Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-ncis!helios.ee.lbl.gov!pasteur!ucbvax!hplabs!pyramid!isieng!roy
From: roy@isieng.UUCP (Roy Wells)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: QUESTION: Shuttle round trips to the moon?
Keywords: shuttle moon
Message-ID: <972@isieng.UUCP>
Date: 10 Jan 89 19:07:28 GMT
References: <14549@oberon.USC.EDU>
Reply-To: roy@isieng.UUCP (Roy Wells)
Organization: Integrated Solutions, Inc., San Jose, CA
Lines: 28

In article <14549@oberon.USC.EDU> weiss%neuro.usc.edu@oberon.usc.edu writes:
>Can the shuttle fly to the moon, land, and take off again to return
>to the earth.  Keep in mind the moon has 1/6 the gravitational pull
>of the earth.  Let's assume for the moment that there is adequate
>solid flat landing surface prepared on the moon for the landing.

I don't see how it could under its present configuration.  After the 
external tank and SRBs are gone, there isn't much fuel available for 
a burn to put it on a lunar trajectory, or to land and then take off, 
or for a burn to bring it homeward.

You'd need to redesign it from the fuel point of view, and then you'd 
need to figure out how to get it set for a launch from the lunar 
surface.  After all, even if it landed (unharmed) on the moon (unless 
you send the Army Engineers up to build a runway first) it would 
likely be severely damaged.

Next, there's not much to cause the shuttle to have lift from the 
horizontal position.  No atmosphere on the moon to treat the wings 
like those of an airplane (could it take off even given fuel+atmosphere?) 
and getting it to a vertical position could present some problems.

For an Earth-Moon shuttle I think a totally different concept is needed.

-- 
Roy Wells					     Integrated Solutions
There is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress.
		-- Mark Twain