Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!rutgers!mailrus!ames!elroy!jpl-devvax!lwall
From: lwall@jpl-devvax.JPL.NASA.GOV (Larry Wall)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: space news from Aug 15 AW&ST
Message-ID: <2865@jpl-devvax.JPL.NASA.GOV>
Date: 14 Sep 88 23:55:30 GMT
References: <1988Sep12.032459.25617@utzoo.uucp> <972@netxcom.UUCP> <2961@pt.cs.cmu.edu>
Reply-To: lwall@jpl-devvax.JPL.NASA.GOV (Larry Wall)
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA.
Lines: 23

In article <2961@pt.cs.cmu.edu> dep@cat.cmu.edu (David Pugh) writes:
: In article <972@netxcom.UUCP> ewiles@netxcom.UUCP (Edwin Wiles) writes:
: >If so, these engines could be recovered in orbit, for use in 'scooters'.
: 
: I don't think this would work, for several reasons. First, the SSMEs
: probably have some minimum thrust (10%?). Even 10% of a SSME would
: give a scooter quite a kick. Might not be a bad idea to use them for
: an OTV, though -- just park it next to the space station and use it
: (once) to put something heavy into a Clarke orbit or (here's hoping)
: a lunar or escape orbit. Another problem is that SSMEs need a lot
: of maintenance after a launch -- which the space station isn't equiped
: to provide.

I suspect the greatest problem is simply that they use liquid oxygen &
hydrogen, and you wouldn't be able to park your "scooter" very long without
losing your propellant.  They also might be difficult to start in 0 gee.

But it might be worthwhile if we had an orbital storage facility for
lunar oxygen.  But by then SSME's will be old stuff.  Would YOU trust
a used SSME salesman?

Larry Wall
lwall@jpl-devvax.jpl.nasa.gov