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Favourite spaceships that never flew?


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4 minutes ago, 5thHorseman said:

Apollo program, hands down.

Every piece of it from the Launch Escape System at the top to the Saturn V's at the bottom. Every step from launch to splashdown.

You may want to reread the thread title - that one actually did happen!

==================================

Not quite a spaceship, but I really like the old designs for von Braun/2001 ring stations. I think we should eventually make something like this.

I also really wish NASA could have gotten enough funding to make Nova, the even bigger Saturn rocket:

Image result for nova rocket

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33 minutes ago, sevenperforce said:

One word.

Orion.

The real one.

You win.

I'll recommend the Apollo applications program for 2nd.  Presumably capable of sending either a lunar base to the Moon or perhaps astronauts to Mars.  Eventually stripped of everything except Skylab and perhaps Voyager (which didn't get a Saturn launch).

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6 hours ago, sevenperforce said:

One word.

Orion.

The real one.

Which one?

There’s the 8 million ton “colony ship” edition, the 10 thousand ton Outer System Expedition concept, the 4000 ton Mars concept, the Orion Battleship, the 8, 10, and 12 meter NASA designs, the 8, 10, and 12 meter USAF designs, the starships proposed by Dyson... 

There’s also mini-mag Orion.

My favorite is the Medusa concept - instead of tossing a nuke behind you you toss one in front of you. Also it reminds me of Battletech jump sails, so of course I’m a bit biased...

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12 minutes ago, DDE said:

Well, if the manned Buran counts, so does a manned TKS, right

If — then.

But afaik in buranian times TKS was already an obsolete design, and LKS was in trend, a 30-t spaceplane. Normally crew of 2 + 5..6 t of cargo.

The pikchaz of its late version.
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=29809.0

Afair, it should use a heavier version of Proton - UR-530, with 36 t capacity. So, the polar orbits were available, too.
This one: http://www.astronautix.com/u/ur-530.html

As well, UR-530 should deliver heavier versions of the orbital station modules.

But in the unfair competition they received no money for that.

P.S.
Also afair, it should be an X-37 analog, too. Several hundreds uncrewed in LEO with anti-missile laser in cargo bay.

Edited by kerbiloid
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1 hour ago, kerbiloid said:

But in the unfair competition they received no money for that.

The competition was fair.

It simply called for a Shuttle ripoff with no wiggle room whatsoever.

Speaking of the Buran era and reusable...

Praise Atom!

ea0f4bb503de427da1f8773e9705a365.jpg

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3 minutes ago, DDE said:

It simply called for a Shuttle ripoff with no wiggle room whatsoever.

Originally it didn't. 8 years later it became a Shuttle clone.

5 minutes ago, DDE said:

The competition was fair.

As a result we got no usable spaceplane at all.

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13 hours ago, StrandedonEarth said:

Ol’ Boom Boom?

I think you mean boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom

7 hours ago, Bill Phil said:

Which one?

There’s the 8 million ton “colony ship” edition, the 10 thousand ton Outer System Expedition concept, the 4000 ton Mars concept, the Orion Battleship, the 8, 10, and 12 meter NASA designs, the 8, 10, and 12 meter USAF designs, the starships proposed by Dyson... 

There’s also mini-mag Orion.

Well, as fond as I am of dropping nukes on a bare pad, I have a deep appreciation for the Orion Saturn V concept...

Spoiler

orionsco.jpg

100 tonnes to Mars and back in two launches......yessssssssssssssssssss!

7 hours ago, Bill Phil said:

My favorite is the Medusa concept - instead of tossing a nuke behind you you toss one in front of you. Also it reminds me of Battletech jump sails, so of course I’m a bit biased...

Oh what a brilliant idea. "I really like this whole 'ride across the stars on pulses of thermonuclear fire' concept, but how do we make it more exciting?"

13 hours ago, Spaceception said:

Not much comes to mind, to be honest, but I think I would've liked to see Venture Star. A shame the technical hurdles were too high, but so much was built before it was canceled.

VentureStar and Starclipper are two favorites, particularly the latter:

ls200160.jpg

star3150.gif

 

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2 hours ago, sevenperforce said:

think you mean boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom

Ol’ Boom Boom” is a quote from Larry Niven’s novel Footfall, where a derivative of Project Orion is suggested as a means to counter the fusion-pulse-drive mothership of the pachyderm-alike alien invaders. 

E: co-authored by Jerry Pournelle

Edited by StrandedonEarth
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1 hour ago, StrandedonEarth said:

Ol’ Boom Boom” is a quote from Larry Niven’s novel Footfall, where a derivative of Project Orion is suggested as a means to counter the fusion-pulse-drive mothership of the pachyderm-alike alien invaders. 

The more you know.....

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19 hours ago, cubinator said:

You may want to reread the thread title - that one actually did happen!

==================================

Not quite a spaceship, but I really like the old designs for von Braun/2001 ring stations. I think we should eventually make something like this.

I also really wish NASA could have gotten enough funding to make Nova, the even bigger Saturn rocket:

Image result for nova rocket

The cool thing about Nova was that it could've been used for a single launch manned Mars mission if done using Mars orbit rendezvous. Then again if it was ever built it probably would've only flew a few times because of the immense costs involved.

4 hours ago, sevenperforce said:

I think you mean boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom

Well, as fond as I am of dropping nukes on a bare pad, I have a deep appreciation for the Orion Saturn V concept...

  Reveal hidden contents

orionsco.jpg

100 tonnes to Mars and back in two launches......yessssssssssssssssssss!

Oh what a brilliant idea. "I really like this whole 'ride across the stars on pulses of thermonuclear fire' concept, but how do we make it more exciting?"

VentureStar and Starclipper are two favorites, particularly the latter:

ls200160.jpg

star3150.gif

 

Starclipper is a favourite of mine too! Would've been pretty feasible to build in the 70s/80s as well, unlike VentureStar, which was probably a little ahead of it's time.

12 hours ago, kerbiloid said:

If — then.

But afaik in buranian times TKS was already an obsolete design, and LKS was in trend, a 30-t spaceplane. Normally crew of 2 + 5..6 t of cargo.

The pikchaz of its late version.
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=29809.0

Afair, it should use a heavier version of Proton - UR-530, with 36 t capacity. So, the polar orbits were available, too.
This one: http://www.astronautix.com/u/ur-530.html

As well, UR-530 should deliver heavier versions of the orbital station modules.

But in the unfair competition they received no money for that.

P.S.
Also afair, it should be an X-37 analog, too. Several hundreds uncrewed in LEO with anti-missile laser in cargo bay.

That's cool, I'd never heard of the LKS before (furiously plans to build it in KSP).

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22 minutes ago, Ol’ Musky Boi said:

Starclipper is a favourite of mine too! Would've been pretty feasible to build in the 70s/80s as well, unlike VentureStar, which was probably a little ahead of it's time.

Starship could be used as a 1.5STO by adding a couple of extra engines and mounting drop tanks in this configuration (or side-slung). The name is almost the same already.

22 minutes ago, Ol’ Musky Boi said:

That's cool, I'd never heard of the LKS before (furiously plans to build it in KSP).

I wonder how compact I can make fold-down locking wings....

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