09-11-2017, 05:56 PM
|
Craftsman
|
|
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 164
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by luke strawwalker
"Guaranteed access to space"... IOW, if the Atlas it usually launches on blew up due to faulty Russian engines or something, they have a ready backup.
Plus, it's a reusable unmanned spaceplane. Just makes sense to launch it on a (mostly) reusable rocket... IOW, it's what NASA SHOULD have done 10-15 years ago...
If/when SpaceX decides to recover the second stage, this combination would be a fully reusable orbital vehicle. How cool is that??
Later! OL J R
|
IMHO your second opinion is a bit of a stretch. And if Space X does decide to recover the second stage won't the technology to do that lead to a performance hit for the launch vehicle?
|