From: p_stickney@verizon.net   
      
   On Sat, 12 Dec 2020 22:20:48 -0800, Snidely wrote:   
      
   > Remember  Saturday, when  JF Mezei asked plainitively:   
   >   
   >> I was told here that much of a rocket's strength comes from when it is   
   >> pressurized.   
   >   
   > The original Atlas had a skin 1/2 the thickness of a (US) dime.  I don't   
   > know how well it dealt with being vertical and unpressurized, but at the   
   > very least they must have been able to erect it at the pad before   
   > tanking.   
   >   
   > We already know from multiple prototypes that Starships can spend days   
   > at the pad unpressurized, even when it gets quite gusty.  I don't know   
   > how thick the skin is compared to the original Atlas, although I think   
   > you could stand such an Atlas inside the ring stacks.  And when a ring   
   > stack is pushed around, there isn't much wobble, although the stand its   
   > on does provide some support.   
   >   
   > /dps   
      
   The dhort answer is, it didn't.  When they were kept unpressurized and   
   horizontal, they were loaded into strongback frams, which served also as   
   transport ttailers and erectors.   
   An Atlas on the pad, in a silo or coffin was pressurized from an external   
   source.  Fueling and de-fueling was a delicate balancing act of   
   maiintaining pressure as the volume in the tanks changed.   
   Atlas hulls on display were either kept pressurized by external   
   compressors, or were filled with concrete or something like self-   
   hardening insulation foam to maintain shape.   
   Starship is built along more industrial lines, with the expectation that   
   the square-cube law will make a viable structure, even with more   
   industrial construction methods.   
    --   
   Pete Stickney   
   From the foothills of the Florida Alps.   
      
      
      
      
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