Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!rutgers!gatech!ncsuvx!ncspm!jay From: jay@ncspm.ncsu.edu (Jay C. Smith) Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle Subject: Re: Soviet Shuttle Message-ID: <1348@ncspm.ncsu.edu> Date: 13 Oct 88 17:55:38 GMT References: <4885@whuts.UUCP> Reply-To: jay@ncspm.ncsu.EDU (Jay C. Smith) Organization: Crop Science Dept., North Carolina State University Lines: 44 In article <4885@whuts.UUCP> heiland@whuts.UUCP (HEILAND) writes: >The other day I attended a talk by James Oberg... >a recognized authority on >Soviet space technology. >There are no jet engines on the >space shuttle; they were only on the test version. Oh, great, someone who really has the facts finally posts after I went and looked up the erroneous back issue of Aviation Week! March 28, 1988 Soviet Union Developing Range of Manned, Unmanned Launchers (text with drawings of the Soviet shuttle in various modes, and a comparison drawing of NASA's shuttle stack) [...] Soviet shuttle is shown directly above in its ground test configuration with four jet engines that permit runway takeoffs. The two engines at the base of the vertical fin will be retained for space missions to provide a powered landing approach and perhaps a go-around capability. [...] The Soviet shuttle orbiter was initially carried and drop-tested from a TU-16 bomber. It later was equipped with jet engines, which allowed approach and landing tests to be conducted after a runway takeoff from the Tyuratam launch site. The external tank section for the Soviet shuttle has also been transported by air on the Bison bomber.... I noticed that the photo of the shuttle in the October 10 issue did not mention the jet engines, so I suppose they were deleted at some point and this may have been in an AvWeek article I missed. -- "I don't suppose you have any idea what the damn thing is, huh?" --------------------------------------------------------------------- Jay C. Smith uucp: ...!mcnc!ncsuvx!ncspm!jay Domain: jay@ncspm.ncsu.edu internet: jay%ncspm@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu