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Low-Cost Space Shuttle Replacement Proposed
FleaPlus writes "The Washington Times and Space.com has an article on a plan for a low-cost shuttle replacement by t/Space, an organization whose team includes AirLaunch LLC and Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites. Instead of a one-size-fits-all craft, t/Space's plan is to build an air-launched four-person capsule termed the Crew Transfer Vehicle (CXV), specialized for carrying people to and from low-Earth orbit. Once in orbit the CXV would dock with a separately-launched Crew Exploration Vehicle (likely built by Lockheed Martin or Northrop Grumman), which could be optimized for traveling between Earth orbit and the Moon. The CXV would also be able to dock with a space station or serve as a crew lifeboat. The group, which has already received some NASA funding, calculates that it can have the system ready by 2008 for $400 million, with a per-launch cost of $20 million (compared to ~$500 million per shuttle launch). Development would be done under a competitive fixed-price (instead of cost-plus) contract."
I propose that Mr. Carmack Open Sources the plans to his giant bottle rocket and lets the end user create a deep space mod for it.
"The group calculates that it can have the system ready by 2008 for $400 million".
Alright guys, this means we will have it around 2015 for about $750 million.
Trinity: what do you need?
Neo: estes rockets. lots of estes rockets. and big rubber bands.
Trinity: nobody has ever tried anything like this before.
Neo: that's why it's going to work.
If we can get back into space for 400 million, call it a bargain, secretly poison 90% of the military decision makers and GO!
Otherwise, they will say "Going into space? What a waste of money! That's almost 1/5 of a stealth bomber! No way!"
Anagram("United States of America") == "Dine out, taste a Mac, fries"
...was mastered long ago by the Chinese official, Wan Hu. He clearly has prior art.