Re: 1/288 scale Von Braun "Colliers" Ferry Rocket

Pat Flannery <flanner@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

By the time he did the Mars expedition articles the Ferry Rocket had
improved considerably in performance; the original 265 foot tall vehicle
had been replaced with one of 180 foot length, weighing only 2,820,000
pounds and generating 5,620,000 pounds thrust at liftoff.
By comparison, the Saturn V weighed 6,699,000 pounds, the Saturn 1B
1,300,220 pounds, and the failed Soviet N-1 Moon rocket (which actually
looked like von Braun's ferry rocket and had 30 engines in its first
stage) 6,029,000 pounds.

Theoretical vehicles, especially those done at a time when the
designer had almost no practical experience [1], always tend to be
lighter than the real thing turns out to be.

[1] Yes, Von Braun had experience in designing ballistic missile. No,
he had no real experience in estimating the weights of complex
payloads, or reusable reentry structures, etc... etc...

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

http://derekl1963.livejournal.com/

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