Fortuna (Talbot Book 2) by Richard F. Weyand

Author:Richard F. Weyand [Weyand, Richard F.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Weyand Associates, Inc.
Published: 2023-11-30T16:00:00+00:00

Arnie considered the balloon problem. There were really two problems. One was the design of the balloons, the other was how many balloons could he mount on the lander.

The design of the balloons was a simple matter. In engineering, if one added a constraint, the resulting solution could be no better than the original solution, it could only be the same or worse. Would modifying the design of the launch balloon to also accommodate landing degrade its performance as a launch balloon, and by how much?

They were both the long, thin, high-altitude balloons, not the round, fat, low-altitude balloons most people were familiar with. The landing balloon was designed to slow the lander from parachute speed, while the launch balloon was designed to lift the lander to rocket altitude.

How hard would it be to build one balloon that would be suitable for either?

That still didn’t solve the issue of space on the top of the lander. There were a succession of three parachutes required for landing, and the lander would have to do it twice. Together with reserve chutes, you were talking eight parachutes, minimum.

As for balloons, there were two takeoffs, two landings, and reserves. Call it six balloons as a minimum.

And all the parachutes and balloons had to mount on the top of the lander, near the center, so it wouldn’t hang sideways.

Wait. They all had to be anchored near the center, but they could be arrayed around the center connection. Arnie had planned that already, but none of these items was small and space was still tight.

Of course, the lander could stop at the Talbot Bridge Device to be refreshed in both directions. New parachutes, new balloons. There were problems with that plan, though. Reliably securing new devices to the lander would be more difficult in space, with the robot arms he had.

It also meant slowing the lander to a stop and reaccelerating it, which would use a lot more JATO bottles. Enough JATO bottles was already a problem. Of course, he could refresh the supply of JATO bottles at the Talbot Bridge Device, too, but the reliability issue was even more of a problem there, considering the stresses involved.

What if Arnie mounted the parachutes and balloons in layers, with them in the order they were needed from the top down. That could work. The reserves would also have to be available at the right time, but he could work that out.

It would take a bunch of explosive bolts, so the upper layer of devices could be released completely. Not just the cable, but the container as well. That was OK. The NASA guys loved explosive bolts.

All right. Done. That’s how to do it.

Arnie started working up the exact design drawings the NASA assembly people would need to build it up, and adjusted the orders for parachutes and balloons to match the new plan.

Oh, and double the numbers.

Two landers would be built.

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