RedSky - 11/2/2007 11:28 AMThat J2X paper was really interesting, and gives you an appreciation for the hurtles to overcome with the EDS. The 95-day loiter in orbit time is a real problem to overcome. Do they have batteries to run the thing and keep it healthy over that length of time? Maybe it will need some small solar panels to unfold (Soyuz style)... which would be jettisonned just prior to TLI burn. Also the issues of restarting the engine after three months... assuming everything else is healthy. I can easily see lots of unfortunate opportunities for LOM without the crew ever having left the ground.
JonSBerndt - 11/2/2007 6:33 AMAnyone seen a publicly accessible paper on the 5 segment SRB? (thrust vs. time trace, specifically?)
Generic Username - 11/2/2007 12:07 PMQuoteJonSBerndt - 11/2/2007 6:33 AMAnyone seen a publicly accessible paper on the 5 segment SRB? (thrust vs. time trace, specifically?)I believe that's exactly the sort of thing that's not to be made publicly available.
JonSBerndt - 11/2/2007 11:30 AMI'm not sure what kind of sensitivity there is for the 5 seg SRB, or why there would be. The max thrust is known, Isp, propellant type, burn duration, etc. It would not surprise me if there is a NASA document, AIAA paper, AvWeek article, etc. publicly available that has that information in it.
Generic Username - 11/2/2007 1:16 PMI don't do any publishing (my work is boring). But those around me who *do* have to scrub their charts and graphs and non-dimensionalize them. Why? Shrug. The basic rule is that general physics is permitted but actual engineering is not. In other words, we can show you how to build a rocket, just not *this* rocket.