Could NASA induce SX and Boeing to cooperate under NASA contract or not? Would it be practical from a political perspective? Would it be practical from an engineering perspective (SH stages low, while the SLS core goes almost to LEO)? Would it reduce costs, and how much?Again, this is a thought experiment, not a call to action.
At 70 tons or so, EUS/Orion might make a good third stage.
EUS doesn't exist, the first step of killing SLS is cancelling EUS, since it serves no purpose
Quote from: su27k on 03/15/2021 02:30 amEUS doesn't exist, the first step of killing SLS is cancelling EUS, since it serves no purposeDevelopment and procurement contracts for at least one EUS (and up to nine) are already in place, which means EUS is effectively as unkillable as SLS Block 1 short of some kind of wholly unprecedented Congressional action.
EUS doesn't exist, the first step of killing SLS is cancelling EUS, since it serves no purpose, so I don't think this plan is a good idea. I do agree we should keep Orion for now, focusing on getting rid of SLS first. Orion can be launched to TLI on Vulcan using distributed launch, or on a SH + expendable Starship upper stage.Engineering wise, I'm not sure it can work anyway. Assuming EUS dry mass 15t, prop load 129t, Orion 26t, Isp 460, this only gives a delta-v of 6.4km, no where near enough to finish 2nd stage burn on top of SH and do a TLI.
If EUS is canned; Centaur V could be a decent substitute; approximately halfway between the Block 1 and Block 1B's upper stage designs in capability. Plus: it is already mostly developed and funded.
Can we get a #cursed photshop of this concept in action? It'd be kind of sick, seeing Orion/Exploration Stage atop a Super Heavy. Like a serial killer wearing the face of his victim or something.
Quote from: _MECO on 03/18/2021 04:56 pmCan we get a #cursed photshop of this concept in action? It'd be kind of sick, seeing Orion/Exploration Stage atop a Super Heavy. Like a serial killer wearing the face of his victim or something.Very crude PS job, but cursed nonetheless:
Quote from: FishInferno on 03/18/2021 05:17 pmQuote from: _MECO on 03/18/2021 04:56 pmCan we get a #cursed photshop of this concept in action? It'd be kind of sick, seeing Orion/Exploration Stage atop a Super Heavy. Like a serial killer wearing the face of his victim or something.Very crude PS job, but cursed nonetheless:Here's my shot at it, using the aforementioned BIG ORION concept