Re: DIY space transport

Charles Buckley wrote:
> George William Herbert wrote:
> > Pete Lynn <pete@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >
> >>Even this seems to assume an inflexible pre-furnished module approach,
> >>not a bare shell approach that one then moves furnishings into. Kind of
> >>like buying a fully furnished caravan and then trying to attach it as
> >>one unit onto the side of a house, instead of buying a shell of a room
> >>and then adding light weight furnishings to taste.
> >
> >
> > The issue here is that the shell, structure, and hatches are
> > a small fraction of the total weight. Most of the weight is
> > systems and payload.
> >
>
> On the other side of that is the issue that most of the volume
> in the modules is air. Not shell, structure, hatches, systems,
> and payload. I seem to recall that volume constraints tend to
> drive launch vehicle choice as much as mass issues.
>
....snip....

I agree that size--almost as much as mass--has been an important
driver for launch vehcile design. That is, up to recently.
With our later concepts such as Space Van 2008, Space Van 2009,
and Windjammer 2010, size has been much less a driver. This is
due to our recent emphasis on very low wing loading ascent, as
well as reentry. This leads to relatively large vehicles that
are less sensitive to payload dimensions. I feel that this is
one of the main advantages of the very low wing loading approach.

Best regards,
Len (Cormier)
PanAero, Inc.
x@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx (change x to len)
http://www.tour2space.com

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: DIY space transport
    ... not a bare shell approach that one ... >> room and then adding light weight furnishings to taste. ... > systems and payload. ... development money on dead end Apollo style habitat modules. ...
    (sci.space.policy)
  • Re: DIY space transport
    ... > ago that argued that only large module space stations are ... not a bare shell approach that one then moves furnishings into. ... Why is furnishing a bare habitat shell in space such an onerous task ...
    (sci.space.policy)
  • Re: DIY space transport
    ... >not a bare shell approach that one then moves furnishings into. ... >one unit onto the side of a house, instead of buying a shell of a room ... Even if we do reduce the cost of astronaut-hours in space, ...
    (sci.space.policy)
  • Re: DIY space transport
    ... Kind of like buying a fully furnished caravan and then trying to attach it as one unit onto the side of a house, instead of buying a shell of a room and then adding light weight furnishings to taste. ... Not shell, structure, hatches, systems, and payload. ... It is not cost effective, considering nearterm likely orbital manpower costs, to fit out modules on orbit. ...
    (sci.space.policy)
  • Re: The Dora Cannon
    ... but there's no point comparing payload with the weight of shell of ... can be left behind means more payload for fuel or bombs. ...
    (soc.history.war.world-war-ii)