M
mattblack
Guest
They'd better not shrink the Crew Module any further. 5 meters diameter is about optimum, and with 30 degree capsule sidewalls, the internal pressurised volume for a crew of four will be 487 cubic feet. That's 121 cubic ft per crew member, up from the 70 cubic ft per man for Apollo. And with a crew of six: 81 cubic ft per person. Better than Apollo in all cases. But if they shrink it anymore, it'll be very tight. Because of the move to hypergolic propellants, they want to save weight. Yeah, but how much will they save in the overall scaling down: 1 ton? Two tons? Every bit's going to count, I suppose.<br /><br />And it's official -- It WILL be the J-2S for the CLV:<br /><br />http://www.usspacenews.com/<br /><br />As I suspected all along! Only question now is whether it will be 1 or 2 engines. I'd hope for 2, along with the 5-segment SRB so as to keep the desired performance as close to the original reference standard payloads as possible. After all: the HLV will be using 5-segments and J-2S on it's upper stage -- might as well standardize, eh? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p>One Percent of Federal Funding For Space: America <strong><em><u>CAN</u></em></strong> Afford it!! LEO is a <strong><em>Prison</em></strong> -- It's time for a <em><strong>JAILBREAK</strong></em>!!</p> </div>