🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1993Jan4.202421.11388@cs.ucf.edu> clarke@acme.ucf.edu (Thomas Clarke) writes:
>From: clarke@acme.ucf.edu (Thomas Clarke)
>Subject: Fabrication (was fast track failures)
>Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1993 20:24:21 GMT
>In article <1993Jan4.171213.11272@ke4zv.uucp> gary@ke4zv.uucp (Gary Coffman)  
>writes:
>> In article <ewright.725666125@convex.convex.com> ewright@convex.com (Edward  
>V. Wright) writes:
>> >
>> Most engineering *is* paperwork, or workstation work today. Otherwise
>> it's just tinkering on a wing and a prayer. You have to bend metal to
>> *test* your engineering, but bending metal *isn't* engineering. It's
>> fabrication done by tradesmen.
>
>I can't let this go by.  This is a common attitude in America.  It
>leads to low pay for production engineers and inefficient production
>methods etc. etc.  Result is the current economic morass with most 
>production going overseas.  
>
>I think engineering must consider how something is to be made.  The
>most elegant design is useless if it can't be manufactured.  
>Knowledge of what can be made is obtained by bending metal, or
>at least by interacting with those who do.
>
>This probably has nothing to do with space.  But then maybe it
>has a lot to do with why no really new space rocket designs have 
>come out in the last 30 years except for the star-crossed shuttle.
>--
>Thomas Clarke
>Institute for Simulation and Training, University of Central FL
>12424 Research Parkway, Suite 300, Orlando, FL 32826
>(407)658-5030, FAX: (407)658-5059, clarke@acme.ucf.edu
It has a lot to do with the manufacture and launching of ELVs.
The FSU have a highly automated system for the checkout and launching
of ELVs that has been used, for example, to launch payloads for growing 
crystals in a microgravity environment. This is probably the most cost 
effective system for such research presently available.

Because the FSU planners knew they were going to launch a large number of 
these vehicles it was worthwile for them to spend the time and money on
automation and reducing the cost of manufacture. When you have just a
few vehicles they can be built like Rolls Royces. Our problem is that
we do not have a consistent space policy with respect to the number
and types of launch vehicles. 

During the Reagan administration space policy was formulated by an
Inter Agency Group which had almost the same membership as the 
National Security Council. Under the Bush administration VP Quayle 
was in charge of space policy, and under the Clinton administration 
Gore may be in charge. There is no reason to believe that the Clinton
administration will follow the same policy as the Bush administration.