come on....

So, the Soyuz is being replaced and the Russians and Europeans have unveiled their new manned-spacecraft design. It looks like a turd. Now... I know that ballistics dictates that a radially symmetric design is the most stable in flight when things like lift are unnecessary... but come on, even a ballistics expert doesn't have to be blind to aesthetics. For instance: solar panels. I know the attraction to having outboard panels, but they are even more susceptible to damage flopping about like that... why not figure out a coating that would allow the panels to be incorporated into the skin of the vehicle? It would do away with external pieces that jam when folding, and it would look hella-sweet. What I'm really lamenting here is the lack of government interest in building a proper space-cruiser.. If these were cars, the Soyuz would be like the Yugo or maybe a geo-metro, the space-shuttle might be a cadillac sedan, but what I want to see oriting the planet is something like a super-duper lamborghini/hummer with a million little windows and a design that just looks awesome. What will aliens think when they look at us and see how our crude little ships putt around in orbit? we'd be like the dunces of the galaxy, sitting in the corner way out here at the end of an arm with our turd-like ships that can't even get us to the nearest star. lame.

hmmmm...

...this is more like it.

...even this would be better!

~t