'The New Shuttle Competition'

[Glenn]

OK, you heard it today in the news, George W. is saing 'good-bye' to the Shuttle and they are designing a 'new one'!
Now, I've been with you guys for a while now, and if anyone can design a new Shuttle, it's one, (or a group) of YOU!
Back in the 1990's, in the Sci-Fi Modelling magazine, we had competitions, the first on Thunderbirds, and the second, Star Wars. 'Design a vehicle that would fit into a 'scene' and look as if it belonged there, well, how about a new Shuttle!
There must be thousands of ideas out there, go for it!
Maybe NASA will see our collective genius!

[Captain Canada]

Yep, we're running out of fresh water and the air is already almost unbreathable....

Sounds like a good enough excuse to me !

Besides, they must have oil on Mars !    :ar:  

[lancer]

Well there is all the oil there, but a bug just happened to look at Dubya the wrong way. Now he wants a 'regeime change'  on account of the Mars bugs failing to comply with GUN (Galactic United Nations) inspection teams. Oh yeah, along with the shiney new ships come shiney new space suits the Dubya himself will model when the first of the new missions launches.  

[John Howling Mouse]

Yep, we're running out of fresh water and the air is already almost unbreathable....

Sounds like a good enough excuse to me !

Besides, they must have oil on Mars !    :ar:

Hey, hey, hey now.     Our pursuit of petroleum deposits on Mars pays for my overblown model collection.

----says the kid from Shell...

 

[Glenn]

The latest news about The Moon and Mars is that China, India and Russia want to be there first! Actually, the Russians said they'd like to welcome NASA on their arrival.
You know, I think that's a great idea, that means that once NASA land, they can have Fried Rice, a great Curry, and wash it all down with a Vodka! Now, that would be great, I think I'll apply to NASA to be an astronaut.
I'm 55 yrs of age, a little over weight and not 100% fit! How do you think I'll do?

[lancer]

Oh sod NASA, those people are so uptight and full of themselves they all squeak when they walk!! Go with the Russians, they'll propably be the most reliable..I once read a piece about the Soviet and American solutions to the problem of writing in a weightless environment....NASA spends $1 MILLION to develop a fancy pen, the Russians...well they use a pencil!!!!! Go figure....      

As for us designing the next generation shuttle, Yeah, I think we could. One question though, does it HAVE to be an overgrown firework- i.e Rocket? Surely there has been development in propulsion technology in the last couple of decades...why are we still using technology that was first developed 70 or 80 years ago???

[elmayerle]

Oh sod NASA, those people are so uptight and full of themselves they all squeak when they walk!! Go with the Russians, they'll propably be the most reliable..I once read a piece about the Soviet and American solutions to the problem of writing in a weightless environment....NASA spends $1 MILLION to develop a fancy pen, the Russians...well they use a pencil!!!!! Go figure....      

As for us designing the next generation shuttle, Yeah, I think we could. One question though, does it HAVE to be an overgrown firework- i.e Rocket? Surely there has been development in propulsion technology in the last couple of decades...why are we still using technology that was first developed 70 or 80 years ago???

Well, it almost has to be rocket-propelled.  To the best of my knowledge, nothing's come along that's been conclusively proven to be better.  Now, the implementation of the concept can certainly be improved; I remember watching the orbiter design evolve in the low-speed research wind tunnel at college.

[Martin H]

Well, it almost has to be rocket-propelled.  To the best of my knowledge, nothing's come along that's been conclusively proven to be better.

Or hasnt been declassified yet.

[joesus]

Actually, the Russians DID try to develop space pens way back when. I had a Soviet 1970 article about their marvelous pens from "the Soyuz pen factory" with a testimony by cosmonaut Yeleseyev. In fact, they didn't work well and they wound up using pencils- and space pens bought by the case from Fisher. I, of course, am the inventor of the Suszynski Space Pencil: writes in zero gee, or at any angle, even upside down!
Instead of just a shuttle replacement build, how about a pure What if space group build. Anything from Nazis in space to the BIS lander to all the hundreds of designs that never made it, bot government and private. I've got a Mustard that I've had put away half built for 10 years, and maybe it'll get me moving.

[elmayerle]

Well, it almost has to be rocket-propelled.  To the best of my knowledge, nothing's come along that's been conclusively proven to be better.

Or hasnt been declassified yet.

True.  *BEG* It'd really be a hoot if it turns out that "Area 51" or some such has been successfully using something like the "Dean Drive", no relation to the present US presidential candidate, for 30 or 40 years.

[Geoff_B]

As for us designing the next generation shuttle, Yeah, I think we could. One question though, does it HAVE to be an overgrown firework- i.e Rocket? Surely there has been development in propulsion technology in the last couple of decades...why are we still using technology that was first developed 70 or 80 years ago???

Hi

I don't know if anybody noticed this, but in Dubya's speach on replacing the shuttle, settling the moon and go to Mars and beyond he said that the Military would share technology with NASA to help make this dream come true.

Question what has the military developed that NASA hasn't ?, i thought most of the military stuff was in the use of stealth technology, he might mean the armour technology developed by the Brits to effectively give light armoured vehilces shields against small projectiles, or is it the start of a slow process to admitting their is more to Area 51 than Soviet Migs and Stealth aircraft and its actually Alien technology their thinking of ? !!!!!!!

Does make you wonder a bit

Thor ?

[Ollie]

Well Thor, I remember seeing a show on TLC or DC about future space/air technologies and this guys from Lockheed had a hard time not revealing anything, but he hinted quite heavily that they had some sort of repulsor lift vehicule in the works!!

Now that would be cool!

I want a landpseeder like in Empire Strikes Back!

     

[Martin H]

I want a landpseeder like in Empire Strikes Back!

I want one to....Were do i sign?

[nev]

Well, the Russians have published work on generating a plasma in the nose of an aircraft to significantly reduce friction.  They've also publsihed work on some kind of magnetic drive system - I saw a program on it a few years ago, I can't remember much of the details other than

1)  They needed a magnetic field strong enough to kill the pilot to do it

2)  The swedes claim to have tracked Russian planes travelling at Mach 7.......