11-19-2017, 07:06 PM
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Aggressor Aerospace
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Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Colorado Springs, CO
Posts: 592
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by blackshire
General Dynamics built the Atlas ICBM, but most people (and books, especially older ones) referred to it as the Convair Atlas because that division of General Dynamics built it, and because the Convair name had more historical significance. Likewise, Boeing bought McDonnell Douglas (who made the Delta II and its predecessors), but I have--and will continue to--refer to it as the Boeing Delta II, because that division of ULA built it after the McDonnell Douglas buyout, and because the Boeing name is more historically significant and meaningful than "ULA." Also:
The vehicle I described isn't the Delta II, but a simpler, "de-rated" vehicle that would use some Delta II components, whose cost--while unknown--would be different (and possibly lower) than that of the Delta II. (A friend of mine--a retired Lieutenant Colonel who is a Ph.D. space flight historian, who teaches at the Air Warfare College at Maxwell Air Force Base--passed along my ideas about this Delta II-derived launch vehicle to the appropriate planning personnel, and they see possible USAF uses for it.) Go forth and be happy.
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You can talk all day about "historic significance" (and I KNOW you will), but the company forced to make real business decisions is ULA, not Boeing. That's why I brought it up. Sentimentality and history don't factor in. You can pump up the "street cred" of your unnamed LtCol all day long - but he doesn't know the cost of things like AJ-27 engines (which I still believe is an integral part of your "Delta Lite" concept). Therefore, he is (at best) guessing at what his "cheap" LV would really cost.
The economic reality of today's launch market is the Air Force's minimal need for relatively small spacelift can be met by the Minotaur family. NASA, as a Government organization, can also use the Minotaur family. The wonderful gap filled by Delta II will probably be filled by Falcon 9 and Atlas V with huge lift margins.
Ten years from now we can all look back and see if the folks calling for more, smaller satellites win the day or if we continue to build bigger SVs. Then we can all "Monday Morning Quarterback" the demise of the Delta II. We'll either say "sad, but necessary," or "man, I wish we had it now!!" Only time will tell.
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