"jonathan" wrote in message
...

"Brian Thorn" wrote in message
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On Sun, 18 Jan 2009 22:50:31 -0500, "jonathan"
wrote:


You'd put people on top of a delta heavy???

Are you nuts?

Why not? Delta IV's only failure so far was an underperformance that
would have been easily compensated for by the Orion SM propulsion.
Seems hugely more sensible to me than riding on top of a "shake,
rattle and roll" Ares I.

That may be, but the first launch I watched of the big delta, the only
thought going through my head.....'not for all the tea in China would
I ever get on top of that'!

I'll settle for the Disney experience and some imagination~

No one asked you to get on top. If astronauts ever ride on top, they'll
have the benefit of a launch escape system, just in case something does go
wrong.

Still, if I had to pick Delta IV or Ares I, I'd pick Delta IV since it has
more of a track record than Ares I. That and I'd rather ride on top of a
launch vehicle *without* large segmented solids.

Jeff
--
"Many things that were acceptable in 1958 are no longer acceptable today.
My own standards have changed too." -- Freeman Dyson