Ariane 5 and Hermes

[spd405]

We should have developed HOTOL or better still SKYON, I was lucky enough to see a wind tunnel test of SKYON in 1996. Such an amazing concept! The space flight world would be completely different if the UK had built that SSTO space plane. It’s still better than anything on the drawing board now!<br /><br /><br />Am I right in thinking that despite not wanting to develop the original engine for HOTOL - Satan?? - our government and Rolls Royce classified it as secret so stopped Alan Bond from taking the design anywhere else so Alan bond etc just developed another engine - Sabre - that the government couldn't classify becuase no Rolls Royce input??<br /><br />What's to stop the NASA or ESA from using the design??<br /><br />

 

[chris_in_space]

"Hermies didn't have engines there, its more like a top mounted mini Buran with no cargo than the STS "<br /><br />Ok I see there were a dozen different Hermes designs. Among all these several had engines at the back, that's for sur. Now there certainly must have been ones without engines at the back too...<br />

 

[chris_in_space]

Dreada5,<br /><br />You said it yourself: "It does seem that ESA will in time specialise in robotic missions ". That's exactely what I intended to say, nothing more, nothing less. I also agree that all the space programs like Aurora, Kliper, Soyouz at Kourou are very good programs entirely worth the money. Indeed they prepare for the future and the future can only be manned space flight. I definitly think at one point or the other Europe will have to acquire manned space flight capability, I just think that for the past 10 years it wasn't really the moment, and I am more or less glad that ESA spent the major part of its funds elsewhere. But I repeat, it doesn't mean it has to be like this in the future, on the contrary. <br />Btw the biggest manned space flight advocate has allways been Germany while France at some periods had a much smaller contribution. I remember a French education and research minister telling us something like 7 years ago that the future lies in robotic missions and not manned space flight. Well, while it might have been by chance I think for the short term it was a not too bad decision to be taken. But now it's definitely time for us to move forward and start looking at the long term. And the current programs that you cited are going in the right direction.<br />

 

[severian]

"how would that thingy make it BACK from orbit? is it plated with unobtanium?"<br /><br />Heh, that describes the whole Skylon concept pretty well in fact <br /><br />There is a very, very good reason why we haven't built it yet.