PMN1 said:
Archibald said:
I've seen the pic at Astronautix, but the text is (of course) new to me. A pity ESA kept on with Hermes (I blame the CNES for that even if I'm a frenchman!)
Especially since BAe say A4 could have been used to launch it.
What was Ariane 44L (the 4*vulcain strap-ons) exact LEO payload ? Rather hard to find on the web for a simple reason : Ariane rockets tend to be build for GEO orbits (even Ariane V needed mods to launch the 20 tons ATV into LEO).
Even more bizarre, the Ariane 4 still have (IMHO) a better safety record than the Ariane 5, having only 3 failures over 113 flights (around 97%+)
counting the VERY STUPID 1990 accident caused by... well, you know... :
I understand Archipeppe point, but the fact is, 15 years after Hermes cancellation Europe still struggle to have a manned spacecraft.
Btw the 4 m diameter of Bae Capsule is close from ATV own diameter.
Archipeppe considering your gorgeous renderings of spacecrafts, are you up for a Bae Multirole Capsule 3-view ?