On Tue, 26 Aug 2003 21:56:30 -0700, David Weinshenker <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>One thing that NASA probably ought to do is develop a cheap, >fast-launch Orbital Lifetime Extension Package - a pod filled >with stuff like extra oxygen, CO2 absorbent, food, and toilet >paper, carrying enough OMS delta-V for final rendezvous, and >capable of being launched, in multiples, within a few days notice, >on an ICBM-class booster. (How does the throw-weight of, say, >the Minuteman system compare to the original Atlas, which was >used to orbit the 3000-lb Mercury spacecraft?) > >Absolute unit reliability is not as critical if the package is made >manufacturable - if it takes a few tries to connect, the one that gets >there makes it all worthwhile in giving the crew of a potentially damaged >shuttle some etxra days or weeks of survival on orbit while a definitive >rescue is contrived. (This has been discussed here before, and though it >wasn't included in the report as a recommendation, I think it should have >been.) Less work to just send every subsequent Shuttle flight to ISS. There, it can be inspected, and if found to be unsafe for reentry, the ISS crew just got bigger. Ramp up the Progress and Soyuz pipeline, try to bring the Shuttle back unmanned, and when it crashes take that as the cue to retire the bloody thing. -R -- Son: Dad, I have a question about women. Suppose I Dagwood: Apologize anyway. Son: Yeah, that's about what I figured Dagwood: It saves time _______________________________________________ ERPS-list mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.erps.org/mailman/listinfo/erps-list
