DoomUK
Forum Staple
Posts: 2228
Registered: 04-04 |
Maes said:
It's a clamorous case of Reality Is Unrealistic: almost any other real satellites or space equipment that you can find will also have this skeletal and "gift wrapping paper" appearance, including the Apollo Lunar Module. That's simply because they are designed to be essential functional in their own environment, not to look sleek or cool or like a 50s B-Movie.
They don't need aerodynamic shapes, and they don't even need to withstand the forces that are applied to a small Cessna or even a glider, mechanically speaking (if any of them were to move through the atmosphere at even 100 mph, they would break apart from their "airframe" stresses in a matter of minutes).
They just need thermal and E-M shielding (that's what the "gift wrap" thing is for, actually a specialized version of a Space Blanket).
The tough parts of getting it into orbit and surviving the enormous forces and air resistance are handled by the giant space missiles and the payload capsules, which are actually built to withstand just that sort of abuse (well, when they don't blow up, that's it). Once in space it is deployed in relative calm and pretty much floats in the void with no resistance (well...collisions with cosmic garbage apart).
No, I get that it doesn't have to look like something out of Star Wars or Star Trek. I'm just saying, it looks a little ghetto compared to NASA's efforts with similar machines. But again, what do I know?
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11-08-11 23:33 
