Xref: utzoo sci.space:6097 sci.space.shuttle:869 Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!bellcore!faline!thumper!karn From: karn@thumper.bellcore.com (Phil R. Karn) Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.space.shuttle Subject: Re: Von Braun quote Summary: semantics and anecdotes Message-ID: <1219@thumper.bellcore.com> Date: 12 Jul 88 08:08:39 GMT References: <1988Jun17.053132.5314@utzoo.uucp>, <3361@phri.UUCP> <1988Jul10.003611.16575@utzoo.uucp> Organization: Bell Communications Research, Inc Lines: 31 Henry, I'm impressed. You *have* been reading up on us, haven't you! But since you like to quote anecdotes, let's pick the Solar Max rescue mission. Remember how George ("Pinky") Nelson grabbed one of the solar arrays in an attempt to stop the satellite from spinning? Not only did he not stop the spin, but he precessed it so much that the solar arrays were shadowed and the spacecraft was nearly lost when the batteries almost ran down. And I won't even mention the strong likelihood that the rescue mission cost more than a simple replacement would have. I've never understood why it's so necessary to put humans into space in order to benefit from their ability to react to unforseen circumstances. In many situations, it makes far more sense to keep such people on the ground instead of sending them along with the payload, especially since the state of the communications art has gotten so good. Keeping your human "crew" on the ground has many advantages. The payload is enormously simpler, because it doesn't have to provide man-rated life support and a means to return the crew. Your human "crew" can be much bigger, and you can easily change them after launch. They need not be prime physical specimens; they can be chosen solely for their technical skills and perhaps even their understanding of the basic physics of rotating bodies (unlike Pinky Nelson). Your arguments represent a convincing case for versatile remote control, not for manned spaceflight. In the case of Oscar-10, those of us on the ground had plenty of opportunity to exercise our ability to react to unforseen circumstances. With the help of a versatile on-board computer that can be completely reprogrammed from the ground, we were able to save the mission. Phil