She said, “Wherever this happens, they’ll be able to launch a hundred metric ton spacecraft similar to the second stage and capsule of current rockets, without using a first stage. The energy cost of doing so will be about 180,000 kilowatt-hours. At the current price of thirteen cents per kilowatt-hour here in Virginia, that’d cost $23,400. That sounds like a lot of money, but you’ve got to remember that currently a booster rocket to launch to that altitude costs over thirty-seven million dollars, of which $200,000 is just for the propellants.
“Now, sending a craft up the tower would take about two minutes. They’ll probably be able to reload and send up another one about five minutes later if they’re in a hurry—”
“Wait a minute, aren’t they going to have to thoroughly inspect the tower between launches to be sure nothing was damaged during the previous launch?”
She shrugged. “They will at first, of course. But Stade’s so strong nothing could damage it. The only concern would be whether the motors that powered the launch are okay. That can be evaluated electronically.” She paused, evidently waiting for more objections. When there were none, she continued, “So, though there will be significant costs incurred building the tower, once it’s in place it will so greatly reduce the cost of orbital launch that no one else will be able to compete. I would like to point out here that this will markedly reduce the environmental damage incurred all around the world by the launches of the current space launch industry.
“Also, the cost of space launch will quickly be reduced by so much that a great many more launches will be undertaken because they will suddenly be so affordable. Understand that, at present, launch to low Earth orbit using rockets costs about $5,000 per kilogram. If we were launching, not people, but objects that could tolerate higher accelerations, we could launch them into orbit for less than fifty cents per kilogram. However, if we wanted them to be placed in a particular orbit once they were up there, we could do that by adding on a rocket that would be used to adjust and perfect their orbit. It could cost anywhere from one to ten dollars per kilogram to put your satellite in the specific orbit you want. Even then, it’s a cost reduction that’s so great that current rocket technology couldn’t possibly compete. All the launch business will quickly come to us.”
No one said anything for a moment, so Agnos cleared his throat. “Earlier you said, ‘wherever this happens’? I’m not sure what you meant by that?”
“Oh, I meant that, if it can’t be done here in Virginia, it’ll happen somewhere else. Even if we have to go to another country, we do plan to build a space tower and thus bring the cost of leaving Earth’s gravity well down into a reasonable range.”
Agnos narrowed his eyes, “So, you’re saying that if the great state of Virginia doesn’t let you do this, you’re threatening to pick up your toys and move, say to North Carolina?”
She shrugged, “Actually the closer to the equator the better so we’d probably try Florida next. After all, the launch business is something they’re used to and have fully adapted to. Their economy likes having launch around and that business is going to dry up as soon as the tower’s built. They’d probably love to have us instead of what they’re about to lose. We’re going to be quieter, less polluting, and bring them more business than rockets. From their viewpoint, what’s not to like?”
Agnos leaned back thoughtfully. “So, you’re not here to put the hard sell on us?”
“Oh, no, sir. If Virginia doesn’t want us, Florida actually would be better for business, or Georgia, or either of the Carolinas. But some of us,” she glanced at the black guy again, gave him a little smile, then went on, “some of us like Virginia and want to stay here. They, um, think it’ll be too hot in Florida.”
Agnos snorted, “Why not Kansas?”
“If we launched from Kansas and the craft failed to reach orbit, it might fall on Virginia, sir.” She gave him a wink. “If the coastal states don’t work out, we’ll probably look to the Caribbean next.”
Agnos almost asked them what kind of tax breaks they were looking for but decided that if they were too naïve to ask for tax breaks, he shouldn’t be the one to bring it up. That made him realize he’d already decided to help them build their tower. It’d be a great boon to the economy of Virginia and that kind of coup would certainly help him get re-elected. Best not to seem too eager, he thought leaning forward. “You’ve given us a lot to think about,” he said to his visitors. We’ll get back to you after we’ve had some of our people explore the legalities.”
Contreras said, “I can send your people links to existing regulations and approximate precedents if you’d like?”
Agnos waved at Brock, “Talk to Erin here. She’ll get the information to the appropriate people. One of us will get back in touch about what we can or can’t do.”
***
Bob sighed. “And you’re sure there wasn’t an instruction book for this thing?”
Shaking his head, Joe said, “Me and Danny looked and looked, bossman. Danny points out that the place was all pretty high tech. Hardly any printed stuff. And, he noticed there ain’t no knobs or switches or any other such controls on the stazer itself. Said the instructions and controls must all be on computers and such. That’s why we brought the laptop that
