site ownership - rent vs. buy, the prospect of permanent national and regional launch sites
in anticipation of a revitalization of rocketry, both specifically in the commercial HPR arena as well as any other rocketry areas a "New TRA" may expand its scope to include, establishing a larger pool of sites will be challenging.
what are the characteristics and locations of owned launch sites, if any? What about launch sites owned by member clubs?
where will obtaining launch sites ad hoc (on the fly at a local level) be the biggest challenge? How does expected site usage relate to this? What is anticipated site usage a function of? Population density alone, or are their regions which for some reason have greater interest? Or is it a function of regional climiate, politics, or other reason?
what is the cost of acquiring and maintaining sites in the areas of greatest demand / greatest need? Are the costs of regional or national cites best covered by the organization as a whole, or by the clubs in a region?
do permanent sites with structured launch setups have any insurance advantages? What about "PR", public access and access by school districts?
what is the feasibility of defraying site costs by timesharing with other rocketry organizations? Is there a precedent for this, and how successful is it?
comments?
- iz