Re: Fund DreamChaser, please
Beyond a delightfully 70's retro design, what are the benefits for returning to a long runway spaceplane design over the current options? I can see some benefits over splash capsules, but as the tail landing rockets seem to be working themselves out, are there other big advantages of the glide decent model that counteract the benefits of the other designs?
I know the X-3* series vehicles are (probably) doing a bunch of the same stuff that the shuttle was originally designed to handle (Probably out of vandenburg too, go figure) so it might get some of that work too, and Vandenburg is setup to handle returning the orbiter from the landing back to the launch facility. The shuttle made that a bit silly when they were flying it back and forth cross country on the back of a giant jumbo jet.
Seems like tail landers are more suited to work off smaller footprint landing pads, nearer to their refurbishment hangars, and allowing tighter turnaround for relaunch. There also seems to be weight savings, which count the weight of pennies in 100£ notes due to the cruel reality of the rocket/fuel equations.
What do you think?
Biting the hand that feeds IT
