Space Station

OK, I’ll bite: What kind of clowns are running the show at NASA these days? “Cost of New Space Station $3.6 Billion Over Budget” (Feb. 15) says that they intend to use the space shuttle itself to lob components of the international space station into orbit. In the late ‘70s, when the space shuttle was under development, one of the options that was to be available with it was an unmanned version, a heavy-lift vehicle composed of the solid rocket boosters, the external propellant tank, three hydrogen-burning main engines and, in lieu of the orbiter, a payload shroud and support structure.

If I remember correctly, that HLV was meant to put over 80 metric tons of cargo into orbit. The current version of the shuttle can take up 29.5 metric tons. Thus, the use of HLVs would substantially reduce the number of launches needed to build the space station. The consequent savings would pay for the development of the HLV and possibly defray some of the cost overruns.

DENNIS ANTHONY

Los Angeles