Interesting, I wonder why the whole TPS is black except for two white stripes on top.
At one time, SNC put a down payment on an Atlas V launch. Anyone know if SNC is still planning on using that launch?
Gotta say, that's a nice, versatile option. My only hope is that they can properly compete on price since there are no more development funds. They need to compete against 2 other service providers that do not need as much development time and/or investment as DCC will. I guess the trick will be to amortize the dev costs over enough of the contact to stay competitive on the per-mission (or $/up & down mass) costs. I can only see this happening by being able to have a seriously reusable DCC with little refurbishment costs.
{snip}Even then it would be questionable, since a significant part of the vehicle is an expendable cargo module that not only is a external cargo carrier and contains power/radiator systems, but also contains a human rated pressurized compartment that is necessary to access the DC itself.
Quote from: Lars-J on 10/09/2015 05:22 pm{snip}Even then it would be questionable, since a significant part of the vehicle is an expendable cargo module that not only is a external cargo carrier and contains power/radiator systems, but also contains a human rated pressurized compartment that is necessary to access the DC itself.That suggests a nice spin-off product, an air lock.
Quote from: A_M_Swallow on 10/10/2015 10:30 amQuote from: Lars-J on 10/09/2015 05:22 pm{snip}Even then it would be questionable, since a significant part of the vehicle is an expendable cargo module that not only is a external cargo carrier and contains power/radiator systems, but also contains a human rated pressurized compartment that is necessary to access the DC itself.That suggests a nice spin-off product, an air lock.So you're thinking something along these lines, perhaps?
I wonder if the cargo module can do extended missions like the Shenzhou OM after the primary mission is over?Such as carry experiments that do not require recovery or deploy cube sats.
ULA are trying to get Atlas 401 price down to $100-$110M so say <$160M for 552 especially with new lower cost OrbitalATK SRBs. The Vulcan should reduce that again as it will need less SRBs.