http://www.flyingmag.com/company-pl...1&spJobID=983233352&spReportId=OTgzMjMzMzUyS0 (...) Successfully placing a satellite in orbit is no small expense, often costing tens of millions of dollars. In addition to the cost of the satellite itself, there’s the cost of the launch vehicle and the ground control system to bring all the elements together. If the satellite is tiny, less than 12 pounds, often referred to as a CubeSat, organizing a launch becomes even more problematic because few rockets exist of the size needed for a successful launch. The easiest way to launch a small satellite today is to simply sit back and wait for enough space to become available on a larger rocket. That can sometimes turn into a long wait. Enter a little aviation history to the rescue: the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. (...) Anyone else old enough to have seen the 104 in the air? I always considered the thing more of a projectile than an airplane anyway.
They better watch The Right Stuff first. Yeager almost bought it in a Starfighter. That was my favorite model plane as a kid. Well until the SR71 came out.
Many pilots did buy it in Starfighters. The Germans and Italians had them and called them "flying coffins". I think the problem was an incredibly high wing loading and one lone none-too-reliable 50s-era engine. If that flamed out you were basically OK if you had plenty of altitude (or as "OK" as in any other fighter of the day). You had plenty of time to eject if you couldn't restart it. But if it happened at low altitude (which they often were), there you were with an anvil strapped to your ass. They glided like a wrecking ball. In most other fighters you had a second engine to get you home. The 104 was a beautiful thing to see in the air, especially without the tanks.
