On 24 Jun 2004 14:11:46 GMT, (G EddieA95) wrote:

ISTR that there was A1P a plan to orbit an X15, using iirc a Titan rocket,
reenter, and parachute the pilot to ground. What TPS would have been used?
Might such work be of value on SS2?

I vaguely recall something along those lines, but don't know how far the
analysis got. About the same time the X-15 was flying, researchers
discovered that blunt...not needle-shapes...were the best solution for
re-entry. IIRC, the G-force is higher, but the heat is distributed over a
wider area. That's why the Mach 25 Shuttle has such a blunt profile
compared to, say, the Mach 2 Concorde.

Another concept was the Dyna-Soar, basically a mini-shuttle from the
mid-60s. It was an Air Force project. Don't really have any information
on why it was canceled, though a quickie look at one web page said it was
basically lack of a definitive mission and NASA's control of the manned
space program.

Years ago, touring Boeing Surplus, I found a lithograph of a painting of
Dyna-Soar at launch for sale. $5. Still got it.

Ron Wanttaja