(Kieran A. Carroll) wrote:
That's where the modular concept for Apollo came from, since some
missions would need things that others wouldn't, and with a modular
concept you could keep what you needed from the basic concept
for a given mission, without having to carry along massive things you
didn't need.

The problem with this statement is... There is nothing modular about
the Apollo spacecraft. The CSM is a matched pair always and forever.

(The Apollo *program* was semi-modular, the Apollo *spacecraft* is
not. The two are often assumed to be the same because historically
the terms were used interchangeably. It's important to recognize that
the two terms are different and cover different, if overlapping,
ideas.)

The impression that Owen gave me was basically that these three files
(space station, Lunar mission and Mars mission) were developed to
similar levels by the engineering team, and used as lures by Gilruth
et al. to tempt Kennedy's administration into agreeing to some sort of
post-Mercury program.

So how does all this square with the known fact that the STG and NASA
senior management were caught utterly blindsided by Kennedy's
announcement of the lunar mission?

D.
--
Touch-twice life. Eat. Drink. Laugh.

-Resolved: To be more temperate in my postings.
Oct 5th, 2004 JDL