Date: Thu, 16 Jun 2005 18:35:58 -0400
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>
From: "Mike B." <omni at omniphile.com>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Take that Darth Vader, thwack! , was  Sith
  andbefore

At 04:30 PM 6/16/05 -0400, Michael Walsh wrote:
>> omni at omniphile.com 6/16/2005 4:15:06 PM >>>

>>Unless the "refit" involved adding a seriously large "stores module",
>>there's no way an Apollo capsule would make a months long trip with
>>a crew,
>>even if they didn't kill each other...recycling only takes you just so
>far
>>and then you have to make up the losses from somewhere, and the
>>capsule
>>wasn't designed for storage, just re-entry.  Even a full command
>>module
>>wouldn't have enough storage for the air, water and food needed.
>>
>>Talk about unbelievable "science" in your fiction...  ;-)
>
>My recollection is that White did the appropriate science.  He was a
>clever writer.

I haven't read it, so I don't know what he came up with, but I do know a
guy who works for Boeing on contract to NASA who works on trying to design
life support systems for a possible Mars trip, and after a number of
discussions with him I have at least a slight grasp of some of the problems
involved.  They aren't minor and we still don't have complete answers that
we are confident would work...and that's with the ability to design a ship
to meet them, not just retrofit one designed for a week or so round trip to
the Moon...so I'm skeptical.

-- Mike B.
--
Sex is like air, it's not important unless you aren't getting any.