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From: Purtill@MIT-MULTICS.ARPA (Mark Purtill)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Re: TAU?
Message-ID: <861121230149.700990@MIT-MULTICS.ARPA>
Date: Fri, 21-Nov-86 18:01:00 EST
Article-I.D.: MIT-MULT.861121230149.700990
Posted: Fri Nov 21 18:01:00 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 21-Nov-86 22:48:20 EST
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Organization: The ARPA Internet
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<Fnord>
>Also, a comment was made that, even if TAU is passed by faster
>spacecraft, it will give valuable experience with its propulsion system.
>This is true only if nuclear ion engines are not a dead-end technology.
>I would think that radically different systems, such as nuclear pulse
>rockets, would be the long term choice (Hyde would say that long term =
>30 years).

Nuclear ion engines will certainly be a dead-end technology if we never
try to build one.  And if we always wait for the "better" thing that
will be around in only a few decades, we'll never get anything done,
'cause there will always be something else on the horizon.

       Mark
^.-.^  Purtill at MIT-MULTICS.ARPA    **Insert favorite disclaimer here**
(("))  2-229 MIT Cambrige MA 02139