Rutan: NASA Needs New Von Braun

Burt Rutan visited Marshall Space Flight Center recently,
where he said that NASA needs another Wernher von Braun.

"http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/2864191"

NASA acquired von Braun's hands-on group from the Army
when the agency was created. NASA then proceeded to
gradually turn von Braun's group from an active R&D lab
into a paper-pusher outfit - but it remained effective
as a contract oversite group because it had far more
rocketry expertise than any potential contractor.

Today, NASA has no expertise at such a level - Rutan is
right about this.

But where could NASA find such expertise? Where could
it find a real hands-on von Braun/Korolev-style chief
engineer/project manager who has designed and built
rocket engines and rockets - and launched them too? Not
Lockheed Martin, which gets its engines from Russia. Not
Boeing, which is accused of stealing some of it's ideas
from Lockheed and is emeshed in the resulting scandal.
Maybe someone from Krunichev or TsSKB Progress in Russia?
How about Rutan himself?

- Ed Kyle

Burt Rutan visited Marshall Space Flight Center recently,
where he said that NASA needs another Wernher von Braun.

"NASA needs another nazi turncoat"
doesn't look good in print.

He could have said it more politely.

October 25, 2004

wrote:

How about Rutan himself?

Very funny. He doesn't build engines.

I'll volunteer. It would help if we had an actual engine program. All we
have right now is the Integrated Powerhead Demonstrator.

http://www.aero.org/publications/cro...er2004/03.html

Of course, there are also two upper stage pseudo programs, the MB-50/60
and the RL-50/60.

What we did have was an SLI, with two engines in the queue : the Cobra
and RS-83, but it got canceled in favor of vaporware, the OSP and CEV,
to be launched on nonexistent EELV Heavies.

We need to reverse that trend, and accelerate the IPD, up the thrust
levels to 650/750 klbs. and get ourselves some fast turnaround channel
wall nozzle technology, and then use the shuttle to return SSTO
demonstrator engines from LEO, and get ourselves into cryogenic tank
retrofit development. Once we retire the shuttle, we also need to use
our SSME assets for SSTO development. We also need to get a small
capsule on the Delta IV Medium ASAP, man rate the pad and the booster,
and think about setting up another man rated pad at SLC-37A.

It's really very simple, once you make the necessary commitments.

I've made that commitment, long ago.

Thomas Lee Elifritz
http://elifritz.members.atlantic.net






- Ed Kyle

OK, there's a picture. So *why*? ??

Is America a space-faring culture and country? If it's not, then how
would you make it one?

Note from recent TV: America is the most Christian of all the
industrialized countries. ...Could that tell you something?

Cheers -- Martha Adams

a écrit dans le message :
...
snip
But where could NASA find such expertise? Where could
it find a real hands-on von Braun/Korolev-style chief
engineer/project manager who has designed and built
rocket engines and rockets - and launched them too? Not

How about SNECMA?

Lockheed Martin, which gets its engines from Russia. Not
Boeing, which is accused of stealing some of it's ideas
from Lockheed and is emeshed in the resulting scandal.
Maybe someone from Krunichev or TsSKB Progress in Russia?
How about Rutan himself?

- Ed Kyle

October 25, 2004

Martha H Adams wrote:

OK, there's a picture. So *why*? ??



Because America has become a country of scientific illiterates.

Is America a space-faring culture and country?


No, not only are we not a space faring nation, we are not a space faring
world, and we are not a solar powered nation, neither are we a solar
powered world. As not, the entire basis of human civilization is
fraudulent and corrupt.

If it's not, then how
would you make it one?



Scientific education and research, on a global cooperative international
scale.

Note from recent TV: America is the most Christian of all the
industrialized countries. ...Could that tell you something?



Religion is not science.

Thomas Lee Elifritz
http://elifritz.members.atlantic.net

October 25, 2005

HAESSIG Frédéric Pierre Tamatoa wrote:

a écrit dans le message :
. com...
snip


But where could NASA find such expertise? Where could
it find a real hands-on von Braun/Korolev-style chief
engineer/project manager who has designed and built
rocket engines and rockets - and launched them too? Not



How about SNECMA?



The Europeans have the same technical problems as US, total reliance on
hydrocarbon combustion and nuclear energy, the resulting global
pollution and greenhouse problems, nuclear proliferation and
international strife, and great big SRBs on a perfectly good launcher
core, with no manned capsule, and finally, an ISS that is not self
sufficient, and has no hydroponic plant growing modules.

Once the Europeans too acknowledge these problems, they too can begin to
work cooperatively towards the solutions, and those solutions involve
massive international research efforts in cryogenic space flight and
hydrogen oxygen electrocatalysis.

It's the corruption and fraudulence thing again, it always comes with
the oil and the nuclear power, inevitably resulting in a civilization
that is not truly space faring and solar powered, and thus not sustainable.

Thomas Lee Elifritz
http://elifritz.members.atlantic.net

(Martha H Adams) wrote in message ...
OK, there's a picture. So *why*? ??

Is America a space-faring culture and country? If it's not, then how
would you make it one?

Note from recent TV: America is the most Christian of all the
industrialized countries. ...Could that tell you something?

All it would take is to find a bunch of space-based 'savages" with
primitive weapsons and lots of gold and/or silver ;-)

/dps

wrote in message oups.com...
Burt Rutan visited Marshall Space Flight Center recently,
where he said that NASA needs another Wernher von Braun.

As a former employee of NACA and early NASA--
and as a worker in the space program before
Sputnik--I say what NASA needs is another
Hugh Dryden. The non-NASA world would then
be quite capable of doing what NASA has failed
to do and has basically precluded.

Best regards,
Len (Cormier)
PanAero, Inc.
(change x to len)
http://www.tour2space.com

Thomas Lee Elifritz wrote:


No, not only are we not a space faring nation, we are not a space faring
world, and we are not a solar powered nation, neither are we a solar
powered world. As not, the entire basis of human civilization is
fraudulent and corrupt.

Funny, I thought that basically all of the energy we use to survive does
initially come from solar power, e.g. plants...

~ Joshua