFM - Undervalued with great potential -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LuckyLinda who wrote (6768)	2/10/1999 12:11:00 PM
From: Carol Putnam	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 9096

Looks like NASA's budget may be in trouble. Any thoughts as to whether or not this will enhance our market position? Launchspace Chairman to Speak at FAA Conference posted on 2/8/99 at 20:32 UTC by Kristen Rountree Dr. Marshall Kaplan, a pre-eminent U.S. rocket scientist and Chairman of Launchspace, Inc. (McLean, VA), will cast serious doubt on the multibillion dollar projects by NASA and some private space companies to develop a single-stage reusable space vehicle that would deliver payload to orbits and return to Earth. Speaking at a Federal Aviation Administration conference on commercial space transportation on Feb. 10, Dr. Kaplan will state current state-of-the-art technology makes the single-stage-to-orbit, or SSTO, launcher now under construction for NASA unrealistic. "Many SSTO technologies are yet to be developed," he said, adding, even two-stage reusable rockets now on the drawing board will require new technological breakthroughs to make space transportation less costly. Today, virtually all satellites, with the exception of the handful carried on board the Space Shuttle, are lifted into orbit atop expensive expendable rockets built for single use. Reducing the high cost of space transport, according to Dr. Kaplan, is the single most significant challenge facing the space industry today. With hundreds of satellites to be launched within the next five years, developing cheaper launchers is a top priority for the space industry. Dr. Kaplan said the current NASA and industry plans for reusable launch vehicles violate at least one of the several "Kaplan Laws of Design," and will not succeed without significant new advances in rocket engines or materials. Kaplan Laws include physical axioms as simple as that the thrust of a rocket shooting upward must be greater than its weight - which not all current proposals satisfy - and as complex as the "rocket equation" calculating the minimum amount of energy release from rocket propellants. Altogether, the Kaplan Laws offer concise guidelines on what requirements a reusable space transport vehicle must meet. A graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University, Dr. Kaplan was involved in the critical evaluation of NASA's reusable launch vehicles and served as chief engineer on several projects to develop both expendable and reusable launchers. During the 35 years of his career as a rocket scientist, Dr. Kaplan also taught aerospace engineering at the Pennsylvania State University, served as the director of a space research institute and acted as consultant in numerous government and industry space projects. Dr. Kaplan is Chairman of Launchspace Publications, Inc., publisher of Launchspace Magazine and International Space Industry Report (ISIR), leading space industry publications, and its sister companies, Launchspace, Inc. and Launchspace Consulting Group. For further information, contact Greg Beaudoin at 703-749-2324 ext. 106, email gbeaudoin@launchspace.com