[ExI] Launching Satellites from Airplanes DARPA

[spike]

>... On Behalf Of Adrian Tymes
Subject: Re: [ExI] Launching Satellites from Airplanes DARPA

>...They're trying to improve on it.

>...Heck, *I'm* trying to improve on it.  One of my side projects, CubeCab,
is to rip off and downsize the concept to launch single CubeSats for a few
tens of thousands of dollars.  It doesn't do any wonders for the
per-unit-mass launch price, but rather, by keeping the payload mass down,
the total mission price becomes affordable to a lot more players - and the
turnaround time becomes something they can stomach, too: days or weeks
instead of years.


My own experience with it is that the problem doesn't scale down very well.
Every design I have derived has the cost per kg to LEO increasing
dramatically once the total payload goes much below 1000 kg.  I am cheering
wildly for anyone who can get those costs down.

spike