On Tuesday, February 18, 2003, at 12:05 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Since by definition, the engine thrust support structure (TSS) must takeThere's no reason you can't build a huge transporter that can gently pick up the ship and trundle it up to a mile or so over well prepared surfaces to a dedicated launch stand. Obviously you're better off landing closer to the stand than you are landing far away, since the transporter is unlikely to move faster than walking speed. You're going to need such a vehicle anyway, for those occasions when you need to get the ship into a hangar for things like swapping out engines or periodic maintenance.
something like 1.5 times the load of the fully fueled vehicle, the ground
support structure could be something as simple as a robust single leg (or
jack) that fits into a socket at the center of the TSS. The outboard gear
would provide stability, while the central leg bears the weight until
liftoff.
There's an argument to be made against moving it based on the fact that that's slack time for all of the ground crew except the guy driving the transporter, but it's not clear that you can't make that time up by improved efficiency once you get to the launch stand (since now everything is in a known and well defined position relative to everything else).
......Andrew
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