Replacements for Orion?

On 4/6/2010 6:21 AM, Jeff Findley wrote:

Spread the wealth...first you have Delta IV and Atlas V meeting the same
military requirement, now it's time to bring in ATK with a third design
for civilian use.
One too many pigs in the pork barrel.

No kidding. When the EELV costs started to rise (due partly to fewer than
expected payloads), there was serious talk about eliminating one of them.
Then NASA comes along and creates yet another launch vehicle in the same
payload class. Absolute stupidity macro-economically.

Oh, we _had_ to make both the Delta IV and Atlas V to assure a launch
capability in case something went wrong with one, like some sort of
mutant metal-eating bacteria got onto it.
That's the same reason we deployed both the Lockheed-Martin F-22 and
Northrop F-23 air superiority fighters; in case some sort of
composite-eating mutant termites got into one of the two aircraft.
Don't even get me started on the Joint Strike Fighter and the locust
infestation at the Boeing plant, or the plague of frogs at the
Lockheed-Martin plant.
If that wasn't a wake-up call, nothing was. ;-)

Pat

On 4/6/2010 2:05 PM, Brian Thorn wrote:
On Tue, 06 Apr 2010 06:45:01 -0800, Pat
wrote:

As to why they have their assembly site in Washington state and their
test area in Texas, rather than just put the whole works in Texas, is a
good question.

If you've been to West Texas, you wouldn't have to ask...

But those two tortoises, Kurt And Courtney, would be right at home.

Pat

"Pat Flannery" wrote in message
dakotatelephone...
On 4/6/2010 6:21 AM, Jeff Findley wrote:

Spread the wealth...first you have Delta IV and Atlas V meeting the
same
military requirement, now it's time to bring in ATK with a third design
for civilian use.
One too many pigs in the pork barrel.

No kidding. When the EELV costs started to rise (due partly to fewer
than
expected payloads), there was serious talk about eliminating one of
them.
Then NASA comes along and creates yet another launch vehicle in the same
payload class. Absolute stupidity macro-economically.

Oh, we _had_ to make both the Delta IV and Atlas V to assure a launch
capability in case something went wrong with one, like some sort of
mutant metal-eating bacteria got onto it.
That's the same reason we deployed both the Lockheed-Martin F-22 and
Northrop F-23 air superiority fighters;


We never *deployed* the YF-23; it was a bidding competition for the Advanced
Technology Fighter and the YF-22 won.
Just like the YF-16 won over the YF-17 in the 70's (although the YF-17
design was so good it came back as the F-18 Hornet).


in case some sort of
composite-eating mutant termites got into one of the two aircraft.
Don't even get me started on the Joint Strike Fighter and the locust
infestation at the Boeing plant, or the plague of frogs at the
Lockheed-Martin plant.
If that wasn't a wake-up call, nothing was. ;-)

Pat

On 4/21/2010 2:14 PM, Joseph S. Powell, III wrote:
"Pat wrote in message
dakotatelephone...
On 4/6/2010 6:21 AM, Jeff Findley wrote:

Spread the wealth...first you have Delta IV and Atlas V meeting the
same
military requirement, now it's time to bring in ATK with a third design
for civilian use.
One too many pigs in the pork barrel.

No kidding. When the EELV costs started to rise (due partly to fewer
than
expected payloads), there was serious talk about eliminating one of
them.
Then NASA comes along and creates yet another launch vehicle in the same
payload class. Absolute stupidity macro-economically.

Oh, we _had_ to make both the Delta IV and Atlas V to assure a launch
capability in case something went wrong with one, like some sort of
mutant metal-eating bacteria got onto it.
That's the same reason we deployed both the Lockheed-Martin F-22 and
Northrop F-23 air superiority fighters;


We never *deployed* the YF-23;

That was a joke.
I was pointing out that we would have deployed both if we had been using
the same sort of approach to the ATF that we did for Atlas-V/Delta-IV Heavy.
It would have been interesting if the ATB program had gotten as far as a
fly-off between the Northrop and Lockheed candidates, as Lockheed's
Senior Peg was a pretty wild looking design in its own right:
http://files.abovetopsecret.com/uplo...SENIOR_PEG.jpg
http://www.dreamlandresort.com/black...enior_peg.html

Pat