This Too Shall Past (to Reveal To You An Appreciation For Things You Never Knew)

MAZEL THE FUCK TOV.

1989: ‘Shuttle Evolution “Block II”’

(sorry for low resolution, I cannot find a higher-res version anywhere)

1989: A concept drawing for a never-realised next-generation Space Shuttle, capable of carrying 8 astronauts and possibly over 30 tonnes to low-Earth orbit. The most noteworthy feature is the detachable cockpit with engines which could serve as a launch escape-system or a lifeboat during an incident in-orbit. It was to use its lifting body, wings, and body flap to glide to a runway and presumably land on skids. The escape system would enable a crew's escape at any point during launch or orbital flight.

Comments and observations

The inclusion of this escape-system in the orbiter would necessitate a gap in the heatshield at the nose, one of the hottest parts of the vehicle during re-entry. That's obviously a big problem. Further, a pad-abort would seem to be very impractical. 3 seconds at 8 Gs would only send the capsule about 2 km high, probably not high enough to glide towards the nearest runway, especially with those stubby wings. Perhaps an emergency parachute system and a splashdown of the capsule would have been more sensible?

Other changes to the orbiter seem to be in the interest of improving gliding performance, such as two wing-tip vertical stabilisers instead of one tail-mounted one (to eliminate wing-tip vortices), shrinkage of the orbital manœuvring system pods by relocation of the OMS's propellant-tanks into the wings, and the addition of canards which would probably yield greater pitch-authority during landing.

The system also proposes replacement of the solid rocket boosters with liquid-hydrogen–fuelled boosters. These could provide a greater payload capacity, as well as greater control of thrust during ascent, and the possibility of an emergency engine shutdown, improving the crew's safety. The biggest and most obvious downside would be increased cost. The drawing doesn't specify whether the LFBs are intended to recover themselves by deploying parachutes, but what's certain is that saltwater generally damages delicate chemical rocket engines, so they probably couldn't just plop into the ocean like the real Shuttle's SRBs did.

I came up for the idea for this one while looking out of my airplane window. In the last two years, I’ve travelled a lot, and I have a love/hate relationship with it. I don’t like the feeling of being away from home, and feeling slightly lost. But I love the feeling of having nothing to do but letting my mind wander, and thinking about places I’ve never been before. This piece is inspired by that mellow feeling ~

Buzz Aldrin’s space selfie from the Gemini 12 mission and Andy Saunders’s remastered version of the same image.

The most complex flying machine ever created

Underappreciated Space Shuttle photos

Endeavour being serviced in the OPF

Columbia, STS-62. The OMS pods can be seen glowing due to interactions with atomic oxygen in an unusually low perigee of 195km. The hexagonal outline of the Extended Duration Orbiter Pallet is also visible.

Atlantis, STS-98. Approaching the ISS.

Endeavour, STS-54. Reflections in the window.

Challenger, rolling out before STS-6.

Mission Specialist Kathryn Thornton looking out the window while aboard Endeavour, STS-49.

Discovery, stacked ahead of STS-41.

Atlantis, STS-44. Bumped camera.

Discovery ahead of STS-128.

Challenger, STS-41B. Launching for the heavens (zoom in).

I always think that squids are like little spaceships

A Caribbean reef squid spotted during a night dive in the Bahamas. Their large eyes make them effective nocturnal predators, and their intelligence makes them highly inquisitive, as with other cephs!

Signalis is such a good game. It's so melancholy and dreamlike. It's like one of those really sad dreams that makes you cry when you wake up 😭

View of Earth from NASA’s Parker Solar Probe

The Shuttle Atlantis seen in silhouette during solar transit, May 12, 2009. Image by NASA/Thierry Legault.

(NASA)

Altiplano (Malena Szlam, 2018)