Buzz wants better rockets

Buzz Aldrin explains Why We Need Better Rockets - Huffington Post (via spacetoday.net).

He lays down some useful facts about the Ares I-X:

Yes, the rocket that thundered aloft from NASA's Launch Pad 39B sure looked like an Ares 1. But that's where the resemblance stops. Turns out the solid booster was - literally - bought from the Space Shuttle program, since a five-segment booster being designed for Ares wasn't ready. So they put a fake can on top of the four-segmented motor to look like the real thing. Since the real Ares' upper stage rocket engine, called the J-2X wasn't ready either, they mounted a fake upper stage. No Orion capsule was ready, so - you guessed it - they mounted a fake capsule with a real-looking but fake escape rocket that wouldn't have worked if the booster had failed. Since the guidance system for Ares wasn't ready either they went and bought a unit from the Atlas rocket program and used it instead. Oh yes, the parachutes to recover the booster were the real thing -- and one of the three failed, causing the booster to slam into the ocean too fast and banging the thing up.

He gives his own recommendations,

Here's my plan -- and yes, I am a rocket scientist -- cancel Ares 1 now and the version of the Orion capsule that is supposed to fly astronauts back and forth to the International Space Station. Instead, unleash the commercial sector by paying them for transportation services to the station.

He goes on to urge a competition for a heavy lifter design.

Posted 11/10/09 | 15:16:33 by TopSpacer | Filed under: NASA Exploration Systems

Comments

Almost any plan that involves the death of Ares I and V would be a vast improvement. But I wonder if Buzz has seen ULA's proposed plan for going back to the moon. No super heavy lifter needed!

Posted by Rick Boozer at 11/10/09 18:49:21

+10! THIS rocket scientist certainly got this one right!

Posted by Prospace Environmentalist at 11/10/09 19:55:29

as a side note, people put buzz aldrin down sometimes. me personally though, I would like to say I've accomplished or will ever accomplish as much as buzz aldrin has.

Posted by donnie at 11/10/09 22:17:49

Donnie, I totally agree. One of the things that just about everyone forgets is that Buzz was the one who figured out how to make EVA's work. Up until his spacewalk everyone, excepting White's (who's mission was get out, survive, get back in) was a dismal failure.

Buzz studied the video's/movies and, as a scubba diver, went into the practice tank with an analitical mind.

Buzz got everything they wanted done so "fast" that he wound up with extra time at the end to just be out side the capsule.

Oh, and I couldn't find a way to comment over at the Huffington Post. Anyone got any ideas?

Posted by Michael Antoniewicz II at 11/11/09 15:44:07

Buzz shoulda been first.

Posted by urth at 11/11/09 15:46:21

Buzz is right there is no need for the gap to exist as the commercial sector can provide crew transport now.
The EELVs already have a better service record then the shuttle and even the Saturn vehicles which were good enough for Aldrin.
If we had them in 1969 we would not have built the Saturn IB.
LM could have had Orion almost ready by now if they were allowed to use an EELV and were not forced to redesign the vehicle because someone at NASA didn't like the design.
Then there was Boeing's CEV a 4.5M scale up of the Apollo vehicle that had a Soyuz like service module.
http://www.astronautix.com/...
Even though this was closer to what NASA wanted they didn't choose Boeing and instead choose LM but made them start over from scratch as their original work which borrowed heavily from OSP involved using Atlas V and a lifting design.

Posted by Ruri at 11/11/09 19:21:30

Say it ain't so.

Looks like NASA got caught with the hand in the cookie jar.

My suggestion is... maybe NASA can get some lessons from Balloon Boy to do a better hoax!

A $455M fireworks display... AWESOME!

Posted by Tony at 11/12/09 16:46:07

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