Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!ingr!infonode!drudetb
From: drudetb@infonode.ingr.com (Ted B. Drude)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: For All Mankind [was Re: center engine out]
Summary: Hydrogen Booster
Message-ID: <1990Sep28.151756.3973@infonode.ingr.com>
Date: 28 Sep 90 15:17:56 GMT
References: <15953@wpi.WPI.EDU> <1096@tsdiag.ccur.com> <5633@mace.cc.purdue.edu>
Reply-To: drudetb@infonode.UUCP (Ted B. Drude)
Distribution: sci.
Organization: Intergraph Corp. Huntsville, AL
Lines: 25

In article <5633@mace.cc.purdue.edu> dil@mace.cc.purdue.edu (Perry G Ramsey) writes:
>RP-1 is the booster fuel in the Delta and Atlas, which are still the
                                           ^^^^^
Ahem.  I beg to differ.  The Atlas DOES use LH2 for its booster fuel.
In fact,  it was the use of hydrogen fuel that made it possible for the Atlas
to have such high payload weights for its day (late 50's-early 60's).

>Hydrogen makes sense for upper stages, but using it to boost from
>the ground is not so great.

Until Energia (which also uses hydrogen) the Soviets had used nothing
but kerosene/LOX for fuel.  They've  had huge boosters,  but relatively
small payloads for their size.

BTW,  when NASA  started to put Mercury capsules on Atlases (instead of
Redstones),  there was a lot of concern about having humans ride on hydrogen-
based boosters.  Von Braun was not convinced of the safety of hydrogen
fuel.  (Which may partly explain why the Saturn V had a kerosene first
stage.) Reportedly,  when he first heard that one of the astronauts was going
to ride an Atlas into orbit (was it Glenn?) his reply was "He ought to get a 
medal just for sitting on it!"

-Ted Drude 

drudtb@ingr  of !ingr!infonode!drudetb