🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1989Dec19.172843.10529@utzoo.uucp> henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer) writes:
>In article <IA80024.89352200552@MAINE.BITNET> IA80024@MAINE.BITNET (Nicholas C. Hester) writes:
>>After reading the responses to my query on shuttle landings at KSC and the
>>use of Vandenburg for future launches, I was wondering about the possibility
>>of using Hawaii.  I had heard that it was up for consideration regarding the
>>launching of commercial vehicles and was wondering what the chance was of
>>building a new shuttle launch facility there...
>
>Roughly zero.  In some ways it is a better place to launch from, but the
>cost of building a new shuttle facility would be enormous, and I doubt very
>much that it could be justified.  I'd also expect some practical problems;...

Correct me if I'm wrong.....aren't the SRB segments sent to some place
other than KSC for refurbishing and repacking?  And aren't they sent
by rail?  I seem to recall that one of the constraints on the length
of the segment (and one of the arguments in favor of segmented SRBs)
was the requirement that they be carriable via freight train.

Such a processing facility would have to be built on the same island
as the launch facility to make Hawaii work.  And that seems to be a
bit of a steep start-up penalty.

		William LeFebvre
		Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
		Northwestern University
		<phil@eecs.nwu.edu>