Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

To: mikegi
"This is the smart course to take. The space shuttle really only needs its wings for the final few seconds of flight, the rest of the time they're just dead weight."

Not. What is needed is a completely and economically re-usable earth-to-LEO SYSTEM (i.e. the ORIGINAL space shuttle design concept, with both booster AND orbiter fully recoverable). The current space shuttle was and is a kludge forced on NASA by budget cuts forced on the space program by the "welfare Democrats".

What should be done now is focus on the NEXT-GENERATION fully recoverable earth-to-LEO system, built using today's technology--not a retreat to 1960's technology.

3 posted on 09/07/2003 8:32:36 AM PDT by Wonder Warthog (The Hog of Steel)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]


To: Wonder Warthog
What should be done now is focus on the NEXT-GENERATION fully recoverable earth-to-LEO system, built using today's technology--not a retreat to 1960's technology.

You might find this link of interest to you. There you will find out about the x-33 and venturestar SSTO system. SSTO means "single stage to orbit".

SSTO sounds really awesome at first. But I am skeptical of their possibility, at least in the way it was presented by venturestar. Delta-V is an important measure of a rocket's performance. By plugging in numbers from this link, to this link, it can be deduced that x-33 is a flop in theory. You should find that x-33 is lacking over 1000 seconds of Isp to even be possible. Sadly, no chemical engine exists (theoretical or actual) that could do what nasa wanted x-33 to do. The only known way to acomplish SSTO with large payloads is with a thermal atomic engine like NERVA (but better and more powerful of course).

BTW, x-33's engines were rated at 450 Isp.. quite nominal for a LOX LOH engine.

57 posted on 09/07/2003 3:06:27 PM PDT by aSkeptic (I am a computer chair critic, so please don't get too excited.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson