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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>This story claims they can get 100 pound payloads to LEO for a million bucks everything included. If so, that would put these payloads in the range of universities, smaller companies, well-funded amateur groups, solar power experiments and so forth:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://video.foxnews.com/v/4036325757001/watch-how-darpa-plans-to-launch-satellites-into-space/?#sp=show-clips">http://video.foxnews.com/v/4036325757001/watch-how-darpa-plans-to-launch-satellites-into-space/?#sp=show-clips</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>That plane they show as an artist concept is neither F-4, F-14 or FA-18, but has elements of all three. It would be interesting to look at taking an F-4, which can be had for practically free, retrofitting it with lighter wings and landing gear, get rid of all the war junk, the tailhook and all that heavy stuff, look at a rail launch system so that the new landing gear need not support the weight and physical envelope of the payload, see what takes shape.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Perhaps we could do a rail-takeoff, air-breathing climb-out to about 40k-ft and 500-ish knots (subsonic) at 45 degrees to horizon, drop the payload, runway landing, fuel-up and turn around in a couple hours. That would be a fun optimization problem.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>spike<o:p></o:p></p></div></body></html>