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To Boldly Go Where No One Has Gone Before
BenRG:
Re.: VentureStar. At the time of its cancellation, it was heading towards being a 2-stage design with a 'glide back' first stage. The key learning was that Single Stage to Orbit (SSTO) for large vehicles will need radical new materials and engine technologies. Ironically, thanks to this project and also Delta Clipper, we are closer to having these. Not there yet though.
GarandMarine:
--- Quote from: Gareth on 14 Nov 2014, 02:34 ---
--- Quote from: Akima on 14 Nov 2014, 00:31 ---
--- Quote from: mustang6172 on 13 Nov 2014, 21:29 ---Is Star Wars bad?
--- End quote ---
Bad science-fiction, yes.
--- End quote ---
Why? Is it not just soft science fiction?
--- End quote ---
Nope. Entirely different construction and build. Star Wars could be called fantasy, but most accurately, despite it's fantastic setting, Star Wars is a Myth Cycle. Quite literally the oldest form of story ever told. Star Trek actually is what one could call Soft Sci-fi for the most part because a fair amount of it's tech is not entirely plausible and/or unexplained, which is one qualifier for "soft" science fiction. The other qualifier is a focus on the soft sciences, the humanities, be they political, anthropology or sociology. Fahrenheit 451 and Orwell's 1984 could both be classed as Soft Sci Fi for their focuses on politics. The film District 9, with it's use of the medium to explore a variety of modern social and political themes would also be "soft". Star Trek floats between hard and soft and is an incredible piece of sci fi for it, with it's sheer scale, it's explored hundreds of thousands of themes and concepts, some of them a bit too often, all with a bright eye towards the future.
It's important to remember that the goal and purpose of Science Fiction is not to tell a story. It is to look at ourselves and our current state through the lens of the fantastic, and occasionally, to turn that lens on the grey mists of the future and based as we are now, speculate as to what might come.
While still telling a damn good story.
Kugai:
There was, at one stage, a proposed development for an Airborne Launch System for the Shuttle.
This consisted of a carrying craft that, like the 747 that transported the Shuttle around, would carry the Shuttle to the edge of space using a mix of Jet and Scramjet propulsion where it would release the Shuttle then return to base for it's next mission.
No discarded Booster Tank, no SRB's, just a large manned aircraft/lifting body that could, like the Shuttle, be used as an Airborne Launch Platform and return to Earth for reuse.
Grognard:
so what type of sci-fi would you consider the BOLO series to be?
especially considering it usually has an AI protagonist?
Torlek:
--- Quote from: Akima on 15 Nov 2014, 22:56 ---
--- Quote from: Kugai on 15 Nov 2014, 20:52 ---She was a One Stage to Orbit Lifting Body which would have dramatically cut the cost of operations.
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That is what they said about the Space Shuttle when it was at a similar state of development to the Venture Star. It is remarkable how cheap hypothetical spacecraft are to operate.
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The STS probably would have been able to deliver on a lot of the promises had the Air Force not pushed for a huge cross-range requirement and simultaneously pushed to keep titanium supplies from going towards the shuttle structure and heat shield. If the shuttle had had the metallic heat shield as originally envisioned Columbia wouldn't have happened and turn-around time would have been reduced a goodly amount. While they wouldn't have been able to reach the desired flight rate of multiple launches a week (Michoud couldn't produce that many tanks and ATK couldn't produce that many boosters, never mind stacking time in the VAB) for a couple of decades two or three launches a month would have been readily achievable.
The X-33 was a good idea that was killed by our grasp of materials science not being up to the challenge. Turns out composite structures like to de-laminate in the presence of liquid oxygen. I don't think we have a way around that one yet.
On the other hand, the DCX was never going to be able to deliver SSTO with any meaningful payload. There's no engines that are up to that challenge. The concept as a first stage, however, is perfectly sound. Hence why we see SpaceX planning to perform a first stage RTLS on their next Dragon flight. The future will be here soon.
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