Good L-rd. This really does look like a man-made (martian-made?) construct.
Posted on 02/03/2004 3:36:36 PM PST by vannrox
Edited on 06/29/2004 7:10:18 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
President Bush's plan to go to the moon and to Mars without much additional funding will force NASA and Congress to make hard choices -- particularly regarding the space shuttle and the hugely expensive International Space Station, observers said.
The Bush plan increases NASA's budget by just $1 billion over the next five years. That means the space agency has to figure out how to carry out the mission -- first a return to the moon and later a trip to Mars -- without a lot of additional money in its budget.
(Excerpt) Read more at wired.com ...
I think we did, and I think we still need to be out there, regardless of how the government is.
We are Americans. It's not in our nature to just go somewhere and do something incredible and then stop and retreat. Unfortunately there are many in this country who want to castrate it and keep Americans at home. They aren't bothered by the fact that we've always been a nation of explorers and pioneers and used to doing big things. They aren't bothered that many other countries (and not all are pro-USA) want to be up there as well.
Jack of all trades, master of none...
By the time I was in the AF, the X-20/Dynasoar program had already been cancelled. For those who don't know what it was, the Dynasoar was going to be what the Shuttle probably should have been (in some aspects). It was a single-piloted, reusable space craft/plane. It would have been a lot smaller and cheaper than the Shuttle, and because of the way they would be built, much more simple (modular configurations if I remember right). You might have a handful of Dynasoars configured for orbital supply operations (space station, etc.), a handful configured for satellite launch, repair, and retrieval, a handful doing reconnaissance, and even some prepped for emergency use (space station evacuation, etc.).
The brilliant thing about them, they were kept simple and configured for specific tasks, and when one went up, it wouldn't be doing everything that a single Shuttle mission typically does. It would require much less in the way of crew (single pilot) and mission preparation.
If Vietnam (budget, non-engineers deciding what was important and not important, etc.) and Washington pork barrel politics hadn't crippled the Air Force in regards to this program, we would have had a manned spaceplane by the 1960s, that did exactly what it was supposed to do, and do it well. It wouldn't have been this all-in-one do everything okay, but not do it well, monster that is the Shuttle.
Those of you who are Chuck Yeager fans and have read or seen the novel/movie The Right Stuff, the crash/ejection that he goes through in the F-104(F-104C I believe), that was a test/concept vehicle for the X-20 Dynasoar. They were testing maneuvering an aircraft with thrusters I think, up around 100,000 feet. I believe Yeager's crash was right at the end of the program, around 1963.
Some info from a good site - Yeager, the ARPS, and the NF-104A :
Yeager procured for the school three specially adapted Lockheed NF-104A Starfighters. The NF-104A was an F-104A with a 6,000lb-thrust rocket mounted in the tail just above the jet tail pipe. To enable the NF-104 to fly in the stratosphere, the airplane was equipped with hydrogen peroxide thrusters in the nose; tail and wings to control pitch, roll and yaw. The aircraft was tested by Lockheed test pilot Jack Woodman to Mach 2.6 and 118,400 feet altitude.
Yeager wanted to establish operating parameters for the aircraft before the schools students began to fly them. While he was at it, Yeager wanted to establish a new altitude record. On the morning of December 10, 1963 Yeager took the NF-104 up to 108,000 feet. Yeager describes it as “a beautiful flight”. Chuck’s mom was visiting and together with Yeager’s wife Glennis, had lunch with Chuck on the base. After lunch, Yeager took to the air in the NF-104 again and at 37,000 feet Yeager ignited the rocket motor and began to zoom up at a 70º angle of attack. The jet engine flamed out at 60,000 feet and the rocket carried Yeager up to an altitude of 104,000 feet. At the top of its long arc, the airplane began to push over, but as the angle of attack reached 28º, the nose of the nose of the airplane began to pitch up. Using the thrusters had no effect (one of the thrusters under the nose had stuck in the open position) unlike his morning flight where the same situation occurred. The airplane went into a flat spin at 104,000 feet. Using all his know-how, Yeager tried everything he could think of to recover control. Without engine Rpm’s there was no hydraulic pressure to operate the avionics. Yeager even tried the spin recovery ‘chute, which got the nose down, but as soon as the ‘chute was released, the nose pitched up again. Yeager said “The data recorder would later indicate that the airplane made fourteen flat spins from 104,000 feet to impact on the desert floor. I stayed with it through thirteen of those spins before I punched out. I hated losing an expensive airplane but I couldn’t think of anything else to do”. Ejecting in his full pressure suit (the first time an ejection was attempted with such a suit), Yeager and the seat parted company and he began his fall. Somehow when the ‘chute deployed the seat became entangled in the parachute lines. When the ‘chute popped, the seat smashed through Yeager’s helmet visor. There was still residual fire (solid rocket propellant) in the seat rocket motors and that set fire to the pure oxygen still flowing in Yeager’s helmet. Yeager’s face was in the middle of a goddamn inferno. Choking to death on the smoke and stench from his own burning flesh, Yeager somehow managed to push up what was left of his visor and that shut off the oxygen supply.
Check the site, they have some pics. This school would have been turning out the pilots for the Dynasoar.
A friend that served under him said this was mostly why Yeager stayed away from NASA's astronaut/capsule program - he wanted to skip the whole capsule thing and fly into and out of space under his own control, and not be just some "spam in a can".
Hard to believe that this country once sent men to the moon.
Funny man.
Good L-rd. This really does look like a man-made (martian-made?) construct.
Terminal velocity is mostly up to the designer.
12 hours is an awful long time in any war that would disable all of our satellites.
That would be really, really hard to do. Activity to, from, and on the moon would be highly observable.
Launch phase from earth would be hard to conceal. After that, though what do observers have to work with besides radio traffic and radar? Lunar traffic could be very stealthy.
Telescopes (maybe earth or lunar orbital ones)? The moons terrain would be highly disturbed by any work done there. No vegetation or overgrowth to conceal it.
Hmm. The moon wouldn't have to have its orbit readjusted every time the railgun was fired. The moonbased railgun would have unlimited ammo. But, all this aside, I doubt putting a military railgun on the moon would have practical application. However, moonbased beam weapons might have some potential. The moon could be defended fairly well, and it could reach out and touch any satellite in earth orbit. Gee, could be our first real DeathStar.
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