Posted on 01/24/2015 5:50:40 PM PST by Olog-hai
Hes one of a handful of men to have orbited the moon. Today, Alfred M. Worden says NASAs on the wrong track. He also tells DW why he likes the moons dark side and what he wanted mostbut didn't getupon returning. [ ]
We took a step backwards back in the late 70s when they decided to build the space shuttle. That was, in my opinion, a mistake. The shuttle was a very complicated machine. It did some pretty unusual, clearly spectacular things, like launch vertically and land horizontally. But from a technical standpoint, we launched a 280,000 pound machine to carry 25,000 pounds up to space. To go to the International Space Station.
If we had maintained the Saturn V as a launch vehicle, we would have put eight times as much into Earths orbit. Whats interesting to me is: We are going back to the Saturn V system for the future programs. The Orion spaceship is almost a carbon copy of the Apollo spacecraft.
(Excerpt) Read more at dw.de ...
I attended a lecture in ‘66 or ‘67 on celestial navigation at UNC given by a NASA scientist. If I remember correctly the astronauts were taught to use the constellation Orion to assist in navigation if the guidance platforms failed during a mission in space. Orion was selected since it was brightest and most recognizable constellation (according to the lecturer). I suspect this might be the reason for Orion’s presence on the Apollo mission patch.
Watergate does not bother me, does your conscious bother you?
Now tell the truth.
"If we had maintained the Saturn V as a launch vehicle, we would have put eight times as much into Earth's orbit. What's interesting to me is: We are going back to the Saturn V system for the future programs. The Orion spaceship is almost a carbon copy of the Apollo spacecraft."Correct, apart from the fact that the proposed heavy lift booster will need four solid rocket boosters -- extended versions of the design that got the Shuttle into orbit -- in order to do its job. The liquid-fueled part of the system can't get itself to orbit.
I once got completely lost in a rural area of the country and used Orion to navigate south where I knew an interstate lay. It was too late in the night to bang on someone’s door. I must have used fifteen different trails.
I was only 16 at the time, so I never even thought to ask, but I'll bet a lot of adults scratched their heads at that one.
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That works as long as you bear in mind that if Orion looks like he's waking up he's in the East, and if he's taking a header, he's in the West.
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