Somewhere around page 14, on the problems with an LH2/LOX first stage, a serious design flaw is that the volume for the same impulse, given the Shuttle ET tank diameter, means the SLS first stage has to be really really tall, which means the seconds stage and payload can’t be very tall or the rocket can’t fit under the VAB doors. That puts a pretty hard limit on the future growth potential of the SLS. It can really be the basis for a family of launch vehicles that have vastly more payload capability than the Block II. It can’t launch very large structures into LEO. The rocket was pretty much maxed out at conception. The most they could do is replace the SRBs with more capable liquid fueled boosters to try to stage later in the ascent.
With many rocket systems, a proponent can make the argument that the current capabilities may not seem like much, but the huge investment will pay off in massively increased performance down the road. That argument doesn’t really hold for SLS.
Have there been any rockets, outside of SpaceX, that actually delivered massively increased performance?
I remember reading an article maybe 30 years ago about the multiyear effort to find about 156 lbs. to trade for replacing the very problematic welded manifold on the SME with a heavier casting.
Delta, Atlas, and Titan’s performance kept growing, so much so that pretty much the only component they kept was the name.
If NASA was well run, they’d be doing scads of design studies on what they could do with Starship, from putting their own upper stage on top of Super Booster, to coming up with a shortened Starship with no payload bay at all, as a re-usable second stage that gets a completely separate payload stuck to its nose. They’d even be doodling on using a 12 or 15-meter diameter LH2/LOX stage as a corn-dog atop the Super Booster.
But they likely can’t do any of that, at least not in public, or it would be used to show they had no faith in continuing with the SLS.
The only thing I disagree with, is the spacesuits. I think spacesuits should be dark red. That will make them easier to find on the Moon. Pat Rawling’s did some paintings of astronauts, wearing red spacesuits on the Moon.
So lets use red, instead of white. On Mars, lets use yellow, or green spacesuits. Never use red on Mars.
In space walks, use white. That is easier to find in space.
Congratulations Rand. Reading has commenced. I may have comments later after I’ve read it.
Somewhere around page 14, on the problems with an LH2/LOX first stage, a serious design flaw is that the volume for the same impulse, given the Shuttle ET tank diameter, means the SLS first stage has to be really really tall, which means the seconds stage and payload can’t be very tall or the rocket can’t fit under the VAB doors. That puts a pretty hard limit on the future growth potential of the SLS. It can really be the basis for a family of launch vehicles that have vastly more payload capability than the Block II. It can’t launch very large structures into LEO. The rocket was pretty much maxed out at conception. The most they could do is replace the SRBs with more capable liquid fueled boosters to try to stage later in the ascent.
With many rocket systems, a proponent can make the argument that the current capabilities may not seem like much, but the huge investment will pay off in massively increased performance down the road. That argument doesn’t really hold for SLS.
Have there been any rockets, outside of SpaceX, that actually delivered massively increased performance?
I remember reading an article maybe 30 years ago about the multiyear effort to find about 156 lbs. to trade for replacing the very problematic welded manifold on the SME with a heavier casting.
Delta, Atlas, and Titan’s performance kept growing, so much so that pretty much the only component they kept was the name.
If NASA was well run, they’d be doing scads of design studies on what they could do with Starship, from putting their own upper stage on top of Super Booster, to coming up with a shortened Starship with no payload bay at all, as a re-usable second stage that gets a completely separate payload stuck to its nose. They’d even be doodling on using a 12 or 15-meter diameter LH2/LOX stage as a corn-dog atop the Super Booster.
But they likely can’t do any of that, at least not in public, or it would be used to show they had no faith in continuing with the SLS.
Just make a new VAB, how much could it possibly cost? /s
The only thing I disagree with, is the spacesuits. I think spacesuits should be dark red. That will make them easier to find on the Moon. Pat Rawling’s did some paintings of astronauts, wearing red spacesuits on the Moon.
So lets use red, instead of white. On Mars, lets use yellow, or green spacesuits. Never use red on Mars.
In space walks, use white. That is easier to find in space.
The issue is not visibility, it’s reflecting heat instead of absorbing it.