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

To: Paleo Conservative
So this looks like the shuttle except there is a sausage where the orbiter would go. What parts would you get back? Looks like those are the same SRBs. The sausage looks like it has the shuttle's main engines. You'd want those back. Does the sausage come back intact or just the engine pods? How do they survive reentry? Are we talking tiles again?

Looks like you've got everything there except a manned system. That saves costs and reduces risk of loss of life, but are we talking about an unmanned space program?

14 posted on 02/03/2003 11:49:37 AM PST by chimera
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies ]


To: chimera
Does the sausage come back intact or just the engine pods?

From what I have read, only the engines would come back. There are a couple of advantages to leaving the cannister in space. One is that you don't waste power launching mass that has to return to Earth. The "sausage" doesn't have to have the extra weight of heat shields to reenter the atmosphere.

The space shuttle weighs about 250,000 pounds plus it can carry a cargo of 50,000 to 60,000 pounds. If the space shuttle SRBs, fuel tank, and main engines were used to send up a non-returnable payload, NASA could launch 300,000 pounds of cargo into orbit in one launch. That means one cargo mission could replace six manned launches to supply the International Space Station. When you consider that we are averaging a shuttle lost per 50 missions, and the space station is expected to take 50 space shuttle missions, it is quite probable we could lose aother shuttle just hauling up modules for the space station.

Instead of risking 50 crews lifting modules up to the space station we could haul up the same equipment in six or seven cargo missions with hardware that we already have.

15 posted on 02/03/2003 12:16:47 PM PST by Paleo Conservative
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | 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