Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!ames!xanth!nic.MR.NET!hal!cwjcc!gatech!ncsuvx!ncspm!jay
From: jay@ncspm.ncsu.edu (Jay C. Smith)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: QUESTION: Shuttle round trips to the moon?
Message-ID: <1566@ncspm.ncsu.edu>
Date: 11 Jan 89 18:56:48 GMT
References: <14549@oberon.USC.EDU> <6745@killer.DALLAS.TX.US>
Reply-To: jay@ncspm.ncsu.EDU (Jay C. Smith)
Organization: Crop Science Dept., North Carolina State University
Lines: 26

In article <6745@killer.DALLAS.TX.US> rcj@killer.Dallas.TX.US (Robert Johnson) 
writes:
>Well, in a word, no.  There is a posibility that the shuttle could 
>get into lunar orbit if it was supplied with fuel from an external
>tank (just launch a tank up there on the end of a Titan and have an EVA 
>to mate the two craft).  But, once the shuttle got into lunar orbit, 
>it couldn't land too well!  The only way for a shuttle to land is like
>an airplane, and there is no atmosphere on the moon, thus there is no
>lift for the wings.

I initially laughed at the question, but if this response truly indicates a 
feasible method of getting the shuttle into lunar orbit, then the question of 
the lunar landing is now easy:  put the small lunar lander in the cargo bay and 
leave the shuttle in lunar orbit.

I'm now fascinated by this....





-- 
"I don't care too much for money.  Money can't buy me love."
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Jay C. Smith                      uucp:     ...!mcnc!ncsuvx!ncspm!jay
Domain: jay@ncspm.ncsu.edu        internet: jay%ncspm@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu