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Joseph Nebus...
Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 11:58 pm
Guest
Somehow this sort of thing seems like it should come with the
risk of being made a moral lesson in an Oompa-Loompa song:

http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN1641363920080716

Air hostess picks up chocolate bar, wins space trip
Wed Jul 16, 2008 11:02am EDT
PARIS (Reuters) - A French air hostess will become one
of Europe's pioneer space tourists after picking a chocolate
wrapper out of the rubbish and finding a winning number in a
competition to fly to the upper reaches of the earth's atmosphere.

Mathilde Epron, 32, said she had bought a Kit Kat
chocolate bar at her local supermarket but initially threw the
wrapper in the bin, telling herself that "it's only others who
win."

Two hours later, thinking back to the competition, she
decided to try her luck and fished the wrapper out of the bin,
only to find a code marked inside.

"For someone who works in air travel it's really a dream
come true," she told France Info radio.

A spokeswoman for Nestle in France confirmed that Epron
had won the prize to take a flight on a four-seater,
fighter-sized aircraft built by Rocketplane, a company that
builds aircraft intended to provide cheap flights into space.

She will receive four days of astronaut training in
Oklahoma City in the United States before boarding the
Rocketplane XP aircraft which will reach an altitude of 100 km
(60 miles) and allow a five-minute experience of weightlessness.

(Reporting by Joseph Tandy; Editing by James Mackenzie)

--
Joseph Nebus
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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BradGuth...
Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2008 3:57 am
Guest
On Jul 30, 4:10 am, "jonathan" <H... at (no spam) write.instead.net> wrote:
Quote:
"Joseph Nebus" <nebu... at (no spam) -rpi-.edu> wrote in message

news:nebusj.1217393630 at (no spam) vcmr-86.server.rpi.edu...

Somehow this sort of thing seems like it should come with the
risk of being made a moral lesson in an Oompa-Loompa song:

http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN1641363920080716

Air hostess picks up chocolate bar, wins space trip
Wed Jul 16, 2008 11:02am EDT

I wonder if she has any idea of the risk? 330,000 feet at mach 3.5?
In any event this company is going belly up, the company execs will
run off with the last of the money long before she flies.
If they haven't already.

I bet they ask her to poney up some money for the training, making
this nothing more than any other typical lottery or prize scam.

Rockplane

"The Oklahoma Gazette has written several stories on Rocketplane including a
June
13, 2007 front page featured cover story entitled "PIE in the SKY" and lead with
"It's been eight years since Rocketplane wooed the state with creating space
tourism. Oklahoma taxpayers gave the company $18 million. So where is the ship?"
The Oklahoma Gazette has also reported diverted funds and the layoff of the
Oklahoma work force.

Space News reported in a June 25, 2007 story, "...if RpK [Rocketplane Kistler]
misses the new deadline, it would be the fourth time the company has gone back
to NASA and requested an extension."

The Chicago Tribune reported on September 11, 2007 that Abercrombie and Kent, a
luxury travel company, was suing Rocketplane for $3.4 million in liquidated
damages from Rocketplane having stopped work on the XP vehicle.[3] Abercrombie
and Kent was also asking for $3.425 million in costs from Rocketplane failing to
show up for an arbitration session.

On October 18, 2007, NASA discontinued its agreement with Rocketplane Kistler,
and announced that the remaining $175 million commitment to the project would be
made available to other companies. On October 19, the company appealed the
decision, and asked NASA to reconsider the termination or, alternatively, pay
$10 million in costs incurred to date. [4]"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocketplane_Limited,_Inc.

Perhaps Rocketplane Kistler should team up with China or India.

- Brad Guth Brad_Guth Brad.Guth BradGuth
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Pat Flannery...
Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2008 5:10 am
Guest
Joseph Nebus wrote:
Quote:
Somehow this sort of thing seems like it should come with the
risk of being made a moral lesson in an Oompa-Loompa song:



At least Willy Wonka had a factory; Rocketplane has a pretty set of
drawings of a spaceplane.
I note that their website still shows their COTS proposal, although NASA
has dumped them from the program:
http://www.rocketplane.com/

Pat
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jonathan...
Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2008 6:10 am
Guest
"Joseph Nebus" <nebusj- at (no spam) -rpi-.edu> wrote in message
news:nebusj.1217393630 at (no spam) vcmr-86.server.rpi.edu...
Quote:
Somehow this sort of thing seems like it should come with the
risk of being made a moral lesson in an Oompa-Loompa song:

http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN1641363920080716

Air hostess picks up chocolate bar, wins space trip
Wed Jul 16, 2008 11:02am EDT


I wonder if she has any idea of the risk? 330,000 feet at mach 3.5?
In any event this company is going belly up, the company execs will
run off with the last of the money long before she flies.
If they haven't already.

I bet they ask her to poney up some money for the training, making
this nothing more than any other typical lottery or prize scam.



Rockplane

"The Oklahoma Gazette has written several stories on Rocketplane including a
June
13, 2007 front page featured cover story entitled "PIE in the SKY" and lead with
"It's been eight years since Rocketplane wooed the state with creating space
tourism. Oklahoma taxpayers gave the company $18 million. So where is the ship?"
The Oklahoma Gazette has also reported diverted funds and the layoff of the
Oklahoma work force.

Space News reported in a June 25, 2007 story, "...if RpK [Rocketplane Kistler]
misses the new deadline, it would be the fourth time the company has gone back
to NASA and requested an extension."

The Chicago Tribune reported on September 11, 2007 that Abercrombie and Kent, a
luxury travel company, was suing Rocketplane for $3.4 million in liquidated
damages from Rocketplane having stopped work on the XP vehicle.[3] Abercrombie
and Kent was also asking for $3.425 million in costs from Rocketplane failing to
show up for an arbitration session.

On October 18, 2007, NASA discontinued its agreement with Rocketplane Kistler,
and announced that the remaining $175 million commitment to the project would be
made available to other companies. On October 19, the company appealed the
decision, and asked NASA to reconsider the termination or, alternatively, pay
$10 million in costs incurred to date. [4]"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocketplane_Limited,_Inc.
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