tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.comments2024-03-21T08:00:48.696-07:00No Shortage of DreamsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1229125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.post-7504321749860521472023-10-23T03:41:39.197-07:002023-10-23T03:41:39.197-07:00The diameter of Skylab was 6.6 meters.
Perhaps thi...<br />The diameter of Skylab was 6.6 meters.<br />Perhaps this station was planned instead of the third stage of "Saturn-5"<br />Мухаhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08029077184464480506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.post-210419345411399122023-09-02T23:14:53.620-07:002023-09-02T23:14:53.620-07:00What could have been
https://www.americaspace.com/...What could have been<br />https://www.americaspace.com/2023/08/28/lost-moon-reconstructing-the-missions-of-apollos-18-19-and-20-part-1/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.post-84068578988376608922023-08-01T09:24:16.184-07:002023-08-01T09:24:16.184-07:00The early intent (at least as stated) of AAP was t...The early intent (at least as stated) of AAP was to form a bridge to "the next big program." The next program was generally envisioned as a large space station or humans on Mars (less often, a lunar base). Of course, motives behind AAP were probably more to do with keeping the Apollo industrial infrastructure and jobs that attended it in place. Not that different from post-Shuttle, in David S. F. Portreehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15818906581595028816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.post-44921179392079818132023-07-19T10:04:38.845-07:002023-07-19T10:04:38.845-07:00I'd think this change in opinion is probably d...I'd think this change in opinion is probably due to the large increase in alt-history with website's like alt-history.com, and how many of the space related stories on them are based on the AAP being funded much more heavily, or just the shuttle in of itself not being funded (Eye's Turned Skyward being the main one). However, I'd say the majority of these stories are more wishful Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.post-17114238961596798452023-06-15T16:52:50.772-07:002023-06-15T16:52:50.772-07:00Hi, A: It's refreshing that you say this. Not ...Hi, A: It's refreshing that you say this. Not so many years ago the Shuttle was the ultimate spacecraft because it was what people were used to. Now I don't see too much criticism when I say the Apollo Applications Program (which became Skylab and the J-class Apollos) was the right way to go. dsfpDavid S. F. Portreehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15818906581595028816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.post-8593249632429188662023-06-06T10:19:12.232-07:002023-06-06T10:19:12.232-07:00I liked those interim plans, during the transition...I liked those interim plans, during the transition between Apollo and Shuttle. All the Skylab and Soyuz what-if. A pity CSM-115 & 119 couldn't be flown, but NASA HSF had not only be pared to the bones, the Shuttle sucked every few dollars like a black hole. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.post-45981892177442302152023-03-23T11:56:46.748-07:002023-03-23T11:56:46.748-07:00I saw a JPL documentary about the Viking program a...I saw a JPL documentary about the Viking program and it had an exchange between President Ford and the program manager at JPL where Ford asked if there are other Vikings to land. Nice to see that indeed there were.ikokkinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.post-77815057409490707502023-03-18T23:54:29.457-07:002023-03-18T23:54:29.457-07:00Scott Lowther has a whole series called:
“Possibil...Scott Lowther has a whole series called:<br />“Possibilities of New Business Growth”<br /> from Rockwell. Here is one:<br /><br />https://up-ship.com/blog/?p=45219Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.post-65563174018794983382023-03-12T09:23:48.629-07:002023-03-12T09:23:48.629-07:00A: Thanks for the citation! Folks have pointed me ...A: Thanks for the citation! Folks have pointed me to that paper a few times in the past — I think it's good as far as it goes but lacks details (and, as you note, sometimes adequate citations). Of course it stands out because its authors studied the concepts it describes. dsfpDavid S. F. Portreehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15818906581595028816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.post-17255701804640543442023-03-11T10:24:59.252-07:002023-03-11T10:24:59.252-07:00Speaking of that:
https://www.aiaa.org/docs/defaul...Speaking of that:<br />https://www.aiaa.org/docs/default-source/uploadedfiles/about-aiaa/history-and-heritage/shuttlevariationsfinalaiaa.pdf?sfvrsn=b8875e90_0<br /><br />An engineless orbiter like Buran was looked at---as you can see on page 9, Figure 21, but no footnote was given. I haven't been able to track down that MSFC study----lots of goodies there on that site. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.post-27220619973223683862023-03-07T14:00:05.186-07:002023-03-07T14:00:05.186-07:00A: My post states that the camera switch was on hi...A: My post states that the camera switch was on his thigh, not the camera. Leonov's story changed a lot over the years. His September 1965 Athens paper was the official version of events for a long time — that's what the first part of my post is based on. Then, starting about 1990, Soviet and Russian writers and Leonov came clean about how perilous his spacewalk was. That's what the David S. F. Portreehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15818906581595028816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.post-91315191124670775002023-03-06T22:09:05.659-07:002023-03-06T22:09:05.659-07:00Leonov's camera was not on his thigh. It was ...Leonov's camera was not on his thigh. It was on his chest. You can see it in the spacewalk film. Also, in Leonov's book about the spacewalk "I Walk in Space" (English translation) the camera figures prominently on his spacesuit--on his chest. I think the ex-Soviets haven't come clean about this particular episode (about the camera) either. It may have been he did take Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.post-51958629065104076762023-03-06T08:52:07.293-07:002023-03-06T08:52:07.293-07:00A: Oh, yes, of that I am aware. My post is about S...A: Oh, yes, of that I am aware. My post is about Shuttle ETs, however, and though SLS hardware is a largely derivative of the ET, it's operationally different — I doubt we'll ever see the Shuttle ET and its related operational exploitation approaches make a comeback. I do history, which often has lessons for the present and future — when I state in my post that Shuttle ET exploitation David S. F. Portreehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15818906581595028816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.post-12018619446423122212023-03-05T23:45:08.101-07:002023-03-05T23:45:08.101-07:00Some still look at wet workshops
https://arstechn...Some still look at wet workshops <br />https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/10/can-a-robot-cut-metal-in-space-we-may-find-out-next-year/?comments=1Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.post-45327959942865193032023-03-05T00:46:27.704-07:002023-03-05T00:46:27.704-07:00Not everyone has abandoned wet workshop concepts:
...Not everyone has abandoned wet workshop concepts:<br />https://www.thespaceshow.com/show/14-dec-2021/broadcast-3801-gene-meyers<br /><br />Now what many do not know is that the SLS core-block of Artemis I had an apogee of 1,800 kilometers!<br /><br />See this website:<br /><br />https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2023/02/artemis-1-flight-software/<br /><br />Scroll down and you will see the largest Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.post-36437979889841953782023-03-03T11:57:10.678-07:002023-03-03T11:57:10.678-07:00Tom: I wondered about that, too. There's nothi...Tom: I wondered about that, too. There's nothing in the documentation that discusses the layout of the big 16-person LH2 tank habitat. I think that it was seen mostly as a "gee-whiz!" concept — do-able, but grandiose enough that they'd leave fleshing it out until later. It's also quite possible that the drawing is an artist's concept meant to convey how nifty the conceptDavid S. F. Portreehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15818906581595028816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.post-26208113931829905352023-03-03T11:46:56.100-07:002023-03-03T11:46:56.100-07:00F: It's even weirder than that — originally tr...F: It's even weirder than that — originally trusses were to have been built by hand in space and the various subsystems attached to them (for example radiators and solar arrays) added in orbit. Only after it became clear in 1990-1991 that the amount of EVA time required to do that would be downright impossible did they shift over to pre-assembled/integrated trusses. The horizontal truss was David S. F. Portreehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15818906581595028816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.post-41885950947277143292023-03-03T03:08:51.767-07:002023-03-03T03:08:51.767-07:00It's interesting that all the designs for habi...It's interesting that all the designs for habitable areas look almost as if they were designed to operate in gravity, with distinct floors, separated into rooms. Whereas the ISS has turned out to be much more "3D", with basically open cylindrical modules, where every surface is used.<br />I wonder if this was due to NASA (and other agencies) gaining more experience of working in Tomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.post-43826216069070364672023-03-03T01:31:36.492-07:002023-03-03T01:31:36.492-07:00Why did NASA want the truss-based systems even aft...Why did NASA want the truss-based systems even after it became clear they would never get funding for the dual-keel Freedom station? <br />Seems like they could have saved money vs what it was in our timeline in terms of Shuttle launches and EVAs.Fredinnonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.post-82027322576220220202023-02-24T19:19:26.025-07:002023-02-24T19:19:26.025-07:00Absolutely. I can imagine it getting caught on bou...Absolutely. I can imagine it getting caught on boulders or even being driven over. I think this study is a first cut at a large rover. dsfpDavid S. F. Portreehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15818906581595028816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.post-33355337625529886172023-02-23T08:12:16.915-07:002023-02-23T08:12:16.915-07:00That bit, "It would supply 50 kilowatts of el...That bit, "It would supply 50 kilowatts of electricity to the piloted rover either through a long durable cable or through ..." brings to mind the number of articles seen relating how destructively abrasive the grains of moon dirt, technical name regolith, are. Would have to be a remarkably durable cable to stand up to being drug many kilometers across that destructive dirt.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.post-63231425690690702332023-02-21T20:35:20.593-07:002023-02-21T20:35:20.593-07:00It was meant to fly on a Saturn V-B with undefined...It was meant to fly on a Saturn V-B with undefined capabilities. The FLO launcher, assumed to be available by 1999 at the time the Nomad Explorer scenario was proposed (1992), was meant to put ~35 tonnes on the Moon. So the VLTV mass by itself isn't impossible. The FLO habitat lander shroud would just about have worked if the VLTV's front end were pointed upward. Of course, there might beDavid S. F. Portreehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15818906581595028816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.post-64522531296011472902023-02-21T16:21:13.196-07:002023-02-21T16:21:13.196-07:00The VLTV is quite large; would a Saturn V be able ...The VLTV is quite large; would a Saturn V be able to launch it into orbit as a single piece, or would it have required assembly in orbit? Also wondering about how it was going to land at the moon end. And would the power cart have been sent on a separate trip?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.post-77066765369487681832023-01-28T13:06:55.137-07:002023-01-28T13:06:55.137-07:00That's a really good observation. I actually d...That's a really good observation. I actually discuss this in the post — it's a brief mention. According to the study authors, the Venusian atmosphere will protect a floating settlement at an altitude of 50 km above the surface. The radiation level there should be the same as the radiation level on the surface of Earth. dsfpDavid S. F. Portreehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15818906581595028816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.post-55598878159109912422023-01-27T21:52:52.590-07:002023-01-27T21:52:52.590-07:00Just saw this excellent article. What a cool idea!...Just saw this excellent article. What a cool idea! <br /><br />One big issue I didn’t see mentioned is that since Venus has no magnetic field, wouldn’t potential colonists be exposed to much higher levels of cosmic and solar radiation? If so, wouldn’t the floating cities need to be heavily shielded?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com