RocketGeekInFL
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- Joined
- Nov 22, 2013
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Smokin', smokin'
I wonder how those pontoons fair on re-entry? Are they Carbon-Carbon?
I wonder how those pontoons fair on re-entry? Are they Carbon-Carbon?
Highly interesting point George. That is giving me cause to re-examine some of my troubleshooting techniques.Not an LOL, but a an interesting realization of a flawed concept that sounded right to a lot of people (like "pendulum guidance" for rockets - fatally flawed).
They're atmospheric only. An SR-71 tow plane lifts them off the ground and brings them up to supersonic speeds. In a maneuver like air-to-air refueling, the Shuttle docks on to the pontoons during descent from orbit. It's a tricky maneuver, but worth it to expand the number of available landing surfaces.
I think that is very feasible. This certainly increases the number of places where the shuttle could land. Another thing of point, if their trajectory was off and they were going to come up short on the KSC, they could always have the pontoons on standby and then land in Lake O. I just wonder how challenging it would be to take the shuttle and then move it to KSC. Maybe that is were the OCISLY, barge originally came from?
Disney is in financial trouble, which is how we got here in the first place. Here's my take on both sides:Until Disney solves this problem by just buying Sony!!
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