On Fri, 25 Feb 2005 14:43:10 -0500, the renowned Keith Williams
Don't forget accountants.
I wish I could.
Is there actually a need for enough flights to amortize development
costs? I'd imagine at (say) one flight a week the economics would look
radically different from a couple of flights a year.
Well, that was the plan for STS (at least one a month). I think the
problem is that there *aren't* enough payloads the size of the Shuttle to
make it "profitable". Not many payloads need a man-rated craft (how many
really *need* it). Those that do could likely get by with a far smaller
orbiter.
The problem was that the Shuttle was set up to have a monopoly
on LEO, with the Centuar IUS even further out stuff. I don't believe the
Centaur ever flew on the Shuttle (something about LH2 and LOX in the cargo
bay). To justify the Shuttle it had to be everything to everyone. As
these things often turn out, it's a guilded lilly that is too expensive
for anyone other than those forced to use it.