On Sun, 08 Feb 2004 11:38:26 -0800, David Weinshenker <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>Hmmm.... SSTO is, so far, what seems to get all the attention >when folks think of reusable... staging tends to get equated >with "throwing parts away"; multistage to orbit with retrievable >stages has (so far at least; as you suggest, that may now be >changing) not seen as much interest. (In his article on "The >Future of Earth-to-Orbit Propulsion", Truax did propose 2STO >with a parachute-recovered lower stage and a low-pressure, >expendable upper.) Rule Number One is that Thou Shalt Not Drop Things. Staging is not a cardinal sin, unless you just toss the stage overboard. That's a no-no. Everything that leaves the ground must land precisely where the operator tells AST it is going to. Soft landing is best, but if you want to wreck your used stage, that's OK too. As long as you wreck it precisely where you tell AST you will wreck it. (You're allowed to be dumb. You're just not allowed to be dangerous.) Rule Number Two is that Incrementalism Is Your Friend. That's preaching to the choir for ERPS. -R -- LSO to pilot after 6th bolter, "You have to land here, son. This is where the food is." _______________________________________________ ERPS-list mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.erps.org/mailman/listinfo/erps-list
