Re: Perhaps there's hope for NASA yet

In article <4261904c.13470540@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
Derek Lyons <fairwater@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>...Once station assembly is complete -- which
>>will be done with the shuttle -- there is no particular requirement for
>>single big lumps of station cargo.
>
>Of course we'll never want to build a second station.

The correct statement is: after the hash they made of the first one, of
course NASA will never be funded to build a second space station.

In any case, the right way to handle building a second station is to
include a *station-based* tug as part of the first load.

>>A modest manned spacecraft with a bit of cargo capacity and the ability
>>to fly cheaply and frequently could do an excellent job of station resupply.
>
>Unless we need to fly up any heavy components... Like a CMG.

Something like a CMG is not "heavy" in the sense of requiring a dedicated
Atlas V Heavy launch. Said modest manned spacecraft should be designed --
such designs have been done in the past -- to be able to trade off
passenger capacity for cargo capacity, with enough total payload mass to
carry the singlest largest item that might be needed for repair/resupply.
--
"Think outside the box -- the box isn't our friend." | Henry Spencer
-- George Herbert | henry@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
.

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