I agree with you absolutely Chris that we need a heavy lift vehicle and the Ares V can put some tons up for sure….but it is not perfect. I can see these flaws.

1. SRBs are not powerful enough. Monolithic SRB’s like Aerojet test fired in the 60’s are far better and would allow a vehicle with a lift-off thrust two to three times that of the Saturn V. Why settle for less? Because Utah needs the business? (ATK’s must be railed in, anything bigger like the aerojet solids are built in shipyards using submarine hull technology and barged to the cape).

2. No 2nd stage engine return module. The RS-68 is a great engine but we need a hydrogen engine in the same class as the F-1 that is reusable. They can re-enter with their own ablative heat shield.

3. Wet workshop. The most important part of the whole vehicle is the empty second stage tank; that is what you build spaceships out of.

I’m no partisan or fan of the Obama space plan. However, the realistic figures for Constellation put Orion/Ares-I in 2018/19 and going BEO at the middle/end of the 2020s. In other words, about the same time-line as the President’s proposals.

CxP, in its orthodox form, is so expensive that you literally couldn’t afford to do anything with it. That is why the President has missed a chance somewhat. There are options that could have brought the timeline to the ‘left’ somewhat without abandoning CxP, only the Ares Launch System. Instead he has chosen to put everything on ‘pause’ and, possibly, hope that someone comes up with some magical technology (or technologies) that makes it all faster and easier.

Falcon 9 has been ready to launch for weeks now. SpaceX is only waiting on USAF approval of the flight termination plan. SpaceX has no control over military officers’ schedules.

Don’t make stuff up.

“Naturally experienced managers in the profit-driven private sector corporate world know how critical sticking to schedules can be. Perhaps you don’t. Time is money.”

That’s why SpaceX is using a USAF range. Better to waste a few weeks’ time waiting on USAF launch approval than waste years and millions of dollars purchasing land for, getting permits for, and constructing a new range out of whole cloth.

“Of course if it constructed its own launch facilities like a truly private-enterprised company, AF clearences to launch from a taxpayer-funded, refurbished AF launch pad wouldn’t be a problem.”

This is an ignorant comment. If it wasn’t a USAF range, then the FAA would have jurisdiction and they’d be responsible for approving the flight termination plan. And again, SpaceX would have no control over FAA regulators’ schedules.

“But the best of luck to them whenever they finally start rocketing into the Space Age with all the thrill of a missile launch, circa 1958.”

Which is exactly the point. Boring, routine, ETO transportation should be a private sector function so government resources can focus on risky R&D that private sector investment won’t bear.

Think before you post.

If there are no major engineering or operational drawbacks (which there probably are regarding propellents, stability, consumables, etc.,) that would be an idea worth considering with a number of creative options. Probably a better fate than Buran. But then there’s that $28 million NASA can get for a used Orbiter. (Atlantis, built for 100 flights, only 32 made- low mileage, heater, radio blackwall tires-easy payments.)

I’m no expert but from what I know I’d say: “Er… no. Definately not.” The first big problem is the ET’s insulation. After a while, it starts shedding, creating a cloud of potentially hazardous debris. I’m pretty sure that the safety team would be wary of allowing such stuff near the ISS.

The next big problem is moving it with sufficient accuracy to be safe near the ISS. The ET doesn’t have any manoeuvring or attitude control system of its own, so an orbiter would have to act as a tug. I’m not sure if the orbiter’s flight control system could compensate for its dead weight and off-axis mass.

The final and fatal blow for this idea is that there is no way to get an ET-based cargo container into orbit unless you build a wide-body HLV and that would take three to five years, best case.