/sci/ - Science & Math

>>12583435
How about this one?

>>12235430
>computer tech wasn't good enough back then
>engines couldn't throttle
>still would be too expensive for nixon-era budget cuts
>nasa would still mess it up somehow

>>12208599
The idea has been explored, but the Shuttle put a stop to it since it was supposed to be the spacecraft to replace all others. Afterwards, the idea was never explored until ULA's SMART came along, probably because an expendable Atlas was so much cheaper than the Shuttle that reuse wasn't seen as necessary.

>>12018411
The number of possibilities the Shuttle have ended is disappointing.

>>11984430
My favorite of the Saturn equivalents to the Shuttle is the S-1D which is just an Atlas stage-and-a-half concept applied to the Saturn V's first stage.

>>11977591
Related concept except with a Saturn V first stage.

>>11893706
The Saturn I was a stop-gap rocket made from spare parts, and the new parts for it weren't made with reuse in mind. The H-1 engines in the first stage were single use only and couldn't be relit without refurbishment. The Saturn V was a rocket that was too big for most payloads after Apollo and was incredibly expensive (I've heard some rumors that the commonly quoted prices were low estimates). There's also the case of the rockets not having the basic design elements for reuse. The early Falcon 9 had the early traits for reusability such as the first stage being able to be relit and throttle down to very low thrusts. Neither Saturns could had those traits and more.

Add that with the notion that expendable and reusable rockets are so different that iterating an expendable rocket to be reusable would not be feasible, and that results in neither Saturn not being a viable candidate for reuse.

Dumping this "SSTO".

>>10853607

>>10842301
I wonder if that happens, then NASA may be reorganized to be more efficient. Seriously though, NASA needs one.

Pic unrelated.

I'll just repost this then.

In an attempt to bring spaceflight discussion back to /sfg/, here's one of my favorite Saturn derivatives. Not because it's practical, nor useful, but just the sheer coolness of it.

What science fiction universe is the least fictional, and what problems does it still have? What will actual armed spaceships look like? Are lasers actually any good as space weapons?

regards /k/

>>10688497
NASA drawing

Something interesting I found.
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