home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- Newsgroups: sci.space
- Path: sparky!uunet!gatech!concert!uvaarpa!murdoch!rayleigh.mech.Virginia.EDU!rbw3q
- From: rbw3q@rayleigh.mech.Virginia.EDU (Brad Whitehurst)
- Subject: Re: Stupid Shut Cost arguements (was Re: Terminal Velocity
- Message-ID: <1993Jan4.201501.18537@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU>
- Sender: usenet@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU
- Organization: University of Virginia
- References: <1992Dec29.190820.1850@iti.org> <1993Jan4.154842.13841@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU> <1993Jan4.180947.20495@iti.org>
- Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1993 20:15:01 GMT
- Lines: 46
-
- In article <1993Jan4.180947.20495@iti.org> aws@iti.org (Allen W. Sherzer) writes:
- >In article <1993Jan4.154842.13841@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU> rbw3q@rayleigh.mech.Virginia.EDU (Brad Whitehurst) writes:
- >
- >> If men are part of the payload, the Shuttle is (currently) the
- >>only way to fly!
- >
- >I think if you consult the Russians they can show you the error in
- >this statement.
- >
- >BTW, the team evaluating Soyuz has finished its work. They concluded that
- >there is no reason Soyuz couldn't be used as ACRV. It should also be
- >possible to use Soyuz on an Atlas or Titan for US manned space.
- >
- Come on, Allen, don't get even more retentive on us! The
- realistic chance of significant U.S. manned presence in orbit in
- Russian hardware in the next few years is miniscule. Political as
- well as practical considerations dictate that. (e.g.: national
- security concerns, power systems, space for people & gear, interface
- problems, scheduling, etc.... As a practical matter, I'd be willing
- to bet that even moderate effort on a reusable SSTO (DC or otherwise)
- could be available within a year or so of the time frame it would take
- to convert our manned space program from Shuttle to Soyuz. It's not
- just Spam-in-a-can, as you've pointed out before...they've got to be
- able to do useful work once they get there. Would everything go to
- Russia for launch, and depend on an uncertain foreign infrastructure,
- or convert part of Canaveral to launch Russian rockets? Convert our
- command, control, and communications on the ground, or refit the
- Soyuz? Can you get enough power and life support from Soyuz/Mir for
- 5-6 people + our experiments? Etc., etc.,... I don't have time for an
- exhaustive search of necessary systems.
- Flawed as it is, Shuttle is the only American (non-russian for
- that matter) manned system. There's little point in being
- anti-Shuttle...rather, be pro-DC (or whatever). Trying to dictate the
- demise of the competition, rather than proving by doing, is what you
- excoriate NASA for doing.
- BTW, I use the term "bet" above in the figurative sense. I
- don't want the usual set of juvenile responses that I should put $X on
- my supposition. If you (plural...not necessarily Allen) can't deal
- with idiomatic American English (esp. if it is your native tongue),
- too bad. Go crawl back into your workstation.
- (FLOoomp....flame off. Sorry about that but the last time the "bet"
- word came up, the silliness went ad inifitum.)
- --
-
- Brad Whitehurst | Aerospace Research Lab
- rbw3q@Virginia.EDU | We like it hot...and fast.
-