More on the topic than I was last time, if you want the Space Shuttle 2.0 but think
Space Shuttle 1.3 patched for year 2010P) needs at least a heavy reworking to fit the bill, why not reexamine what the shuttle was born from in the first place? There a book here(
link) which in order to detail the process of the the shuttle's move from a idea to the the shuttle we ended up with, spends most of the book with the in between designs. Like the stuff pictured here(some comparison pictures lifted from the book):
Link
Link
And here is the granddaddy of the Shuttle, the Lockheed Star Clipper.
Link
Anyway, the point of bring up all these almost shuttles is to say that there were other paths that weren't taken. Like the Triamese, or one of the two stage fully reusables. The shuttle we got evolved in changing circumstances and in response to the drums of different organizations; change the requirements and suddenly the shuttle you get looks different. So instead of replacing parts that caused trouble, I think we should figure out what the shuttle was built to do, figure out what it should have been, figure out what we learned with this one, and then start from there. If taking the know how of
Shuttle 1.3 patch 2010 and using it to make
Star Clipper 2020 Beta is what could work, well, did I tell you I like Star Clippers*, and think that would be a neat idea? Maybe two stage reusable that is a Siamese? Maybe a Dream Chaser/HL20 type vehicle that sits above a expendable rocket, as you think maybe we ought to wait til we know more before trying again at reusable LVs. Then again, sticking to the shuttle as it was might a good idea, and changing some parts here and there might work just as well as making a new shuttle inspired design. But if you don't root around and change the requirements and see what happens, who knows if your touting the old Shuttle's mistakes as features in the new one?
So to ask yourself, what was the shuttle meant to do, before it's job was to be all things to all people?
My answer is servicing space stations, to haul people and cargo to and from them, and maybe even building the things part by part. It's what the shuttle is good at, think about the missions to the Mir and the ISS, and building space stations in Orbiter with the shuttle. Looking back at the decisions that lead to the shuttle, first there the big effort was space stations with a vehicle to service them(the shuttle), then it was station and shuttle equally, and when the station wasn't supportable, it was shuttle alone, with some chance of a station later. The payload bay diameter was fixed at 15 feet by NASA, to accommodate future space station modules, despite the Air Force not caring too much about it and the OMB wanting a cheaper(smaller) shuttle. The RMS is needed to manipulate large objects, and while Hubble and the various small RMS deployable satellites like SPARS do fit, so do modular station parts. Included in the shuttle's design is the need for people to operate it, and space for passengers. All this reinforces my belief that the shuttle was meant to service a space station, and maybe build or expand it. Taking this as truth(or ignoring it, or pointing out the flaws, or coming up with your own version), what should the requirements of the Shuttle 2.0 be like?
I really should go to sleep now, so my own idea will have to be sketched out tomorrow, but I hope to see your replies.
:goodnight:
*Aside from the Star Clipper [ame="http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=1221"]here[/ame], there's one in [ame="http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=1932"]World of 2001[/ame], a Soviet version with some differences; while it is like the real Star Clipper(the Lockheed one I mean, it was a paper project) it has a reusable flyback first stage the real one doesn't, along with the ability to have just the drop tank(Star Clipper Original), or the drop tank and the flyback first stage(the Kludge), allowing you to do things like deliveries to lunar orbit! I picked it out of Wo2001 to live in a non-2001 install as a small cargo hauler, as it's bay is sadly too small to haul any of the shuttle sized station modules. Being small is a strength though, as it has less TPS area to be looked after, and may be less expensive(gut feeling), but aside from that I can't estimate whether it would compare favorably against the Shuttle that was, let alone regular rockets in it's payload class(it can haul about 10,000 to 15,000 kg). Remember that there is also the flyback reusable fist stage to contend with in estimating costs, which I am nowhere near to being able to deal with just the drop tank, never mind the optional first stage, or both at the same time, or when a upper stage is in the mix. Still, that Soviet knock off of a Star Clipper has my heart
, and it's caused me to go off topic intentionally in a footnote with a happy grin on my face the whole damn time. Economics and reality be damned.