Mercury Spacecraft Design

From the Destination Tomorrow series featuring Dr. Maxime Faget

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Mercury
• Space
• Capsule
• Gemini
• Apollo

[ZenPapageno]

Eisenhower said he was more concerned with military strength than satellites. The biggest problem of postwar rockets was making big engines. The Soviet R-7 with 20 little engines at the base was easier to make than the Atlas but hard to fit into a missile silo. U.S. missile design has been for the sake of silo protection.

The Mercury was not the only blunt re-entry vehicle considered. U.S. warheads and the Soviet Soyuz have a "headlight" shape.

[misqumockas]

@soverato3 Sized up V-2..LOL, The Saturn V is a tender subject for you I see. No other rocket has carried people past low Earth orbit. The F1 is still the most powerful single-chamber liquid-fueled rocket engine ever developed. The russian RD170 produced slightly more thrust but used several chambers taking up more space and weight. The F1A was built that produced 33% more power and was lighter but never used because they chose to end the Apollo flights. Would have loved to see that baby go.

[soverato3]

@misqumockas no balls? it brought the soviet union to victory in the coldwar (R-7 ICBM) and in the space race! the soviets were first with nearly everything!!! (exept the moonlanding) and bigger rockets are unsafe..the shuttle was the most unsafe space vehicle ever to carry humans to space it crashed twise killing over 17astronauts the soyuz have only killed 4people in 1700 flights but never during liftoff

the saturn-v was just a sized-up V-2 bomb... it was unsafe dual to oversized engines.

[misqumockas]

@soverato3 Yep the Soyuz is a good "supply" rocket reliable until lately, but it has no balls. There wouldn't be an ISS if it wasn't for the lift power of the shuttle. The U.S. isn't in that deep a shit that we cannot pull out of it, like some other countries "hint-hint". Yes our flag still waves today and looks beautiful on the moon also.

[soverato3]

@misqumockas yep but who sais the next persident will? and america is in deeeeeep shit... i think they can spend the money for better perposes and keep using russian soyuz rockets which are cheap,fast to build and best of all: the most relieble in the world =)

bye =)

[misqumockas]

@soverato3 It's not we can't afford it, the Orion rocket is in the works but on hold. At the moment we have a Pan-Lennonist for a President who has never liked the American space program. Enjoy it while it last because he surely will not be voted to another term.

[soverato3]

@misqumockas but your country cant even afford rockets to bring people to the ISS

you have to use soviet design rockets AHAHAHAHAHAHA 

[misqumockas]

@soverato3 LOL....Russians couldn't even build a moon rocket that worked.

[soverato3]

soviets were first... so they stole the ideas from the russians...

[usaeagle1776]

the good ol days when america and americans didnt know PC bullshit and worked together.