Hi, Guest
08-10-2005, 05:12 AM
too bad no human has ever flown on the Buran....
and until someone comes up with something that is better than the shuttle that actually flies, it's still the cutting edge of space flight.
The buran was just a stolen shuttle design with parts swapped out for whatever the ruskies couldn't figure out... can't figure out liquid fuel rockets? strap on a couple more solid boosters.
And while the Buran did have an initial carrying capacity greater than the shuttle, I don't believe that record held with the shuttle updates.... and many of the things people didn't like about the shuttle (the tiles) were still used on the buran.
about the only plus side of the Buran was the powered flight upon re-entry (no liquid fueled thrusters = room for jet engine) and an advanced (for it's time autopilot system).
We all know that the shuttles need to be updated, but as of this moment, they're the only game in town.. and sure, the russians are building more capsules, but they still don't have all the flexibiity that the shuttle has demonstrated througout the years.
so what are the choices that are better than the shuttle? russian space capsules with limited cargo capacity/reusability? the decaying corpse of a russian shuttle rippoff that hasn't seen an update since the assembly building roof fell on it?
face it, while the technology of the shuttle originated in the 70's, and, like any airframe, there is a life expectancy, the shuttle isn't as outdated as everyone seems to think it is. Do you honestly think they pilot the thing using 8088 CPUs?
about the only thing still 1970's on the shuttle is the airframe design itself.
it's like with a lot of things in aerospace, there's not a lot of new technology coming out that's much better than what was already there. There's no replacement for the concorde, and the f117 stealth fighter is a product of the 70's and 80's.... it doesn't make them any less impressive.
and until someone comes up with something that is better than the shuttle that actually flies, it's still the cutting edge of space flight.
The buran was just a stolen shuttle design with parts swapped out for whatever the ruskies couldn't figure out... can't figure out liquid fuel rockets? strap on a couple more solid boosters.
And while the Buran did have an initial carrying capacity greater than the shuttle, I don't believe that record held with the shuttle updates.... and many of the things people didn't like about the shuttle (the tiles) were still used on the buran.
about the only plus side of the Buran was the powered flight upon re-entry (no liquid fueled thrusters = room for jet engine) and an advanced (for it's time autopilot system).
We all know that the shuttles need to be updated, but as of this moment, they're the only game in town.. and sure, the russians are building more capsules, but they still don't have all the flexibiity that the shuttle has demonstrated througout the years.
so what are the choices that are better than the shuttle? russian space capsules with limited cargo capacity/reusability? the decaying corpse of a russian shuttle rippoff that hasn't seen an update since the assembly building roof fell on it?
face it, while the technology of the shuttle originated in the 70's, and, like any airframe, there is a life expectancy, the shuttle isn't as outdated as everyone seems to think it is. Do you honestly think they pilot the thing using 8088 CPUs?
about the only thing still 1970's on the shuttle is the airframe design itself.
it's like with a lot of things in aerospace, there's not a lot of new technology coming out that's much better than what was already there. There's no replacement for the concorde, and the f117 stealth fighter is a product of the 70's and 80's.... it doesn't make them any less impressive.
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