Interesting, considering that it has been nearly fifty years since an Atlas rocket was first used to loft a space capsule.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Back to the Future? Forward to the Past?
Boeing is using Atlas rockets for its new space capsule.
Interesting, considering that it has been nearly fifty years since an Atlas rocket was first used to loft a space capsule.
Interesting, considering that it has been nearly fifty years since an Atlas rocket was first used to loft a space capsule.
8 comments:
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I'm sure Boeing and every other American company is incapable of reaching, never mind surpassing, America's 1960s technology.
ReplyDeleteThat was a different country. Same name, but different spirit, philosophy, leadership...
They were troglodytes, socially speaking, but they could literally put a man on the moon.
It's not your father or grand fathers Atlas. The old Atlas D could get around 4000 pounds into LEO. Low Earth Orbit. The Atlas III could get 23,630 pounds into LEO, and the Atlas 5 can chunk a max of 64,860 pounds into LEO. Other than the name the only other common element is the balloon tank design.
ReplyDeleteGeeze, Nagleator. Things aren't that bad, and I'm pretty sure Boeing and lots of other American companies are capable of surpassing 1960's technology. Electronics, computers (my industry), aeronautics and lots of other companies have made juuust a bit of progress since 1969.
ReplyDeleteEconomically, we're going to go through a rough patch getting past peak oil starvation. Things are going to get better... eventually. I hope I live long enough to see it.
I'm grumpy sometimes, Sarah. Catch me on a better day.
ReplyDeleteI also think the tapering off of petroleum supplies might mean the death of billions, depending upon how sharply it falls off. Or is made to fall off.
Uhm, Sarah, the Atlas V is powered by Russian engines, basically half-scale versions of the Energia engines the Soviets designed for launching their clone of our Space Shuttle. Maybe Americans can design and build rocket engines of that size still, but there's no evidence of that.
ReplyDeleteWe can still design and build computers and cars and jet airplanes. Well, parts of jet airplanes (Boeing's new Dreamliner is being built all over the world, only final assembly is in the USA). But the big stuff appears behind us. We can't even build bridges anymore -- you know the new spans of the San Francisco Bay Bridge that is going up in California? They floated their way across the ocean from... uhm... CHINA. 'Cause we can't build things like that here in America anymore.
'Nuff said.
- Badtux the Gloomy Penguin
When NASA, decide back in the eighties that the Shuttle was to be the ONLY program along with Air Force pulled the plug on the Expendable Launch Vehicle program, the companies that got creamed were the engine manufactures, Aerojet, and Rocketdyne,since not only were their R&D programs destroyed, they also had no one buying the engines they could produce. When the powers that be realized via the loss of Challenger, that they were screwed, and restarted the ELV programs, this time without redesigned engines they had to go else where for the engines. That and Russian lower labor costs are why we now have Russian Engines in the Atlas.
ReplyDeleteSimilar concerns about loss of expertise are some of the reasons why the Navy is trying to get the design work funded for the follow-on to the Ohio class. If they don't keep the designers gainfully employed, then that skill will evaporate.
ReplyDeleteThe Brits have the same problem; they've pissed away their ability to design subs.
"Use it or lose it."
Good points, esp. about the Russian kerosene/O2 RD-180. I was just reacting to Nangleator's gloom about "every American company".
ReplyDelete