Re:A modest suggestion... (Score 0)

just for your information the Russian space program was lead primarily by korolev, all the rockets pre-energybran(spelling?) were his when he died and gulshco took over in the 70's the space program really changed the face of Russian space exploration. It is impossible to hire them "legendary Russian engineers who kept the Russian space program alive on a shoestring budget" Also you mentioned kerosene fuel and the x-prize in the same suggestion. First of all kerosene is used in liquid propulsion but the x-prize winners utilized a hybrid motor consisting of N2O (NOS, Laughing Gas) and HTPB (petroleum based substance often referred to as rubber). These hybrid rockets are much safer and easier to produce than liquid propelled rockets because the N20 and the HTPB are inert. Also hybrid technology offers a much simpler design then liquid propulsion, I would know I have built hybrid rockets, there is no need for a complex pump or specific mixing regions. As for new technology you should check out NASA's electromagnetic plasma propulsion that offers an ISP of over 22000 seconds. It is truly amazing and is relatively simple and cheap (once they figure out the power issues...) "Figuring a way to get payload into orbit cheaply should be the main mission." just to put into perspective how cheap putting something into low earth orbit can be, my high school class is launching a hybrid rocket 100,000feet lifting a Stanford ~35lb research package up for under $20,000. Also most of NASA's R&D is already outsourced to private companies like Lockheed-Martin, Thiokol, Boeing, etc What NASA REALLY needs to do is be allowed to operate without the influence of the public or the US government, most of those who affect the program really do not understand allot about it, this is why you see all the pork barrel spending in NASA.