BogoMIPS - 18/4/2006 1:16 PMHi all.kraisee, one other cost change you aresn't taking into account with 4 SRBs is that the existing pad infrastructure can no longer support the design. As long as the launcher is in the same form factor as STS, the existing launch pads, flame trenches, etc. can be used. If we strap on two more SRBs, you'll have to revamp the pads as well as the launchers, which will incor even more costs.I'm not saying it's a bad plan, but it certainly is another cost to consider in the system design.
BogoMIPS - 18/4/2006 10:18 PMI'd also love to see a 200 metric ton "Skylab on Steroids"...
lmike - 19/4/2006 1:42 PM If we put our eggs, as it were, into this one basket from the onset, do we forgo a more flexible and robust approach? (i.e. if we decide we want to do orbital assembly, have we wasted time and money?)
lmike - 19/4/2006 9:12 AMIt rings true, but the current ESAS (seemingly?) is in opposition to the old advocated assembly plan. Multiple launches==bad, as I read it.
Kayla - 20/4/2006 7:02 AM Atlas is currently at 78 successful launches in a row, including Atlas II, III and now V.
kraisee - 20/4/2006 12:54 AMThey've learned that a station as big as ISS could have been launched on just three Heavy Lifters, instead of the 50-60 flights of Shuttle, Proton, Soyuz and eventually Ariane flights it actually is going to require.The practical limit is between 100-200mT for a Heavy Lifter. That's also a good area on the ol' price:performance curve too. While a super-heavy would be cool, it's just not necessary. A handful of plain Heavies can loft 500 tons - which is enough to get us truly going 'out there' without additional expense.But without a heavy of reasonable performance, we're going to languish in LEO forever.Ross.
Kayla - 21/4/2006 6:02 AMIf a lunar mission required 150 mT this would require ~6 Atlas or Delta HLV’s (25mT for Delta or 28 mT for Atlas). For a Mars mission of 500 mT this would require 20 launches, not the 400 Kraisee refers to. Beyond the incredible cost savings, Tap-Sa had it right. The Atlas and Delta rockets will have built up dozens of launches by the time the CEV is ready to fly, demonstrating their reliability.