From: utzoo!decvax!cca!David.Smith@CMU-10A@sri-unix
Newsgroups: net.space
Title: Filament-wound SRBs
Article-I.D.: sri-unix.2444
Posted: Wed Aug  4 14:53:38 1982
Received: Thu Aug  5 04:54:32 1982

From: David.Smith at CMU-10A (C410DS30)
Thiokol is working on lightweight SRB casings for the Shuttle, 
made of filament-wound Kevlar.  Supposedly, these casings will be
reusable, like the present ones.

I recently spoke with a manufacturing engineer who works for Thiokol.
He told me that the design engineers all agree that no matter what anyone
says, it won't be possible to reuse the lightweight casings -- that
the reusability is just a fiction to get the funds appropriated.
He agreed with my response that the project sounded like a waste of money.

Is this an instance of Nasa paying for the development of something
that only the Air Force wants?