New Boeing Orbital Space plane design a capsule?

On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 11:44:09 GMT, in a place far, far away, "Dholmes"
made the phosphor on my monitor glow in such a
way as to indicate that:

While trying to do research on the OSP I stumbled across four new
picturesreleased on 7-21-2003 by Boeing at
http://boeingmedia.com/photoreleases/index.cfm .

The four pictures are :

http://boeingmedia.com/images/one.cf...7193&release=t

http://boeingmedia.com/images/one.cf...7192&release=t

http://boeingmedia.com/images/one.cf...7195&release=t

http://boeingmedia.com/images/one.cf...7196&release=t


Anyone know what is going on?

Has Boeing swithced to a capsule design?

I'm sure they must at least be considering at least one in parallel.
They're presumably still doing trade studies.

--
simberg.interglobal.org * 310 372-7963 (CA) 307 739-1296 (Jackson Hole)
interglobal space lines * 307 733-1715 (Fax) http://www.interglobal.org

"Extraordinary launch vehicles require extraordinary markets..."
Swap the first . and @ and throw out the ".trash" to email me.
Here's my email address for autospammers:

"Rand Simberg" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 11:44:09 GMT, in a place far, far away, "Dholmes"
made the phosphor on my monitor glow in such a
way as to indicate that:

While trying to do research on the OSP I stumbled across four new
picturesreleased on 7-21-2003 by Boeing at
http://boeingmedia.com/photoreleases/index.cfm .

The four pictures are :

http://boeingmedia.com/images/one.cf...7193&release=t

http://boeingmedia.com/images/one.cf...7192&release=t

http://boeingmedia.com/images/one.cf...7195&release=t

http://boeingmedia.com/images/one.cf...7196&release=t


Anyone know what is going on?

Has Boeing swithced to a capsule design?

I'm sure they must at least be considering at least one in parallel.
They're presumably still doing trade studies.

Yup. Last I heard they had not downselected to one design. At this stage of
the competition I'd be surprised if any of the competitors actually showed
their design to the public. Seeing one on a website likely means it's been
rejected.

-Colonel K

On 17 Aug 2003 09:18:08 -0700, (Thomas J.
Frieling) wrote:

"Dholmes" wrote in message ...
While trying to do research on the OSP I stumbled across four new
picturesreleased on 7-21-2003 by Boeing at
http://boeingmedia.com/photoreleases/index.cfm .

The four pictures are :

http://boeingmedia.com/images/one.cf...7193&release=t

http://boeingmedia.com/images/one.cf...7192&release=t

http://boeingmedia.com/images/one.cf...7195&release=t

http://boeingmedia.com/images/one.cf...7196&release=t


Anyone know what is going on?

Has Boeing swithced to a capsule design?


Just what I've been telling you--Apollo is the way to go.

Reference: "Apollo Redux" Spaceflight magazine August 2003, p. 352. Check it out.

A space version of what goes round comes round?



Christopher
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Kites rise highest against
the wind - not with it."
Winston Churchill

Brian Thorn wrote:



http://boeingmedia.com/images/one.cf...7193&release=t

How will they do launch escape with that cargo module on the nose?

Brian

Yank it along with the crew module? That arrangement never worried
the Russians, who actually had to *use* it once. Presumably the Chinese
variant will be the same.

Brian Thorn wrote:
How will they do launch escape with that cargo module on the nose?

Looks to me like they might launch with the crew module up front
(probably with an escape tower covering it), and then dock with the
cargo module afterwards, but it's not completely clear.

Brian

Greg D. Moore (Strider) wrote:
"Ian Woollard" wrote in message
Looks to me like they might launch with the crew module up front
(probably with an escape tower covering it), and then dock with the
cargo module afterwards, but it's not completely clear.

Given the struts that they show, I doubt it. My guess is they'll launch
with it in place.

Yes, that's why I didn't find it particularly clear.

We're probably overanalysing it, (it may well be only half baked
anyway), but the forward cargo module looks pretty unaerodynamic (too
flat); and the second picture seems to show it launching without it.

Of course it'll make docking an interesting proposition. But the Russians
have done it for decades, so I don't expect it to be a major issue.

Less said about Russian docking the better ;-)

"Thomas J. Frieling" wrote in message
om...
"Dholmes" wrote in message
...
While trying to do research on the OSP I stumbled across four new
picturesreleased on 7-21-2003 by Boeing at
http://boeingmedia.com/photoreleases/index.cfm .

The four pictures are :

http://boeingmedia.com/images/one.cf...7193&release=t

http://boeingmedia.com/images/one.cf...7192&release=t

http://boeingmedia.com/images/one.cf...7195&release=t

http://boeingmedia.com/images/one.cf...7196&release=t


Anyone know what is going on?

Has Boeing swithced to a capsule design?


Just what I've been telling you--Apollo is the way to go.

Reference: "Apollo Redux" Spaceflight magazine August 2003, p. 352. Check
it out.

A capsule is a little lighter then a plane so it favors Boeing.

Boeing should be trying to keep the mass under 13 tons or over 20 tons
since they have nothing between those weights and Atlas does. A capsule
would probably be less the 10 tons and require only a 5,2.

"Brian Thorn" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 11:44:09 GMT, "Dholmes"
wrote:

While trying to do research on the OSP I stumbled across four new
picturesreleased on 7-21-2003 by Boeing at
http://boeingmedia.com/photoreleases/index.cfm .

The four pictures are :

http://boeingmedia.com/images/one.cf...7193&release=t

How will they do launch escape with that cargo module on the nose?

Brian

Since it only shows in one photo my guess is it is a docking system to be
added to the station when the first lifeboat is launched and not a regular
part of the system.

On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 23:44:12 GMT, "Dholmes"
wrote:


http://boeingmedia.com/images/one.cf...7193&release=t

How will they do launch escape with that cargo module on the nose?

Brian

Since it only shows in one photo my guess is it is a docking system to be
added to the station when the first lifeboat is launched and not a regular
part of the system.

The more I look at it, the more mysterious it seems. Note that this
module has its own RCS and those weird struts securing it to the CM.

What the heck is that thing?

Brian

On 17 Aug 2003 12:35:20 -0700, (ed kyle) wrote:

"Dholmes" wrote in message ...
While trying to do research on the OSP I stumbled across four new
picturesreleased on 7-21-2003 by Boeing at
http://boeingmedia.com/photoreleases/index.cfm .

The four pictures are :

http://boeingmedia.com/images/one.cf...7193&release=t

http://boeingmedia.com/images/one.cf...7192&release=t

http://boeingmedia.com/images/one.cf...7195&release=t

http://boeingmedia.com/images/one.cf...7196&release=t


How about that! Boeing's capsule design is based on Soyuz
(it has a forward orbital module)!

It could just as easily be launched below the CM and docked-with
later, a'la the ASTP docking module.

But those thrusters seem to make it more reminiscent of Shenzou than
Soyuz. Just what is that module for?

Brian