esa Advanced Re-entry Vehicle (ARV) 1:100

[woods170]

Originally Posted by Paper Kosmonaut

And of course an extra advantage: the possibility for a much larger hatch.

Yes, but in the ARV proposal Astrium stuck to the size of the ATV/Soyuz docking hatch: 80 centimeter (32 inches). Reason: they still had it dock to the Russian segment instead of the USOS segment of ISS.

[Paper Kosmonaut]

Originally Posted by woods170

Yes, but in the ARV proposal Astrium stuck to the size of the ATV/Soyuz docking hatch: 80 centimeter (32 inches). Reason: they still had it dock to the Russian segment instead of the USOS segment of ISS.

Yet still bigger than the "original" Apollo docking hatch, which was 30 inch.
(I remember reading that document about the reuse of Skylab by Martin Marietta in which the Shuttle was to dock with the station. They had to make an adapter to fit the small Apollo docking hatch to the much bigger proposed Shuttle hatch...)
And bigger loads always can go up using either Dragon or the Japanese HTV, isn't it?

[woods170]

Originally Posted by Paper Kosmonaut

And bigger loads always can go up using either Dragon or the Japanese HTV, isn't it?

Yes and no. Dragon features a full-size CBM hatch (50 inches diameter = 127 centimeters). So does the Japanes HTV.
But, Dragon has no internal fittings for International Standard Payload Racks (ISPR), so it can only transfer 'loose' freight in transfer bags and trays, much like ATV.
HTV is the only craft capable of bringing up new ISPR's and disposing obsolete one's.
Cygnus (Orbital's counterpart to SpaceX's Dragon) also has a CBM berthing mechanism, but a substantially smaller hatch (37 inches diameter = 94 centimeters), for some reason. So, Cygnus is also restricted to transporting 'loose' cargo. Similar to ATV and Dragon.

So, the only spacecraft taking full advantage of the size of the CBM standard hatch is HTV.

[Paper Kosmonaut]

Ah. I see. Interesting and a bit peculiar. One should think there's a lot more to gain with those commercial capsules also being able to transport ISPR's to the ISS.

[rbeach84]

Perhaps humankind is still working to develop a 'collaborative' natural sense... where one of the first thoughts is to reach out and share hosestly with others working in the same endeavors.

Like this forum!

[Paper Kosmonaut]

Hear hear.
I'd say, let China dock to the ISS. Their base is situated where it is for doing so. And then let's all join in one collective flight to Mars. As people of Earth. That would be great.

[rbeach84]

Yes, either that or we will be joining the 'fossil record'...

[woods170]

Originally Posted by rbeach84

Yes, either that or we will be joining the 'fossil record'...

Ha, mankind will join the fossil record anyway. Our time as a species is finite. That's how nature goes.

[rbeach84]

I should have added"... joining the fossil record prematurely"...

[spacewalker]

Thank You all for the comments. I think it is not to bad to have some spacecrafts concepts in the background. If another one failures you have an alternative.
Explore the deepspace in a big project of mankind is the right way. Let us see what coming up in the next decades.