The original Orion capsule was going to be even bigger than it currently is?

[G'th]

You genuinely believe that, say, researching ancient basket weaving techniques or the mating habits of porcupines is equally important to researching human tissue senescence or nanoscale gear train prototypes?

May as well expand on why I said yes.

The reason these are important (saying they're "equal" with any other research is largely pointless at the level we're discussing, as at no point is either of these things going to detract funding from anything else) is because of what they teach us about ourselves, where we come from, and how we got there. They are quite simply just another stepping stone to an answer to that fundamental question of why? The practical aspects that can be derived from these pursuits are a long way off as of yet, but that doesn't make them pointless. Most research is like that.

The only research that isn't is the type that's specifically initiated to develop a practical application. Cancer research for instance. Hell, arguably even manned Mars exploration can be put into this category, as the overall point of going to Mars in this day and age is to eventually colonize it, and all current manned missions planned for Mars are geared towards this purpose. And given the resources that we could potentially tap from a permanent manned presence on Mars (and not just in resources specifically from Mars either), the practical benefits to us back on Earth are enormous if we take full advantage of it.

[Glaran K'erman]

Noticed they were all my posts, with good measure. I went personal and that's not cool here, I apologize.

Edit: Probably should mention something about OP right? Um well yes it was but as many people have noted the SLS was not nearly ready enough to have solid specs for it. Also isn't the system designed to add a larger service module in the future, just not as originally intended (going off the top of my head while really tired, may be way off)?

Edited October 12, 2015 by Glaran K'erman

[fredinno]

Noticed they were all my posts' date=' with good measure. I went personal and that's not cool here, I apologize.

Edit: Probably should mention something about OP right? Um well yes it was but as many people have noted the SLS was not nearly ready enough to have solid specs for it. Also isn't the system designed to add a larger service module in the future, just not as originally intended (going off the top of my head while really tired, may be way off)?[/quote']

No. That is PPTS, Aka the Russian Orion, and replacement to Soyuz.

[Rune]

Yeah, Lockmart did- It was a pairing of "Orion lite" with ATK's Liberty rocket.

No it did not. 'Orion Lite' was a papercraft promoted by Bigelow for a few months, and it was suggested to be launched anywhere from an Atlas V to a Falcon 9, but not the Liberty to my knowledge. They soon moved on to Boeing to support their future stations. I really don't know why they don't save themselves some time and go directly to SpaceX. If they want to buy seats after CCDev ends, they should start moving soon.

Rune. Boeing and LM haven't flown anything close to Dragon in a looong time. Right now the spacecraft experience is in SpaceX, which is striking.

[fredinno]

No it did not. 'Orion Lite' was a papercraft promoted by Bigelow for a few months, and it was suggested to be launched anywhere from an Atlas V to a Falcon 9, but not the Liberty to my knowledge. They soon moved on to Boeing to support their future stations. I really don't know why they don't save themselves some time and go directly to SpaceX. If they want to buy seats after CCDev ends, they should start moving soon.

Rune. Boeing and LM haven't flown anything close to Dragon in a looong time. Right now the spacecraft experience is in SpaceX, which is striking.

So? Boeing and Lockmart have experience from the Shuttle, and Orion, respectively. Sorry, I remembered wrong with the liberty capsule. Still- Liberty and Orion capsules were very similar, as it was an alrrnate design for Orion. It was designed by ATK and to be built by Lockmart. http://www.spacelaunchreport.com/liberty.html

[PTNLemay]

@ Red Iron

Appreciate the thought, but SomeGuy12 gave the thread a solid derail from the very start. lol

At times like this it's best to let the thread lie in wait, then create a new one in a year's time to try and ask the question again.