----- Original Message ----- From: "Jon Mann" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <brin-l@mccmedia.com> Sent: Saturday, July 30, 2005 1:40 AM Subject: space shuttle obsolete
> Use tried and true disposable solid fuel boosters to launch satellites, > robotic missions, scientific experiments, etc. And when necessary, > human astronauts to work on the space station, make repairs on the > Hubble, etc. Rather than using an antiquated shuttle system it would > by more practical to develop nuclear powered smaller vehicles that > could be launched like the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo Capsules, but > with better propulsion and maneuvering technology. In what sense would these be nuclear powered? Nuclear propulsion is practical for long, slow accelerations, not lifting off a massive body like the earth. Relatively little progress has been made in that area because the physics is straightforward, and the chemistry basically just chemical engineering. I think material science is probably the area where the advances would be most useful. The next most important advance would be rugged electronics. In my own limited field, we subject electronics to far greater stresses than anything one would expect going to space. >It could remain > docked to the space station, providing additional living space, and > available for interorbital missions, such as repairing the Hubble and > eventually returning to the moon. It is impractical to launch heavy > shuttles out of the gravity well and then return them to earth, > subjecting them to re-entry damage and endangering the lives of our > hero astronauts. No matter how you slice it, space travel is still a risky business. I would hope that the advances in technology of the last 30 years would allow us to build a safer means of transport. Especially since manned space fight is still in the PR stage, so very little in terms of scientific advances can be attributed to it. Dan M. _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
