Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: Re : SSME's (again...)
Message-ID: <1990Nov30.174105.24166@zoo.toronto.edu>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
References: <5973@crash.cts.com>
Date: Fri, 30 Nov 90 17:41:05 GMT

In article <5973@crash.cts.com> gandalf@pro-canaveral.cts.com (Ken Hollis) writes:
>...and when Canada starts contributing to the Space program, we will be HAPPY
>to hear your opinion on cost effectiveness...

That's good to hear, since Canada has been contributing -- in modest ways --
to the US space program ever since Project Mercury.  If you don't know how,
I suggest you do some reading, which you might find educational. :-)

>>...The P&W turbopumps, at the moment, are a prototyping exercise only.
>>  There is no commitment to *ever* use them as flight hardware.
>
>There are plans for the incorporation into flight hardware...

Assuming they test out all right, when are they first scheduled to fly?
My understanding is that they aren't.  If they test out all right, then
NASA will *think* about the possibility of flying them someday.  Ditto for
the large-throat chamber.  There is no specific schedule or commitment.
At least one review board -- I think it was the NRC panel -- has openly
criticized NASA for this "maybe someday" attitude to important upgrades.
-- 
"The average pointer, statistically,    |Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
points somewhere in X." -Hugh Redelmeier| henry@zoo.toronto.edu   utzoo!henry


Brought to you by Super Global Mega Corp .com