tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598615455712402973.post7397012237647564051..comments2024-03-25T11:14:45.840-04:00Comments on Polymath: Re: SSTO's would have made possible Arthur C. Clarke's vision of 2001.Robert Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16114043697010364282noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598615455712402973.post-12708321051170503752012-10-15T02:58:13.949-04:002012-10-15T02:58:13.949-04:00I'm sure you're aware that the primary jus... I'm sure you're aware that the primary justification for space stations was never servicing space assets. It was for the human habitation of space.<br /> In an upcoming blog post I'll discuss the fact that the SLS will make feasible an old idea of using the shuttle external tanks as space stations in LEO. They can also be used for the space stations NASA has recently discussed at the Earth-Moon Lagrange points.<br /><br /><br /> Bob ClarkRobert Clarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16114043697010364282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598615455712402973.post-49162569246604982272012-10-12T07:24:13.873-04:002012-10-12T07:24:13.873-04:00The killer for Clarke's vision - all those spa...The killer for Clarke's vision - all those space stations - was automation that no longer required on-site human technicians to service the space stations. Most of the justification for humans in space for commercial applications vanished, largely due to the electronics advances of the 1960s.<br /><br />Of course the other issue is the Van Allen Belts and Solar-flares etc. making all the higher orbits so much more unhealthy than Clarke (and Heinlein before him) imagined in the 1940s/50s. The shielding requirements cooled a lot of enthusiasm for stations so far out.qraalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13436948899560519608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598615455712402973.post-21376113072066970062012-05-30T11:37:40.650-04:002012-05-30T11:37:40.650-04:00Bob, congratulations on the new blog. Arthur C. Cl...Bob, congratulations on the new blog. Arthur C. Clarke was certainly a visionary. It is a shame that some of his views turned out to be too optimistic.Paul Halpernhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07248228381980061897noreply@blogger.com