🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1993Jan4.180947.20495@iti.org> aws@iti.org (Allen W. Sherzer) writes:
>In article <1993Jan4.154842.13841@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU> rbw3q@rayleigh.mech.Virginia.EDU (Brad Whitehurst) writes:
>
>>	If men are part of the payload, the Shuttle is (currently) the
>>only way to fly! 
>
>I think if you consult the Russians they can show you the error in
>this statement.
>
>BTW, the team evaluating Soyuz has finished its work. They concluded that
>there is no reason Soyuz couldn't be used as ACRV. It should also be
>possible to use Soyuz on an Atlas or Titan for US manned space.
>
	Come on, Allen, don't get even more retentive on us!  The
realistic chance of significant U.S. manned presence in orbit in
Russian hardware in the next few years is miniscule.  Political as
well as practical considerations dictate that.  (e.g.: national
security concerns, power systems, space for people & gear, interface
problems, scheduling, etc....  As a practical matter, I'd be willing
to bet that even moderate effort on a reusable SSTO (DC or otherwise)
could be available within a year or so of the time frame it would take
to convert our manned space program from Shuttle to Soyuz.  It's not
just Spam-in-a-can, as you've pointed out before...they've got to be
able to do useful work once they get there.  Would everything go to
Russia for launch, and depend on an uncertain foreign infrastructure,
or convert part of Canaveral to launch Russian rockets?  Convert our
command, control, and communications on the ground, or refit the
Soyuz?  Can you get enough power and life support from Soyuz/Mir for
5-6 people + our experiments?  Etc., etc.,... I don't have time for an
exhaustive search of necessary systems.
	Flawed as it is, Shuttle is the only American (non-russian for
that matter) manned system.  There's little point in being
anti-Shuttle...rather, be pro-DC (or whatever).  Trying to dictate the
demise of the competition, rather than proving by doing, is what you
excoriate NASA for doing.
	BTW, I use the term "bet" above in the figurative sense.  I
don't want the usual set of juvenile responses that I should put $X on
my supposition.  If you (plural...not necessarily Allen) can't deal
with idiomatic American English (esp. if it is your native tongue),
too bad.  Go crawl back into your workstation.
(FLOoomp....flame off.  Sorry about that but the last time the "bet"
word came up, the silliness went ad inifitum.)
-- 

Brad Whitehurst    |   Aerospace Research Lab
rbw3q@Virginia.EDU |   We like it hot...and fast.