Re: mass limits on large manned capsules?

Dale <drc@xxxxxx> wrote:

On 24 Jun 2006 22:44:56 -0700, "Carsten Nielsen" <carsten_niel@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

A question: Could you make a capsule in two sections, and use the LES
on the top section only ?

In effect you're suggesting an "escape pod". Seems reasonable to me for
emergencies early in ascent. There would be a weight penalty, of course,
as the upper section would need to not only be structurally separate from
the lower, but there would also need to be airtight hatches between the
two sections. But the concept seems to lend itself better to a conical capsule
than it does to a shuttle-like design.

I can see a conical 'command/escape pod' on top of a conical 'services
pod'. (I.E. the first is the top portion of the cone, the second the
lower.) No need at all for hatches between them - just cable/piping
as in the Gemini and Apollo.

The real problem is going to be weight - as both will require a
heatshield. (And the parachutes, of necessity carried in the upper,
will have to be sized for the full stack - making them overlarge for
an abort scenario.)

D.
--
Touch-twice life. Eat. Drink. Laugh.

-Resolved: To be more temperate in my postings.
Oct 5th, 2004 JDL
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