I guess they were just wasting their time with these vehicles then...
Posted on 08/02/2005 8:56:13 AM PDT by jbstrick
For its next generation of space vehicles, NASA has decided to abandon the design principles that went into the aging space shuttle, agency officials and private experts say.
Instead, they say, the new vehicles will rearrange the shuttle's components into a safer, more powerful family of traditional rockets...
..."As long as we put the crew and the valuable cargo up above wherever the tanks are, we don't care what they shed," he said. "They can have dandruff all day long."...
...A main advantage, supporters say, is that the big rocket could lift five or six times as much cargo as the shuttle (roughly 100 tons versus 20 tons), making it the world's most powerful space vehicle. In theory, it would be strong enough to haul into orbit whole spaceships destined for the Moon, Mars and beyond....
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
The various versions of Atlas missiles were a very thin tank kept rigid by pressurization. The later models, with added upper stages, carried some fairly impressive payloads.
That is correct. The pressure in the combustion chamber is suddenly reduced below the point where it will support continued combustion. The forward port is opened pyrotechnically. Solids are all pyrotechnics.
Or you could use a variable nozzle which would be able to modulate the thrust, probably enough for the reduction required near max q.
Aluminum is cheaper.
That, and he is a total Luddite.
It's no accident that ever since the presidency of former Nuclear Navy Carter, there hasn't been a single nuclear power plant built in the US (although scores have been built world wide) forcing our very high dependence on 'turm'oil from the middle east.
Jimmah also forbid fuel rod recycling, forcing the industry into storing a goodly percentage of their reusable raw materials.
Other countries recycle, we have the extremely popular Yucca Mountain storage facility.
He loves the third world, and wants us to be just like them...
Good point.
Absolute power erupts absolutely?
Ouch. That's gonna leave a mark.
SHAME!
Before he was elected President he seemed to have excellent credentials. He even sounded a little like Rush and Perot. I didn't vote for him, but thought about doing so. He has been a walking disaster, no question, with his heart being too close to his head.
What I basically heard Griffin say when he announced that this was the direction he was going was that, since all of the vehicle's components were already man rated it would cut out more than half of the time / cost of developing a new launch vehicle.
The folks at T/Space (Burt Rutan, et al) who did the architecture for Moon/Mars suggested this, except they were also proposing a scaled up launch system similar to Space Ship One for getting the crew to and from orbit. Of course it would have been built and operated by private industry. I would love that, as it would instantly create a viable private launch industry.
From the T/Space web site:
The t/Space Concept / Updated July 14, 2005
Abstract: An Earth-to-orbit system capable of transporting four crew for $20 million per flight, with development proposed to be under a fixed-price NASA contract.
Download (pdf ~ 2398 kb)
bump
SpaceflightNow.com:
1520 GMT (11:20 a.m. EDT)
President George W. Bush phoned the Discovery and space station astronauts this morning, speaking with commander Eileen Collins.
THE PRESIDENT: Commander Collins, can you hear me?
COLLINS: Yes, sir, we hear you loud and clear. Good morning.
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Thank you for taking my phone call. I just wanted to tell you all how proud the American people are of our astronauts. I want to thank you for being risk-takers for the sake of exploration. I want to welcome our Japanese and Australian and Russian friends. And I wish you Godspeed in your mission. I know you've got very important work to do ahead of you. We look forward to seeing the successful completion of this mission. And, obviously, as you prepare to come back, a lot of Americans will be praying for a safe return.
So it's great talking to you. Thanks for being such great examples of courage for a lot of our fellow citizens.
COLLINS: Thank you very much, Mr. President. We want to tell you that we really enjoy what we're doing, we really believe in our mission, and we believe in space exploration and getting people off the planet and seeing what's out there. So the steps that we're taking right now are really worth it, and we want everybody to know that. And thank you very much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to talk to us.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, listen, I want to thank you, Commander, and thank your fellow astronauts there. I agree with you -- I think what you're doing is really important. And you've got a strong supporter for your mission here in the White House. I will tell you Laura went down and watched the launch in Florida, with my little brother, Jeb, and came back all excited about the energy that -- there on the East Coast of Florida. But we're with you, and wish you all the very best. Thanks for taking my phone call. Now get back to work.
COLLINS: Thank you very much, sir. We did fly over Texas today and had a good look at it. It was beautiful. Have a good day.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. (Laughter.)
I'll say scaled up. After going to that site and seeing their 23% scale version, the launch version must be huge! How is the Spruce Goose flying these days anyway?
Pegasus is air-launched and passed the 100 satellite mark long ago.
"Something wrong with using power that can't be throttled."
Avoid a light switch at all costs. =)
>> the booster can be safed before it causes a total
>> loss of the stack.
> If you have to shut down the engine, you've lost the rocket.
Sure, but not necessarily the crew. Which is the whole
point on a manned vehicle.
>> ... only works reliably if what you are blasting away
>> from isn't still accelerating toward you
> Nah, the acceleration rate of the rocket is well known.
> The escape rocket merely has to be designed to exceed
> that. There's no guess work involved.
My back-of-the-PostIt-Note estimate says that no escape
rockets, tugging a capsule, can out-accelerate a stage 1
under full thrust. And building one that could would be
needlessly consumptive of otherwise valuable payload.
A capsule at the top of an SRB?
WooHoo! Continuous 10 G's to orbit. Hope the astronauts survive.
He's no Ted Kennedy, is he?
I guess they were just wasting their time with these vehicles then...
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