artistsconcept

It was a dark and stormy night...

bello

Elon Musk needs to buy a surplus aircraft carrier.

GENERAL INFORMATION FOR ENTIRE BONO SERIES OF IMAGES SCANNED BY SDASM: Full descriptions and technical details of the concepts illustrated by this series can be found in "Frontiers of Space" by Philip Bono and Kenneth Gatland, published in 1969 (with a second revised edition coming out in 1976) by Macmillan & Co. (NYC) ISBN# 0-02-542810-1. The book was part of the Macmillan Color Series. Other Gatland space titles in the series include three Pocket Encyclopedia of Spaceflight In Color books: "Manned Spacecraft" (1967), "Missiles and Rockets" (1975), and "Robot Explorers" (1972). The book contains many fine color and b/w illustrations and diagrams. The "Ithacus" concept, shown above, is a proposal for a rocket-delivered Rapid Deployment Force, stationed at sea and capable of responding anywhere on earth. Bono's proposals include several types of unconventional rocket nozzles and often include reusable components. Good luck finding a copy. I kept mine !

I think this illustration refers to the 1973 footprint of the Ford Romeo Engine Plant in Romeo, Michigan. Ford had implemented a significant expansion of the faciliity about the time of this illustration.

In my opinion, this is a notoriously difficult thing to implement especially considering the state of computing and microprocessor development in 1973. I didn't see reliaible conveyors and barcode readers until the early 1980s.

Imagine you need to get out a soldering iron, or a wire wrap gun, and scratch your head over electrical schematics in order to make changes to the system. Nowadays, you change the software. Not a simple task in either case.

Agree? Disagree?