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Science Forum Index » Space - History Forum » Ad Astra, Len...
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| Rand Simberg... |
 Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2008 11:56 am |
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I just got sad news via email from Pat Kelley:
"Len took his final journey this morning, passing peacefully. His
family is going to have his ashes interred at Arlington cemetery, but
I have no schedule. For those who wish to express condolences, you
can reach his life partner, Anne Greenglass via email, anne.gg over at
verizon.net.
I tried to address this notice to all the people on my list, but I'm
sure there are others I may have missed, so please forward this to
anyone else you feel would want to know. I do intend to continue
trying to get backing for Len's last design (Space Van 2010) as a
tribute.
Len was a truly unique man, and a rare breed these days. Always the
gentleman, honest to a fault, and always ready to give credit where it
was due (and sometimes even allowing the unworthy to take credit for
his work, for the sake of an important effort). He is unreplaceable,
and will be sorely missed."
Indeed. |
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| OM... |
| Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2008 1:34 pm |
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On Mon, 16 Jun 2008 16:56:55 GMT, simberg.interglobal at (no spam) org.trash (Rand
Simberg) wrote:
Quote: I just got sad news via email from Pat Kelley:
"Len took his final journey this morning, passing peacefully.
....You're referring to Len Cormier, correct?
OM
--
]=====================================[
] OMBlog - http://www.io.com/~o_m/omworld [
] Let's face it: Sometimes you *need* [
] an obnoxious opinion in your day! [
]=====================================[ |
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| Matt... |
| Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2008 1:59 pm |
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I did not know Len personally, only by correspondence, but I think we
all feel the loss of one of those questing, innovative minds that
moved the world a little closer to a spacefaring civilization.
Farewell, voyager.
Matt Bille |
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| Rand Simberg... |
| Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2008 1:59 pm |
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On Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:34:03 -0500, in a place far, far away, OM
<om at (no spam) all_trolls_must_DIE.com> made the phosphor on my monitor glow in
such a way as to indicate that:
Quote: On Mon, 16 Jun 2008 16:56:55 GMT, simberg.interglobal at (no spam) org.trash (Rand
Simberg) wrote:
I just got sad news via email from Pat Kelley:
"Len took his final journey this morning, passing peacefully.
...You're referring to Len Cormier, correct?
Yes, sorry. |
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| OM... |
| Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2008 6:02 pm |
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On Mon, 16 Jun 2008 18:59:41 GMT, simberg.interglobal at (no spam) org.trash (Rand
Simberg) wrote:
Quote: On Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:34:03 -0500, in a place far, far away, OM
om at (no spam) all_trolls_must_DIE.com> made the phosphor on my monitor glow in
such a way as to indicate that:
On Mon, 16 Jun 2008 16:56:55 GMT, simberg.interglobal at (no spam) org.trash (Rand
Simberg) wrote:
I just got sad news via email from Pat Kelley:
"Len took his final journey this morning, passing peacefully.
...You're referring to Len Cormier, correct?
Yes, sorry.
....No, I'm just as sorry as you are, although you knew Len far, far
better than I did. I knew him by reputation only, and as with most
pioneers and innovators in this business, he passed on before his
dream could be realized. My condolences to the family on their loss.
OM
--
]=====================================[
] OMBlog - http://www.io.com/~o_m/omworld [
] Let's face it: Sometimes you *need* [
] an obnoxious opinion in your day! [
]=====================================[ |
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| Rand Simberg... |
| Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2008 6:33 pm |
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On Mon, 16 Jun 2008 18:02:37 -0500, in a place far, far away, OM
<om at (no spam) all_trolls_must_DIE.com> made the phosphor on my monitor glow in
such a way as to indicate that:
Quote: On Mon, 16 Jun 2008 18:59:41 GMT, simberg.interglobal at (no spam) org.trash (Rand
Simberg) wrote:
On Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:34:03 -0500, in a place far, far away, OM
om at (no spam) all_trolls_must_DIE.com> made the phosphor on my monitor glow in
such a way as to indicate that:
On Mon, 16 Jun 2008 16:56:55 GMT, simberg.interglobal at (no spam) org.trash (Rand
Simberg) wrote:
I just got sad news via email from Pat Kelley:
"Len took his final journey this morning, passing peacefully.
...You're referring to Len Cormier, correct?
Yes, sorry.
...No, I'm just as sorry as you are, although you knew Len far, far
better than I did. I knew him by reputation only, and as with most
pioneers and innovators in this business, he passed on before his
dream could be realized. My condolences to the family on their loss.
Well, I meant sorry I didn't use the full name, but I guess it didn't
occur to me that most in the group wouldn't know (of course you did).
I think that it's a sign of the death of this newsgroup that there has
been so little commentary about this post. At sci.space.policy, there
has been none at all. |
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| kT... |
| Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2008 7:12 pm |
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Matt wrote:
Quote: I did not know Len personally, only by correspondence, but I think we
all feel the loss of one of those questing, innovative minds that
moved the world a little closer to a spacefaring civilization.
When my single stage to orbit fully cryogenic reusable spacecraft leaves
the pad, it will be named the 'Len Cormier'.
http://groups.google.com/group/sci.space.policy/msg/d66e4ec84b925609
Unfortunately, Len took the wings with him when he left.
I guess we'll just have to get by without his wings for a while. |
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| OM... |
| Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2008 8:31 pm |
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On Mon, 16 Jun 2008 23:33:36 GMT, simberg.interglobal at (no spam) org.trash (Rand
Simberg) wrote:
Quote: I think that it's a sign of the death of this newsgroup that there has
been so little commentary about this post. At sci.space.policy, there
has been none at all.
....Yeah, I noticed that. But to be honest, I've actually found a
newsgroup that's actually a bigger festering morass of trolling trash
than .policy.
So, anyone here dropped by rec.arts.drwho in, say the past 24 hours?
OM
--
]=====================================[
] OMBlog - http://www.io.com/~o_m/omworld [
] Let's face it: Sometimes you *need* [
] an obnoxious opinion in your day! [
]=====================================[ |
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| jonathan... |
| Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2008 10:22 pm |
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"Rand Simberg" <simberg.interglobal at (no spam) org.trash> wrote in message
news:4856f7f9.7079219 at (no spam) news.giganews.com...
Quote: I think that it's a sign of the death of this newsgroup that there has
been so little commentary about this post. At sci.space.policy, there
has been none at all.
Ya know, most people would consider such a quickly
and sloppily written eulogy rather insulting. The lack of
response is more likely due to poor writing skills and
weak efforts by the posters.
Len Cormier: X Van Project Manager
On 4 October 1957, the Soviets surprised the world with the launch of Sputnik at
a reception for rocket and satellite engineer/scientists. As a result of being a
guest at this reception, Len has dedicated most of his efforts during the past
40 years to the pursuit of lower cost access to space. Len began his career in
the space business at the National Academy of Sciences in 1956 and at NASA
headquarters in 1959. In the early and mid-1960s, he was project engineer for
space transportation systems at the Los Angeles Division of North American
Aviation, Inc.
Frustrated with government and industry approaches to space transportation, Len
formed his own company in 1967 to pursue commercial approaches. The initial
company was called TranSpace -- later renamed Third Millennium Aerospace, Inc.
Except for a two-year period when he was project engineer and program manager
for fighter systems at North American Rockwell, Len and his company have
sustained themselves for the past thirty years with a wide variety of aerospace
consulting projects. Len feels that he and his company have made evolutionary
improvements on their launch vehicle concepts over the years -- with the result
that the 1998 concepts are superior, particularly from the business and
investment points of view.
From 1943 to 1967, Len served as a Naval Aviation cadet, Navy fighter pilot, and
executive officer of an ASW patrol squadron on active duty and in the Naval
Reserve. Len has BA in physics from the University of California. Len speaks
Russian (more vocabulary needed) and is proficient in Pascal. Len was a charter
member and a reappointed member of the Dept. of Transportation's Commercial
Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC).
The Heinlein Prize is in the process of choosing its first winner.
In late 2003 Virginia Heinlein passed away, leaving intact a considerable estate
from her work and that of her late husband, the prolific author Robert Heinlein.
One of the bequests from the estate was the creation of the Robert Heinlein
Prize for commercial space. The purpose of the prize is to reward the person or
persons who achieve practical accomplishments in the field of commercial space
activities. It is my contention that several substantial events in the last 50
years have passed this test and that several highly deserving individuals from
separate eras and events merit this award. It is the author's hope that the
readers of this article will feel inspired to contact the Heinlein Prize with
their suggestions for prize recipients. This year's award is $500,000 and
deserves substantial public input.
Heinlein Prize Award candidates
Peter Diamandis, Greg Maryniak, and the Ansari X Prize Foundation:
Burt Rutan, Brian Binnie, Mike Melville, and the Scaled Composites team:
Paul Allen, Vulcan Ventures:
Richard Branson and the Virgin Galactic team:
Dennis Tito:
Eric Anderson and Space Adventures:
Vladomir Syromiatnikov and RSC Energia:
Walt Anderson and MirCorp:
Walt Anderson and FINDS:
Tom Rogers and the Sophron Foundation:
Len Cormier, PanAero:
A founding member of the Commercial Space Transportation
Advisory Committee (COMSTAC), Len has devoted his life's work
towards low-cost reusable spaceflight. Len has stood tirelessly for this
dream at tremendous personal and financial cost to himself.
Quote from Len Cormier
"The X PRIZE provides a potentially powerful incentive for opening
space to commercial competition and development. Our concept appears
to be feasible with far lower investment than any of the other concepts
proposed for winning the X PRIZE. Accordingly, we feel that we can offer a
potentially leveraged return on investment based solely upon potential revenues
from sponsors and possibly the prize money. Like the other teams, we also
feel that even a good showing with respect to competing for the X PRIZE
could be highly beneficial to our other plans of commercial opportunities
in near Earth orbit and deep space."
Tour2Space.com
http://www.tour2space.com/
s |
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| Pat Flannery... |
| Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 5:00 pm |
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Pat Flannery wrote:
Quote:
OM wrote:
...No, I'm just as sorry as you are, although you knew Len far, far
better than I did. I knew him by reputation only, and as with most
pioneers and innovators in this business, he passed on before his
dream could be realized. My condolences to the family on their loss.
I went and looked him and the Spacevan
Correction, X Van: http://www.tour2space.com/xvan/xvan.htm
It was for the Ansari X-Prize competition.
Quote: up... those Rybinsk RD-38 engines they intended to use had a very bad
reputation as far as reliability went. They had a very high thrust to
weight ratio, but a short lifespan as far as total operating hours went.
IIRC, around twelve hours total in their earlier RD-36 form. This could
be workable for a VTOL aircraft where they would be used only for a
minute or two at the beginning and end of the flight, but using them as
cruise engines was asking for trouble and frequent need of replacement.
Pat |
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| OM... |
| Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 5:50 pm |
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On Tue, 17 Jun 2008 19:22:55 GMT, simberg.interglobal at (no spam) org.trash (Rand
Simberg) wrote:
Quote: Most people in this newsgroup would have known who Len Cormier was,
though I should have added his last name.
....Rand, we're in mourning, and I shouldn't do this, but:
1) "Jonathan" is an idiot as well as a troll, and wouldn't know a
Saturn V from that rectal probe he uses to scratch his nose while his
head's stuck up his ass.
2) Common sense would have told you that it doesn't matter what a
troll like "Jonathan" thinks, just killfile him in Lee's memory and be
done with him like the rest of us have.
....Truthfully, I think Lee would have approved.
OM
--
]=====================================[
] OMBlog - http://www.io.com/~o_m/omworld [
] Let's face it: Sometimes you *need* [
] an obnoxious opinion in your day! [
]=====================================[ |
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| OM... |
| Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 5:53 pm |
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On Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:00:14 -0500, Pat Flannery <flanner at (no spam) daktel.com>
wrote:
Quote: IIRC, around twelve hours total in their earlier RD-36 form. This could
be workable for a VTOL aircraft where they would be used only for a
minute or two at the beginning and end of the flight, but using them as
cruise engines was asking for trouble and frequent need of replacement.
....ISTR Lee commenting once that this was a "known issue"(*), and that
part of the R&D was getting the engine life expectancy increased at
least three to five times what it had at the time. It's sad to see
that he didn't make it that far.
(*) To which the reply was "Oh, it's not a bug, it's a *feature*?" :-)
OM
--
]=====================================[
] OMBlog - http://www.io.com/~o_m/omworld [
] Let's face it: Sometimes you *need* [
] an obnoxious opinion in your day! [
]=====================================[ |
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| jonathan... |
| Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 7:16 pm |
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"OM" <om at (no spam) all_trolls_must_DIE.com> wrote in message
news:5ofg545phbgspmmen0q5v8im3v12r6an1r at (no spam) 4ax.com...
Quote: On Tue, 17 Jun 2008 19:22:55 GMT, simberg.interglobal at (no spam) org.trash (Rand
Simberg) wrote:
Most people in this newsgroup would have known who Len Cormier was,
though I should have added his last name.
...Rand, we're in mourning, and I shouldn't do this, but:
1) "Jonathan" is an idiot as well as a troll, and wouldn't know a
Saturn V from that rectal probe he uses to scratch his nose while his
head's stuck up his ass.
2) Common sense would have told you that it doesn't matter what a
troll like "Jonathan" thinks, just killfile him in Lee's memory and be
done with him like the rest of us have.
...Truthfully, I think Lee would have approved.
Since Lem thought the best way to jump start private
launch industry was through govt payloads, such as
space solar power, I think we'd get along just fine.
Since I've said the very same thing a hundred times
here, and in a hundred different ways.
And I'll remain here until that dream becomes a reality.
As the political situation is open to such a sea-change
in space policy. Which is due to the incredible morass
space policy finds itself in now.
So how are you planning on honoring his memory?
By acting like some jr high girl whinning about me?
It's people like you that stifle conversation and
drive people away from ng's in your futile attempt
to control and decide what should be discussed
and by whom.
Remember, when you die, I'll be here and I'll be
writing one of your eulogies.
How do you wish to be remembered?
Quote:
OM
--
]=====================================[
] OMBlog - http://www.io.com/~o_m/omworld [
] Let's face it: Sometimes you *need* [
] an obnoxious opinion in your day! [
]=====================================[ |
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| Jorge R. Frank... |
| Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 8:20 pm |
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Rand Simberg wrote:
Quote:
I don't know how much to expect now, but I'll bet that if it had
happened five years ago, there'd have been a lot more, with a lot more
remembrances.
I will have to agree with that. Len never left sci.space.* entirely, but
he did cut down greatly on his posting when the loons took over and most
of the knowledgeable posters (Henry Spencer, George Herbert, Frank
Crary, et al) left. |
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| Damien Valentine... |
| Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 6:17 am |
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My condolences to the .history and .policy members who knew Mr.
Cormier well. |
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