February 1st, 2003, 05:44 PM
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Colonel
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Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Connecticut
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Re: OT: Shuttle Breaks Up During Re-Entry
Quote:
Originally posted by Baron Munchausen:
It was supposed to be a stop-gap while the 'space plane' was developed and NASA has never gotten enough funding to develop that replacement.
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When the shuttle was new, Britian was working on an orbital launch vehice that used a hybrid(air breathing when in the atmosphere) engine. It was to be an alternative to the shuttle when it got old. Never heard about that again.
*Sigh* Richard P. Feynman was pretty critical about safety measures on the shuttle program. But seriously, what bailout procedure could possibly exist for Mach 20 at 200,000 feet.
[ February 01, 2003, 15:45: Message edited by: Arkcon ] |