From: whitmeye@den.mmc.com (Richard Whitmeyer 865-8497)
Subject: Re: Why not Mir? was(what use is freedom?)
Originator: whitmeye@surf
Organization: Martin Marietta Astronautics, Denver
Date: Wed, 7 Oct 1992 03:01:09 GMT


In article <1992Oct6.171821.19794@yang.earlham.edu>, yannb@yang.earlham.edu writes:
|> 
|> 
|> 			I don't see why NASA, ESA, and the Japanese Space 
|> Agencies should spend all that money on this Space Station Freedom.  My 
|> question is:  why not spend less, and have each country but a module on 
|> the Mir?  The Russians have a Mir on the ground too; in mothballs.  
|> 			This second Mir is also to be launched into orbit 
|> using the powerful Proton rockets, which would be much cheaper to use than 
|> the current NASA shuttles (It has been qualified for operations in space). 
|> The first Mir station (the one thats up there now) , has proven itself to 
|> all space agencies of it's durability and worthiness.
|> 			Intsead of building a whole new space station, 
|> which would take millions of $$$ and years to build, the world should turn 
|> towards the already constructed and mothballed Mir, which is gathering 
|> dust somewhere in Russia. 
|>                                       /\                  
|>     yannb@yang.earlham.edu          |/  \
|>                                     ------       
|>                                     |    |
|>     Yann Bandy                      | /\ |           
|>     808 Abington Pike               | || |
|>     Earlham College                /| \/ |\             
|>     Richmond, IN                | / |    | \ |
|>     47374                       |/  |    |  \|
|>                               | /   |    |   \ |
|>                               |/    |    |    \|
|>                               /     |    |     \ 
|>                             |/      |    |      \| 
|>       MiGs                  |-------|    |-------|       
|>                                     |    |
|>           are                       | /\ |
|>                                    /| || |\
|>              MASTERS!!           |/ | || | \|
|>                                  / _| || |_ \
|>                                  |/  =||=  \|
|>                                       \/
If "we" didn't build "our own" then "we" wouldn't have one. We would simply be
renters, you know, the deadbeats down the hall. Pride has a lot to do it, I
think. That we started our plans years before we really trusted our new partners
in the free marketplace, has a lot to do with it too, I'd guess. Too late to stop
or change, what with funding plans.
Also, it is smaller than SSF, I hear. I hope so, the Salut mockup I climbed in
at the '86 Expo in B.C. was cramped. 
(It's my understanding that the difference between Salut and Mir is one of
expandability, not size of core module.)
Besides, they use "Peace", we have to counter with "Freedom".
(That still seems to me like Reagan's silly imprint on a great program.)
I'd prefer something more open ended, like OP1 (Orbiting Platform No.1) or
SS1, anything that would imply a No. 2 somewhere in the plans. 
As for "gathering dust", I hope not. I hope the CIS uses it, the bought it.

Rich Whitmeyer                  Views expressed are solely my own.

ps, Interesting sig you got there. I'd guess you're going hear something
more regarding it's accuracy.