Rocketeers, Start Your Engines!
One of the side-effects of accelerating change is the increased workload required to keep up. Another event we missed in passing recently was the announcement by X-Prize foundation chariman Dr. Peter Diamandis and Mr. Grainger Whitelaw of the innauguration of the Rocket Racing League. (Press Release)
While I am sure that this announcement will generate a great many "NASCAR-In-Space" and "What do Rednecks n'Rockets have in common?" jokes, I'd like to remind our readers that air racing was (and still is) one of the most popular passtimes for the young and wealthy and that such races were the driving force behind the technological evoloution of aircraft before and between the World Wars. (See the movies "Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines, or "The Great Waldo Pepper", or "The Aviator", for dramatized examples.)
Initial plans call for two "Tiers" of racing activities:
(click to enlarge)
Although not yet officially an option, plans exist to extend the RRL to another level as technology allows:
This author envisions the latter as RRL's analog to LeMans, Enduro, or Rally racing in that on-orbit endurance (and therefore distance), as well as higher orbits (speed), and rendezvous (navigation) might become the challenges at this level.
If this is the kind of business plan that it takes to get commercial space travel underway, I say "Let's light this candle!"
(h/t Wired)