Thread: CEV PDQ
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  #25  
Old May 9th 05, 07:03 PM
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Ed Kyle wrote:

Or NASA could do something remarkable and design
CEV to fly atop existing EELV assets.

....
It won't happen.


The astronaut corp apparently desperately hopes not. The hydrogen fire
on Delta IV scared the bejeesus out of everyone who saw it; DIV cannot
fulfill the CEV mission without solid-rocket strapons (up to 7, if
memory serves), thus negating the already dubious safety superiority to
solids; and the DIV has to fly an odd trajectory (due to structural
concerns) that means that there are points in the ascent when abort is
*not* survivable. Atlas V heavy is a bit of an unknown, but apprently
has a number of the same performance issues.