The Organization Project

> What is the smallest rocket that can put itself in
> orbit?
Totally dependent on mass of payload, orbital
inclination and height

> What is the cheapest way to get a one ton satellite
> into orbit?
see previous answer.
A point here people just getting into this tend to
forget, you cannot just buy a rocket and launch it
anywhere and expect it to go wherever. Alot depends
on the latitude of the launch facility and the
direction you launch (there is a reason most all polar
orbitting satellites are launched from california and
alaska in the US). I highly recommend learning the
fnudamentals of orbital mechanics. NASA has a great
education website for this at:
http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/toc.asp?s=Orbital%20Mechanics

A good reference to have to answer your questions is
Gunter's Space Page:
http://www.skyrocket.de/space/index2.htm
The FAA also has alot of information at
http://ast.faa.gov/
The department of commerce also puts out a great
summary of launch costs. Astronautix is also a great
online reference. Basically, search on google for the
info you want and you will find tons of sources.

> Are we (our group) capable of doing, or having
> either done?
This is a discussion list only on topics related to
what SSI is interested. To see a list of
accomplishments of SSI, please refer to their web
page: http://www.ssi.org/

Ryan Z