Is it possible to store a fully-assembled liquid-fuelled rocket in a 'dry' state for long periods? With issues such as delamination of fuel tanks, insulation decay and metal fatigue in the engine parts, I would have thought that there is a 'shelf time', a period in which the vehicle must be used before environmental degradation makes it unsafe or impractical (high test/refurb costs) to do so.
I can't believe there isn't a SpaceX Q&A topic.Anyway, I noticed in the Falcon 1 user guide that the main computer is a PC/104 based system. Is that the same PC/104 board that CubeSATs use?
Which rockets would provide the most benign launch environment for a new space telescope if one were to be constructed out of the mirrors recently donated to NASA. Is one EELV more benign than the other with respect to loads and vibrations imparted on the payload? How do they compare to shuttle of SLS?Thanks
Are elliptical tanks instead of cylindrical ones a possibility (especially for tanks where a lot of the strength comes from internal tubes and wires like the SpaceX tanks)?
They like any other rocket, monocoque.
Many, if not most, rocket structures are semi-monocoque (stiffened skin). Examples include the ET LH2 tank barrel, S-IC, S-II, and S-IVB tank barrels, ET and Saturn V intertanks and interstages, etc. The ET LO2 tank aft dome has seven or eight circumferential ring-stiffeners, so it is also semi-monocoque.Some rocket structures are pure monocoque where the skins carry all loads. Examples include the ET LH2 tank domes, and the ET LO2 tank barrel and ogive. The S-II and S-IVB common bulkheads are honeycomb sandwich structures, where the skins carry the in-plane loads loads, and the honeycomb provides depth to resist bending and buckling.F=maQuote from: Jim on 11/08/2012 12:01 pmThey like any other rocket, monocoque.