BuffaloBob

I actually thought of you late last night when by pure accident while channel surfing I came across this German 1929 short film clip on PBS entitled "Woman in the Moon."

I thought it was so amusing. They take off for moon wearing only a seat belt while laying on cots and no helmet or breathing apparatus. So naive back then as to what it would be like on a trip to outer space. But I was transfixed and couldn't turn it off. So I looked on youtube and was actually able to find it. It's in two parts.

Here is part 1 and I'll post part 2 right below it.

BuffaloBob

These two film clips are classics. Here's part 2.

These dissenting scientists and their backers insist they have created an alternative rocket that would be safer, cheaper and easier to build.

I wonder if NASA had the forethought to have their engineers sign non-disclosure statements?

I wonder if NASA had the forethought to have their engineers sign non-disclosure statements?

Apparently NASA has a policy which requires all new technology information be disclosed to NASA. I'd think any new moon rocket being put together by NASA engineers -- even during their time off -- would fit into this category.

With all those scientists and engineers, NASA would have to have some kind of "invention assignment/disclosure agreement" with their employees and subcontractors. It's a fairly standard agreement used by many companies which allows an employer to retain the rights and ownership of all patents, inventions, etc. created by any of their employees

NASA's website for reporting all new technology is linked below.

As an engineer who has signed many of these ageements, I can tell you those agreements only hold up in court if the designer used company time or resources to develop his off-time project.

That includes if you even talk about it at work or ask the guy in the next office about a particular problem.

Otherwise, they have no leg to stand on. I suppose it is possible to make an agreement that captures your entire life work, but it won't stand up in court.

Nasa knows this too, that's why they can't stop the free-lancers from making them look like the over-bloated beauracracy that they are..

Don't you think that these engineers are trying to show irrefutably that their new design is better so that Nasa will eventually agree and adopt it?

Where would a bunch of American engineers go to get their designs implemented? it's not like they want to quit their day jobs and move to... where the hell would they move to? this isn't post WWII Germany, you know.

Germany would actually be an excellent place to develop it. They have the best engineers and scientists in the world.

It'd be a pay-back kind of thing.

I actually believe Nasa on this one, even though they are an over-bloated beaurocracy.

These garage engineers probably have a good design etc... but the quality control would never be as high as Nasa requires. That requirement is fulfilled by the principle that if you need to check something and it takes one guy one day, you get 50 guys to check it 50 times each and it takes 200 days.