Free Republic

I think your unmanned disposable orbiter idea is excellent. The major advantage of the current shuttle platform is that it is the world's only system for launching unusually large and heavy satellites. Since the manned orbiters are laid-up indefinitely, in order to keep the shuttle contractors in business, the unmanned orbiter should be looked into by NASA.

The MAJOR operating cost the manned orbiter is the fact that it has to support human life. By building a substitute disposable system that's inexpensive enough, NASA (or preferably someone else) can remain the business of launching very heavy payloads for communication companies, etc...

According to a retired transcontinental AA pilot I met once, the Flt. 587 Airbus was manufactured with a structural flaw in the tail assembly ( the tail is built separately from the fuselage ). Upon noticing this particular defect, rather than scraping the tail, a solution was devised. A metal splint was installed in the composite material to reinforce and prevent the concentrated stresses from worsening the flaw.

The solution worked great for some 13 or 14 years until structural failure of the tail occurred.

The story I'm relating is purely third-hand hearsay, so I have no way of verifying this account with other sources.