Capt_hensley,
I'm sorry about the off topic post, but what's the story behind that space station in your sig?
The station image above is not in my sig, but rather a reference shot. Along with the links to more imaged of the modules I have made for it in 3ds.
The station pretty much is the topic, getting into GEO with whatever, in a "as real as possible" method. It's part of my thesis. I made the mesh in 3DS Max 2011, and want to try to make it into an add-on at some point so others will have a large space station with lots of activities to play with, as well as put a human manned platform into GEO.
A possibility would be to make radiation, and other significant factors affect the way you go to GEO, live and return. It will make for a pit stop for interplanetary travel, once I get some of the Mars Fleet ideas together, along with advanced drives like Vasimr.
I'm making a Gateway users guide for the station, about 130 pages when complete. It's not for orbiter, but to convince my professors my mind is capable of thinking and engineering.
Question are very welcome, keep um comming...
---------- Post added at 06:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:43 PM ----------
I think you should first do the numbers with this concept.
Lifting ET up to GEO with shuttle INHO is bad idea. I suggest removing shuttle from stack and placing a small cluster of 2 or 3 SSMEs with proper guidance computer in place of shuttle.
Also you can add RCS system to the ET to manuevre it in orbit and finally without all the mass of the shuttle whole rig would hopefully be able to reach GEO (normal shuttle can't reach GEO, especially with ~38 ton tank underneath it.)
If you only need to lift ET into LEO for further "tug" operations I suggest using equatorial base for launching (~30 degrees plane change will consume terrible ammount of fuel).
I really just wanted to extend the Space Shuttle program with 4 more shots, it could haul light loads to GEO to get the highly modified tanks into GEO for the station itself.
You're right I looked it up, and it would make it to GEO. It would be very risky. Shuttle-C is the other solution you're speaking of, and while it would work, it just wouldn't be the same as STS.
Tugging the tanks into GEO from LEO could work, but the Shuttle crew and the tools in the bay would be needed to extract the tank liners, and install the accessories needed to make the tanks habitable for repairs. Once the liner is out, the lights, arms, HVAC, and door mechanisims would all need to be installed. An additional partition in the second tank would be in place but would need to be tweeked up for two bay isolation. The third and fourth tanks would need to be set up for fuel, and gas storage, they would need stir fixtures for the cryogens, and compressors and refrigerators for the high pressure cold storage of hydrogen and oxy, and Nitrogen on orbit.
All of this gets back to the point of having to launch as many GEO/GTO missions as possible. SO the question still stands, can the real world mission pace of 3 missions per month, be accomplished with off the shelf rockets, and launch facilities. I need to get this thing in orbit and constructed in 5 years or less.
As far as orbiter goes, we can pre-orbit the entire station until each of the modules are brought up to spacecraft3.dll standards and can be launched, assembled, and dockable for realtime or quicktime play.
The users guide is 1/3rd finished, but gives a basic idea of what I want to accomplish, about half of the guide is text, the other is images and renders.
It could prove useful to orbiter as a basis of the manual for making the new add-on. A good way to look at this eventual project/add-on is a very large and more capable ISS, except in GEO, with a 1g habitat, and afacility for building interplanitary ships.
Keep those questions comming...
