Autzoo.1531 net.space utcsrgv!utzoo!henry Mon Apr 5 18:50:36 1982 using shuttle tanks NASA has studied a number of ways of making productive use of Shuttle external tanks, including using them as the hull(s) for a space station. It's plausible. The major problem is getting the tank all the way into orbit. The shuttle can take the tank up with it at a cost of about 10% of its payload. BUT, the resulting orbit is too low for something big and light like the tank to stay up long. Getting the tank into an orbit high enough to bring the air drag down is more expensive. Attaching solids and the like to the tank is counterproductive in most cases, since the Shuttle main engines are considerably more efficient, and are better used directly (as opposed to using them to haul less-efficient engines into orbit). Aside from these hassles, the major problem with using tanks as the hulls for a station is that they are rather large, and the station designs being contemplated for starters are smaller. Turning a tank into a station hull also involves a great deal of in-orbit work, and it will be a while yet before this sort of thing is routinely contemplated. ----------------------------------------------------------------- gopher://quux.org/ conversion by John Goerzen of http://communication.ucsd.edu/A-News/ This Usenet Oldnews Archive article may be copied and distributed freely, provided: 1. There is no money collected for the text(s) of the articles. 2. The following notice remains appended to each copy: The Usenet Oldnews Archive: Compilation Copyright (C) 1981, 1996 Bruce Jones, Henry Spencer, David Wiseman.