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Next Generation Space Shuttles

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the boldly-going dept.

zymano writes "Popular Science has an article about the next generation space shuttles. If you're wondering about what happened to all those cool ideas for a new shuttle and what happened to them then this story will explain it. Mentions the politics, design, costs and time for a new shuttle." There's some neat images of mockups as well.

3 of 226 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Something must be wrong... by shadowj · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Why not go even further and blow up nuclear bombs behind the thing? That'll sure give it a push.

    Oh, wait, it's been done... it's called Project Orion .

    Or we could do something even more efficient... throw stuff out the back at high speed and let the reaction provide propulsion. Hell, if you can throw it fast enough, it doesn't have to be heavy...

    Oh, wait... that's been done, too. It's called a rocket.

    Seriously, though, why do you say a rocket is "flawed and wasteful"? What makes you think that throwing rocks at a spacecraft would work better (or at all)? Have you done any math to substantiate it? Is it, just maybe, possible that all those rocket scientists might know what they're doing?

    --

    --Larry

    Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence

  2. It's simple by steveha · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It's very simple. What we need are reusable ships with a modest cargo capacity, plus maybe a few "big dumb boosters" for launching big things.

    It's also very clear that NASA is not capable, as an organization, of doing this. NASA has some smart people working there, but any really large project will safely bury the smart ones under red tape where they can't do anything. If you want to convert money into piles of paper, have NASA attempt to make a follow-up to the shuttle.

    The US government should make iron-clad promises to buy launches. Station re-supply launches for the International Space Station would be a great place to start. If John Carmack's company, or any other company, can get a vehicle going that can run supplies to orbit, the government should hire them to do it. In other words, pay for results but for nothing else, and don't have any part of the government (especially NASA) trying to help design the ships.

    steveha

    --
    lf(1): it's like ls(1) but sorts filenames by extension, tersely
  3. Let's start building Saturn V's again by multiplexo · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Suitably updated where necessary and with an eye towards reusability if feasible. The Saturn V kicked ass and shows what a kludge the shuttle is, we're talking about a booster that could put a Mack truck in orbit around the moon. The Shuttle was a huge step backwards in every area except for reusability.

    --
    cheap labor conservatives - they want to keep you hungry enough to be thankful for minimum wage.