🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <72527@cup.portal.com> BrianT@cup.portal.com (Brian Stuart Thorn) writes:

>  Space Shuttle is also the only system designed to be used repeatedly,

The design goal was to build a vehicle which would provide cheap, routine
access to space. Reusability was simply the method selected. Shuttle failed
all of its major objectives.

>  is the only system capable of returning very heavy payloads to Earth,

Considering that there are no heavy payloads to return to Earth, this
cannot be considered an advantage. Especially for the billions it costs
us.

>  Shuttle is also as much a technology demonstrator as it is a launch
>  system. 

Not according to NASA. To them Shuttle is *THE* Space Transportation
System. To them it is an operational vehicle.

>  That the technology proved to costly to replace the expendable
>  market is beside the point. 

Execpt that it's function WAS to replace expendables.

For a long time it even did replace expendables. That was because the
satellite makers found a bunch of suckers willing to fork over the
subsidies.

BTW, another accomplishment of Shuttle was to turn over 60% of the free
world launch market to Airiane. Funny how Shuttle supporters never
mention that one.

   Allen

-- 
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Allen W. Sherzer | "A great man is one who does nothing but leaves        |
|  aws@iti.org     |  nothing undone"                                       |
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