Could this be a model for the United States?
vthokie wrote:
The United States is going to need a heavy lift launch vehicle if we
are going to undertake ambitious manned missions to the moon and
beyond.
I don't agree.
I think that for manned missions to moon and mars, a lot of fuel is
needed to be launched (more than 2/3 of the weight is going to be fuel.)
It seems to me that the best way to handle this is to launch the fuel
separately, on multiple launches; and collect the fuel in orbit.
I mean, that's pretty much what the ISS does- it's not any new tech
needed to fuel up on-orbit.
Smaller launches are cheaper because you get more efficient use of the
R&D needed to produce the vehicle. It's much cheaper to launch 100x a
small vehicle than to launch 25x a big one (within reason- if the
payload is over a few hundred kilogram)- and this is irrespective of
whether the vehicle is reusable or not.
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