Hi Dr. Sower, Thank you very much for taking the time to answer these questions. Tory Bruno has stated that the SMART Reuse system won't be used on the Vulcan initially, but will be phased in. How long do you think it will take for them to start using it? And do you believe it will be done gradually, alla SpaceX or will it be much more rapid, say one or two experimental launches, then going full engine reuse?Cheers,
Dr. Sowers, thank you again for coming back to answer more questions about your new rocket. I can't wait to watch it come together over the next few years, and hope Blue Origin can be persuaded to release engine testing videos.If I recall correctly, ACES was a modular family that would fly with varying numbers of engines and even varying sizes of tanks to accomodate different mission requirements. Is that still the plan for the future Vulcan upper stage?Thank you again. Go Vulcan! Go Centaur!
Thanks for taking the time again, Dr. Sowers (and Chris).What is the largest PLF under consideration, even for 2023+ ACES?(btw, a good name for said stage would be "Centaur Prime")
Thanks for sharing with us Dr Sowers.I am curious about the versatility of the ACES stage, is it foreseen to be used with any other current, planned and/or future boost stages?
Dr. Sowers, welcome back and thank you for again taking the time.I watched the presentation and one thing struck me about upper stage being proposed. Didn't the original ACES paper have them switching from the current Centaur Stainless tank to a larger Al-Li tank. Tory made it quite clear the new upper stage being proposed will use new Stainless tanking. Care to elaborate on the ACES's switch from the new tank using Al-Li to Stainless? Why is it superior? Better mass fraction? Easier to make? Cheaper to make? 70 years of experience manufacturing balloon tanks with Stainless?I am just curious why it is superior for the new upper stage.Thanks.
Quote from: Chris Bergin on 04/13/2015 10:41 pmDr. George Sowers - VP, Advanced Concepts and Technologies (new rocket development is within his department) has kindly agreed to take questions on the NGLS (Named Vulcan) that was revealed April 13.Dr. Sowers is a great friend of the site and has provided some superb Q&As here, for which we're very grateful.I'm opening this now, ahead of Dr. Sowers answering questions on Tuesday, April 14, MT.One question per member to ensure Dr. Sowers isn't overloaded with questions. Ensure your question is well presented, readable and worthwhile and please read the coverage of the reveal here: http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=37251.0 - to ensure you don't ask a question already addresses (or that you ensure it asked for clarification of an answer).Before I dive into the questions, I'd like to thank Chris for giving me the opportunity to do this Q&A. As I wrote in a recent op ed (http://dpo.st/1albze6 ) developing new rockets is a good as it gets for someone in our business. It's clear that all of you share my enthusiasm. And that makes answering your questions really fun.
Dr. George Sowers - VP, Advanced Concepts and Technologies (new rocket development is within his department) has kindly agreed to take questions on the NGLS (Named Vulcan) that was revealed April 13.Dr. Sowers is a great friend of the site and has provided some superb Q&As here, for which we're very grateful.I'm opening this now, ahead of Dr. Sowers answering questions on Tuesday, April 14, MT.One question per member to ensure Dr. Sowers isn't overloaded with questions. Ensure your question is well presented, readable and worthwhile and please read the coverage of the reveal here: http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=37251.0 - to ensure you don't ask a question already addresses (or that you ensure it asked for clarification of an answer).
This is my first post on the forum but I suppose it's a good way to start by asking a question.