DC-X Delta Clipper

vintagemenumania.com

Portfolio DC-X Delta Clipper Hover Test Crash Photos White Sands Missile Range

1993-1996. A collection of 12 DC-X photographs, plus a cover image print. Includes flight images, group photos, and two crash pics from 1996. Nine of the pics have information stamps on the back. 3 ring binder. This is from the personal photograph collection of Gerry C. Coleman (Gerald Claiborne...
vintagemenumania.com
 

Attachments

  • img20786_2048x2048.jpg
    img20786_2048x2048.jpg
    231.5 KB · Views: 108
  • img20785_2048x2048.jpg
    img20785_2048x2048.jpg
    198.1 KB · Views: 59
  • img20784_2048x2048.jpg
    img20784_2048x2048.jpg
    160.4 KB · Views: 61
  • img20783_2048x2048.jpg
    img20783_2048x2048.jpg
    216.9 KB · Views: 64
  • img20782_2048x2048.jpg
    img20782_2048x2048.jpg
    239 KB · Views: 64
  • img20781_2048x2048.jpg
    img20781_2048x2048.jpg
    218.1 KB · Views: 59
  • img20780_2048x2048.jpg
    img20780_2048x2048.jpg
    224.4 KB · Views: 52
  • img20779_2048x2048.jpg
    img20779_2048x2048.jpg
    174.7 KB · Views: 57
  • img20778_2048x2048.jpg
    img20778_2048x2048.jpg
    227.3 KB · Views: 65
  • img20777_2048x2048.jpg
    img20777_2048x2048.jpg
    273.9 KB · Views: 60
  • img20776_2048x2048.jpg
    img20776_2048x2048.jpg
    334 KB · Views: 64
  • img20775_2048x2048.jpg
    img20775_2048x2048.jpg
    259.2 KB · Views: 68
  • img20774_2048x2048.jpg
    img20774_2048x2048.jpg
    231.5 KB · Views: 117
DC-X gets points for looking like an RLV should.

Aside from the Heavies' pointed strap-ons, the typical Falcon has all the grace of a cell phone tower.
 
publiusr said:
DC-X gets points for looking like an RLV should.

Aside from the Heavies' pointed strap-ons, the typical Falcon has all the grace of a cell phone tower.
Click to expand...
There are no beauty points. We in the spaceflight industry value performance over image
Plus you have a fringe mentality that is not shared by many
 
Maybe...but having Delta IIs as the end-all be-all wasn't going to get us towards the future of Kubrick's 2001.

As for saying beauty doesn't matter---could it be that the hostile Viking landscapes did more harm than good in popularizing Mars exploration?

Had DC-X had an Elon level billionaire behind it, who knows?

It and the MADV are similar at least.

Better lander than SSTO...
 
publiusr said:
Maybe...but having Delta IIs as the end-all be-all wasn't going to get us towards the future of Kubrick's 2001.
Click to expand...

They were never the end-all be-all. They were what we could afford at the time. Much like Falcon 9s. Why can't you understand this? It must not fit in your own world.
Again, much like 1969/1970, where the choice was shuttle or nothing. Space science had a choice in the 90's. One big mission every five years or 3 or so missions over the same span*. Delta II worked because much of the manpower was subsidized by GPS, much like Falcon 9 is helped by Starlink.
Nothing we are flying is going to get us to towards the Kubrick's vision.

* It's better than that. For the main part of the Delta II (NASA) program (1990-2011), we got 46 launches over 21 years. This is around 2.2 launches per year.
 
Last edited:
Nothing we are flying is going to get us to Kubrick?

I hope Starship can at least point in the right direction...if it works
 
Byeman said:
They were never the end-all be-all. They were what we could afford at the time. Much like Falcon 9s. Why can't you understand this? It must not fit in your own world.
Again, much like 1969/1970, where the choice was shuttle or nothing. Space science had a choice in the 90's. One big mission every five years or 3 or so missions over the same span*. Delta II worked because much of the manpower was subsidized by GPS, much like Falcon 9 is helped by Starlink.
Nothing we are flying is going to get us to towards the Kubrick's vision.

* It's better than that. For the main part of the Delta II (NASA) program (1990-2011), we got 46 launches over 21 years. This is around 2.2 launches per year.
Click to expand...
Compare that *niche* track record of about one launch every 166 days to both the absolute and relative statistics of the extremely versatile Soyuz ELV family (and *NO*, I am most definitely *NOT* a Russia fanboi, but facts are stubbornly facts). But please, feel free to throw the Delta I, III, and IV ELVs in the mix as well, and while you're at it, I'd also be curious how those particular efficiency/effectiveness measures in terms of launch rate and reliability would compare across the Ariane and Atlas ELV (1 through 5 [although clearly LM cheated there in the count system] respectively) families as well, let alone Musk's stable? Mentally narrowing Delta II down to space sprobe missions only back in the day is *EXACTLY* the kind of mindset we have to get *AWAY* from. Note specifically that when 2001 hit the screens in 1968, NASA was obviously already a well established entity, but the movie *explicitly* referred to a "United States Astronautics Agency" instead and never mentioned NASA once, and crewed LEO missions were serviced by Pan American (as well as Aeroflot, although not featured onscreen) - I'll leave the rest of the exercise to the student.
 
Last edited:
martinbayer said:
Mentally narrowing Delta II down to space sprobe missions only back in the day is *EXACTLY* the kind of mindset we have to get *AWAY* from.
Click to expand...
No. This isn't about now or before Challenger. This is about a ill-informed and uneducated posts made in the past about Delta II that thought it was "holding us back". When it really was about NASA changing it paradigm of funding only large flagship missions occasionally and flying smaller missions more often and having the outside entities manage the missions. Delta II enabled this and Falcon 9 is continuing it. Regardless of launch costs, larger satellites cost more. By using Delta II vs Atlas II and Titan IV in the 90's and 00's, NASA could do more and varied space science missions than using large vehicles or an HLV.
 
I didn’t know initially that you worked on Delta II. My thought was that it was a crutch. But we didn’t have Elon’s work yet..and I was venting my frustrations.

My apologies.
 
publiusr said:
I didn’t know initially that you worked on Delta II. My thought was that it was a crutch. But we didn’t have Elon’s work yet..and I was venting my frustrations.

My apologies.
Click to expand...
With NASA (2001-Present) , I have worked on 24 missions.
Delta II ICESAT/CHIPSAT, MER A, MER B, Kepler, STSS Demo, & GRAIL.
Atlas V MRO, SDO, Juno, MSL, RBSP, MMS, OA-4, 6 & 7, GOES-R, S, & T, Solar Orbiter; Mars 2020;
Delta IV Heavy - EFT-1
Falcon 9 - DSCOVR, Psyche
Ariane V - JWST.
I also supported the missions of Jason/TIMED, Contour, MAP, TDRS-K, MAVEN, TDRS-L, OSIRIS-REX, TDRS-M, Jason-3, PSP, Lucy, JPSS-2, HALO/PPE, Europa Clipper, SRL, GOES-U, I-HAB, and USDV by either console time or helping with long range planning.
 

Similar threads

Back
Top Bottom