Newsgroups: sci.space
Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: SSX: Space Ship Experimental (stolen propaganda?)
Message-ID: <1990Jan17.193036.15396@utzoo.uucp>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
References: <9001121009.AA01853@zit.cigy.> <13093.25b335f9@maven.u.washington.edu>
Date: Wed, 17 Jan 90 19:30:36 GMT

In article <13093.25b335f9@maven.u.washington.edu> games@maven.u.washington.edu writes:
>The government wants 1 billion to do this?  Gary Hudson says that he needs
>only 25 million to get a prototype in flight...

I think you may be confusing Phoenix with Liberty.  (The former is Hudson's
reusable SSTO spacecraft, the latter is his cheap expendable.)  The projected
bill for Phoenix development was always rather higher than that, unless my
memory fails me badly.  He was talking about costs comparable to an airliner,
that is, a good fraction of a billion overall.

>What I would like to find out is : Who is the brilliant guy that stole his
>literature, and is passing it off as a new SSX?

I strongly suspect it was done with his cooperation and support, given that
Max Hunter (who is definitely involved) is a long-time associate of his.
-- 
1972: Saturn V #15 flight-ready|     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
1990: birds nesting in engines | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu