Launching payloads into space?

Question

A few years ago Nasa welcomed ideas from the public on new methods to launch payloads into space. I have one but I do not know where to send it......

Answer 1

NASA will not listen to one person with no history of actual space launch experience. Heck, they barely listed to big companies with decades of space launch experience!

NASA is a government agency. You would find it easier to get congress to pass some law that you thought up than to get NASA to adopt your launch idea.

Answer 2

I don't know if NASA still has an office collecting public ideas for payload launch technology. Even if they do, you would probably be better off refining your idea through feedback from interested amateurs.

There are websites devoted to such things and rocket clubs that discuss those kinds of ideas.

You could even use Y!Answers and ask a question like: Why doesn't NASA launch payloads into space using a ..........(whatever).........?

You would probably get answers back that would convince you your idea was not practical, OR, that would suggest it might be practical and give you ideas for improving the concept.

When you became more convinced you had something unusual and valuable, it would be easier to pursue getting the attention of Amatuer rocketer groups that might could get the ear of someone in NASA.

Good luck
keep thinking

Answer 3

Although not as drastic as the version given above, it is true that you'll be expected to do some homework before being taken seriously.

Search to see if your idea has been described before (begin with Wikipedia, Google, Yahoo...). There has been, really, hundreds of methods proposed: catapults, railguns, coil guns, linear accelerators, space elevator, combination vehicles (e.g., baloon carries a plane which becomes a rocket.

You will be expected to show that your method is different than other methods (especially methods that have failed).

Many of the proposed methods are scientifically correct and theoretically possible, but not feasible at the moment because we do not yet have the technology.

You will be expected to explain how your method intends to avoid the problems (or to describe what kind of new technology would be needed).

Normally, in order to do all that, you'd have to associate yourself with other people who have knowledge (maybe even experience) in astronautics.

It's a lot of work. But then it is always a lot of work, so don't let that stop you.

Genius is 2% good idea, 98% hard work.

Even if you do not get the recognition in your lifetime, remember what Aragon said:
"We know that the nature of genius is to provide idiots with ideas twenty years later."

Answer 4

i think of they are. yet they have purely had 2 attempt launches so far, and neither one made it to orbit. although i'm confident the subsequent launch would be one hundred% successfull. And NASA has given them seed funds as area of the COTS (commercial Orbital Transportation centers ) software, so they have confidence in them too. Even greater advantageous is they are advertising a million,760 kilos to low Earth orbit for under $7 million. it relatively is seven million, no longer seventy.

Answer 5

Even if they were accepting ideas, they would reject some verbal suggestion. They would want a full enginering document with all the appropriate calculations, cost and schedule estimates. It would be a multi-man-year job just to do the proposal.