Autzoo.1531
net.space
utcsrgv!utzoo!henry
Mon Apr 5 18:50:36 1982
using shuttle tanks
NASA has studied a number of ways of making productive use of Shuttle
external tanks, including using them as the hull(s) for a space station.
It's plausible. The major problem is getting the tank all the way into
orbit. The shuttle can take the tank up with it at a cost of about 10%
of its payload. BUT, the resulting orbit is too low for something big
and light like the tank to stay up long. Getting the tank into an orbit
high enough to bring the air drag down is more expensive. Attaching
solids and the like to the tank is counterproductive in most cases, since
the Shuttle main engines are considerably more efficient, and are better
used directly (as opposed to using them to haul less-efficient engines
into orbit).
Aside from these hassles, the major problem with using tanks as the
hulls for a station is that they are rather large, and the station
designs being contemplated for starters are smaller. Turning a tank
into a station hull also involves a great deal of in-orbit work, and it
will be a while yet before this sort of thing is routinely contemplated.
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