Re: SPACE: Loss of the Saturn V

From: Jeff Davis (jrd1415@yahoo.com)
Date: Sat Sep 06 2003 - 18:42:52 MDT

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    --- Charlie Stross <charlie@antipope.org> wrote:

    >... the question "where do we go tomorrow?"
    > isn't answered by resurrecting a forty-year-old
    > design.)

    Watching this thread, I can't help but think that it's
    the thrill the space program had for us as kids that
    prompts this longing for the glories of the past.

    Ah, yes, it was a thrilling time. But if resurrecting
    a Big Dumb Booster has any practical use, the Energia
    or Proton would seem, in my less-than-expert opinion,
    the way to go. Big, reliable, modern(if low tech),
    KISS certified, and ***cheap***, as in Russian labor.

    Having acknowledged the wisdom of not throwing away an
    oldie but a goodie, recall that we're forward-thinking
    types. On which note, consider my proposal: put Burt
    Rutan in charge. "In charge of what, exactly?" you
    say. "Whatcha got?" I reply, adding, "NASA, for
    starts."

    That guy is light years ahead of the rest. Imagine
    what he could do with some serious funding.

    I'm just the idea guy, I'll leave the implementation
    to youse all. Make it so.

    Best, Jeff Davis

    "When I am working on a problem I never think about
    beauty. I only think about how to solve the problem.
    But when I have finished, if the solution is not
    beautiful, I know it is wrong."
                          - Buckminster Fuller

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