This article at first glance sound of typical book keeping of percentage of man hour to tanks versus new work load. This also could be due to a build up of extra tanks since the shuttle grounding. Another possibility is Lockheed might be shifting it's tank build to another facility, one they own. Is this the only tank that this facility can make is a question I have?

I had heard talk that a variation of the shuttle system might be the thing that we end up using as our booster for returning to the moon. There was actually some good information on it in a recent Popular Science. In light of these articles, I wonder if Lockheed is keeping that in consideration or not.

Hello Gus the moon the mars commission hearing last held had Buzz Aldrin testimony on just this issue here is the link http://www.moontomars.org/docs/032504SlidesAldrin.pdf
which contains a scalable way of gettting us going again. This as we go aproach he had tried to get NASA to listen too last year was from his company. It has also been talked of a lot on this forum as well as to be possibly the best way to get going at least short term.

Harold...I was doing a bit of research and found that the old NERVA nuclear propulsion program had built 20 workable units for flight demos...What happened to them and also the power that NERVA had accomplished is almost exactly what the new program is looking for as for speeding up flights to the moon and mars.......If that is the case,where are these prototypes and why doesn't someone dig out the data....?..I mean aren't we " Re-inventing the wheel " here ?....Before the program died I understand that an upper stage for the Saturn 5 was to be nuclear...What the heck happened ??? Also,going off on another tangent here,..if the external fuel tank,a five segment srb was added along with engines at the base,plus a powerful upper stage atop the tank with the CEV capsule and escape tower;the US could have a mighty launch vehicle....Has anyone thought of a design like that ?...Thanks...Jake

Good morning Jake: see the previous post for the design concept using shuttle parts as proposed by Buzz Aldrin on the moon to mars site.

Also probably much like that old capsule that had been in a local junk salvage car yard near where I live. You will probably find it on some Military base collecting dust or something in one of there junk yards.

Question was this an electric ION style drive using as reactor or something entirely different in concept.

Also I agree why are we re-inventing the wheel as it were. My response would be because the tires have change inside diameter and are flatter than they were before, plus we lost the plans for the rim as well as there have been many advances in nuclear technology since the 60's but why would these programs like so many in between be canceled is my biggest question.

Can any one stop this from continuing to happen. We have already seen the new NASA after getting the SEI plan doing this all over again saying it does not fit into the plan so lets cancel it.

Ok on a serious note. The sticking point on saving the Hubble and continued use of the Shuttle are kind of married together at this point in that it can only be used at the ISS due to the lack of anyother safe haven avaiability.

Didin't the NAvy build a duplicate Russian power unit add to that a crew habital module and supplies; launch unit into orbit near or with Hubble, now question of safe have is a non problem.

Sorry for all the typo's in the last post.

I was also thinking of the value in proposing mini Hotels as it were of the ISS in other orbits such as the Hubble for those that would be willing to pay. Placing them with specific spacing to allow for transistioning from one station to the next kind of leap frogging from one station to the next while in LEO would also aid in resupply if necessary between stations.

Here is a Question for any one and all to chime in on?

What is stopping commercialization and privatization of space?

Here is what I think are some of the reasons that for what we are lacking.
1 places to go
2 ways to get there
3 cost

How could this be changed?

1 creation of mini ISS (Hotels in space) at differing orbits and inclinations
2 create new xprize contest for Taxi to new hotels
3 new consumer based needs for resupply for Hotel chains

From one of the other site that I possed the question I did get some feedback and here it is with my follow up thoughts. I am inspire when I read this guy's writings and thank you for the comments. sincerley yours Harold.

Well, Harold, my attention was diverted by the "Double whammy" article.

While reading that article, I was thinking about the "Defenses Down--Dust storm hits the solar system" was written on space.com a while back. The author provide wonderful insight and I went to the library for some searching for further thoughts from UIC researcher. Then correlating that with the "WIMP" highway article. An (IDEA) formulated a hypothesis--"Accelerated Particle Streams from Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy: Possible precursor RNA and DNA molecules seeding Precambrian peroid on Earth and Venusian Destruction". Who knows, might explain how life started on this planet and the total resurfacing of Venus 500 million years ago. What extinction happened 245 million years ago? There for the taking of any scientific inquiry--any evolutionary biologist or geologist out there??? Just give me some credit, if the idea hasn't been postulated before now.

Harold, those questions I have to defer to an Advertising and Marketing individual. Yet, sell the entire concept to every individual. I'm looking forward to the Galatic shrimp next month, out here on the Chesapeake Bay Area. Why hasn't other major corporate sponsorships picked up on "The Martian Connection"? Where is the POLO-MARS-RL designer clothes or Martian Sunspot All Body Tan Salons or the Phobus Tampon--Desert Dryness--Yet Fresh. Get Corporate America on the Mars bandwagon--sell things "Martian". Martian insurance policies- RoboMartians? Pokemartians? Asteroid-smashmum remote controlled cars and gliders? Have 10% of all profits from Corporate America generating achievable spacebased technologies for the 21st Century, to build the hotels and casinos. Oh, the cycadias are emerging this year after 17 years underground out here on the East Coast--with those darned red-eyes they have--heck they are the Martian invaders--a swarm having left the planet millions of years ago--every fisherman or fisherwoman will want the "Martian Bait and Tackle Lure--it sound like a Cydonian Pharoh "--endorsed by (outdoors spokeperson). And where are the Martian picturebooks, coloring books, toy action figurines--oops got a head of my self there--not all people know how to use 3D Modeling software. Why isn't even Santa or the Easter Bunny on this, I want my stocking filled with Mars. I want Martian Bunny Chocolate Drops-filled with the big ol red cherry. I want my "Valley Marianus CanyonLand Dune Buggy" under my Christmas tree this year! I want "BlueBerry" Beaded ornimates! Reflecto Retro Martian Disco-mania! Making Dust Track Martian Military Commando Action Play Set. Oh, for the lady's too--Loopa-Mars perfume and complimentary Demios Astra Dark Lip Gloss! All in a sand tone hand bag! Or Hellas Pumps--for the higher walking stride--improves any wiggle and accuentuates the Amazonian Characteristics of the species!

So, those questions belong to an Advertising and Marketing firm for 'right brained' thinking!

It is still April Fool's--isn't it!

Oh, this is my last semester--just one more darned class this summer. I want to be a teacher or trainer!

Posted by: JWeikle at April 1, 2026 07:58 PM

You are correct in that the corporate greed for making a buck off from some one elses work has no caught on. Hell donate $1 on every item sold that has a Mars logo or photo from the 2 Rovers could easily finance all the missions for quite a long time to come.
I was thinking this morning on the way to work that the Military could finance the first hotel near the Hubble and sell time shares to each branch of the services to add more modules to it for non military use.

Posted by: Harold LaValley at April 2, 2026 04:27 AM