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No. Have you heard the expression, "Standing on the shoulders of giants?" It means that we build on what has come before. That only works if you don't lose what
by scrumper 14y ago
No. Have you heard the expression, "Standing on the shoulders of giants?" It means that we build on what has come before. That only works if you don't lose what you've already done. Every time a company forgets its past achievements we take two steps backwards.
In this specific example there is a tremendous amount of large-engine experience wrapped up in the F1. These engineers are trying to learn from that to help design the next generation of big engines. Ignoring the work done on the F1 - failing to resurrect it - would force them to make the same expensive mistakes as their predecessors. And that, more than anything, will put a nail in progress's coffin.
- nextparadigms 14y agoIt's a good thing there aren't a lot of patents in the space industry, or aren't enforced as heavily as they could be.
- saalweachter 14y agoThe patents on all these components expired before I was born.
- scrumper 14y agoI'm not sure whether it was possible for the private companies contracted by the space program to patent their publicly-funded work. Interesting to see what happens now that private enterprise is running its own programs alongside the government. I believe there will be a distinct chilling of relations between the main private players in a few years, once their main competition becomes each other rather than the government.
- jlgreco 14y agoI am not sure it is possible for private companies to patent rocket work, with help from the public or otherwise. Rocket technology is heavily export controlled.