Tuesday, August 4, 2020

Like a hockey puck with arms


7 comments:

  1. Looks rather like the EVA vehicles in "2001, A SPACE ODYSSEY."

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  2. I always thought the EVA suits in Arthur C. Clarke's _Islands in the Sky_ made more sense than current designs, or these crew-pods: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/fb/53/08/fb53086807ed79cb86af87de8f245caa.jpg.

    Basically a person space-ship without legs (just a long cylinder). The only joints one need worry about are in the arms.

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    1. Arthur C. Clarke based those on NASA designs for space station and space installations.

      The US Army designed on in the 50's.

      It's not a new idea.

      And... NASA has been talking about making one. Of course, NASA has been talking about doing a lot of stuff, and never actually does it.

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  3. "Open the pod bay door, Hal"...

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    1. This is part of the huge engineering mission in the late 60's to figure out what to do after the Moon.

      The tug is a 2 decker, top is controls and computer, lower is living quarters and stores, fuel is stored between the inner and outer hulls. A good writeup on various designs is found... here - http://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/spacetug.php

      All of this, nuclear powered and propelled ships, tugs, orbital spin stations made of sections of rocket stages (either vented and cleaned, or purpose-built like Skylab,) lunar bases (both surface structures and buried (like in 2001: A Space Odyssey) and so much more.

      So much... thrown away, lost, destroyed, forgotten, put off.

      The whole enhanced Saturn line, that makes the Space Launch System look positively weak, including one that could theoretically lift 500kt to orbit!

      I want the space program we were promised in the 60's! Why is it only Elon seems to be able to get his shtuff together?

      Wahhhh...

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    2. You & me both, Beans. I thought I'd be vacationing on the Moon, or Mars, by this time!

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