[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> Gentlefolk,
>
> I concur with Henry, big trunaround crews aren't needed, even with lox.
> However, the system has to be carefully designed to minimize the amount of
> labor needed for turnaround. One of the really neat things about DCX is that
> its powered landing system was the same one that gets it into orbit. The
> fewer critical things there are to check, the smaller the crew, the faster
> the turnaround, the lower the risk of error, and the smaller the inventory of
> spare parts, the less the training time, the less costly the testing program,
> etc.... One doesn't want anything more on these things than what's needed
> to get to orbit and come back safely.
Agreed ... Consider what is and what we need. The shuttle takes about
three months to be rebuilt and ready for launch by an army of about
10,000 people (down from 25,000). That's about 4 MILLION man-hours!
When we can turn a vehilce in 40 man-hrs (5 peole x 8 hrs) we have
something usable. When it can be 4 man-hrs we have something that will
fulfill the type of flight rate needed to make travel to space
economical for the average person.
Michael
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Michael Wallis KF6SPF (408) 396-9037 [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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