Comments on: SpaceX EELV suit updates

By: DCSCA

DCSCA — Thu, 01 May 2014 10:37:54 +0000

SLS is a geo-political strategy for the United States. End of story.

By: BRC

BRC — Wed, 30 Apr 2014 17:48:41 +0000

Well, Orbital(-ATK) can certainly continue to proceed with developing its own crewed vehicle. But then begs the question as to whether the passengers would want to sit on top of a rocket that – if there’s a problem at ignition, but pre-lift off – can’t be shut off? Or worse, goes CATO Ka-boom?

By: Reality Bits

Reality Bits — Wed, 30 Apr 2014 05:55:44 +0000

Well, maybe OSC can salvage something out of the money poured down that rat hole.

By: Reality Bits

Reality Bits — Wed, 30 Apr 2014 05:53:33 +0000

Jean-Yves Le Gall said that the Europeans would spend millions of Euros to build an elegant engine with nine times the thrust, but the people from the California garages built a rocket with nine engines instead.

You can have the worlds most elegant design, but it could be unaffordable and difficult to manufacture. Simpler is better – KISS.

The N-1, a highly reliable rocket with no successful launches… The NK-33 was reworked into the AJ-26 by Aerojet which is what is actually flying.

Let’s look at the RD-180. So we know from ULA’s action that the RD-180 yearly production rate is around 4-5 engines (see the news story of RD-AMROSS now shipping the engines as soon as they are built). In the meantime how many engines are being built every year in Hawthorne? I believe they are now the largest manufacturer or rocket engines, by volume, on the planet. As soon as they can successfully get back a first stage the engineers are going to carefully study it and improve their designs. I bet they have done this with the Draco engines already.

By: E.P. Grondine

E.P. Grondine — Wed, 30 Apr 2014 00:38:51 +0000

Hi AW –

So instead of fixing the problem we waste $8 billion on ATK’s Ares 1.

By: Vladislaw

Vladislaw — Tue, 29 Apr 2014 22:12:58 +0000

I highly doubt that. I would rather sell you a disposable bic lighter, once a week, than a one time sale of a zippo lighter, where someone else gets to sell you the fuel for it.

By: Ben Russell-Gough

Ben Russell-Gough — Tue, 29 Apr 2014 21:45:46 +0000

Well, Orbital has its own crew vehicle in development. With Atlas-V politically iffy, Liberty or a modification thereof might find itself proposed as its LV.

By: Reality Bits

Reality Bits — Tue, 29 Apr 2014 20:10:52 +0000

Might we see some version of the Liberty pop up again maybe w/o the Ariane derived second stage?

Might we see a Castor 120 with strap-ons in an Ariane 6 configuration?

By: oldAtlas_Eguy

oldAtlas_Eguy — Tue, 29 Apr 2014 19:41:10 +0000

Actually IBM’s “mainframes” are multi MPU units all existing in a custimizable unit. A server cabinet equivelent. These computers have extra software and hardware over that of most server cabinets that hold PC blades to implement more task sharing and reliability switchover capabilities. So basiclly the PC revolution changed how IBM designs its “mainframes”.

As to the analogy it is appropriate because SpaceX is chalenging the status quo on capabilities and design.

By: Michael Listner

Michael Listner — Tue, 29 Apr 2014 18:49:17 +0000

Because the Russian engines are closed-looped and produce 25% more thrust than the open loop system the U.S. uses. Closed-loop engines are more difficult to engineer, but the Russians did it starting with the NK-33 for the N-1 and the current RD-180. A lot of U.S. engineers had to swallow their pride when they discovered how well-engineered the Russian engines were and the performance they had compared to their American counterparts.