<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)"><style><!--
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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal> <b>On Behalf Of </b>Adrian Tymes via extropy-chat<br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [ExI] What happens to US space programs after November?<o:p></o:p></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div><p class=MsoNormal>On Tue, Jun 16, 2020 at 7:41 AM spike jones via extropy-chat <<a href="mailto:extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org">extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org</a>> wrote:<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 6.0pt;margin-left:4.8pt;margin-right:0in'><p class=MsoNormal>in the meantime, we could use the SLS as a really high-priced<br>hotel. Musk can haul tourists up there to it once the boosters are<br>sufficiently advanced to take the occupant controls away.<o:p></o:p></p></blockquote><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>>…Uh...what?... SLS is a rocket, not a location in orbit. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>ISS rather, not SLS.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Launch_System">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Launch_System</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>One of the notions I thought about back when we had the shuttle is to carry the external tank into orbit and use it as a pressure vessel to let tourists float around. I don’t think those could be retrofitted for that use, but one can imagine something that looks like the SLS, kinda like the old shuttle without the space plane, but rather an shuttle external tank with liquid boosters either side (or possibly solid) along with a capsule return vehicle with a more traditional heat-shield re-entry system.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>That is a different idea than using the ISS as a hotel. That would be cool too, and would get it off our hands. It was really cool back in the 90s, but now it returns very little science per dollar.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>spike<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></div></div></div></body></html>