5 Soviet Space Programs That Prove Russia Was Insane

The SpaceX Falcon Heavy lifts 53 metric tons into LEO for $125 million
and less. It uses cross-fed elements to implement two stages similar
to what I've proposed in my early External Tank Derived Heavy Lift
Launch Vehicle. The next step for them is to make use of the launch
capability to put up some interesting commercial systems.

These include;

(1) 48 launches of 10 comsats per launch for a total cost of $25
million each, to put into orbit a global wireless internet for $12.0
billion. Each satellite supports six peta-bit open optical laser
channels to their nearest network neighbors in space to support a peta
bit backbone. These channels feed an optical router that drives a
phased array ground link that dynamically paints billions of
stationary to the ground doppler corrected virtual cells across the
face of the Earth to support an upgraded IEEE 803.11 wireless
capability throughout the world blanketed with 480 satellites spaced
20 across 24 polar orbital planes. Supporting 50 billion channel
capability the system earns $100 billion per year in basic internet,
radio, television revenue and another $400 billion per year in service
revenue (banking and insurance). Profits support the deployment of
low cost easy to use tele-robotics and tele-presence. This allows
people to work anywhere and live anywhere. Profits also support the
development of a 7 element launcher with four additional parallel
cross-feed stages, increasing the lift capacity to 183 metric tons.

(2) A 183 metric ton solar power satellite beams 2.75 GW to Earth via
IR laser beam. At $0.06 per kilowatt hour the system earns $1.45
billion per year beaming energy to hundreds of compact ground stations
around the world. The cost of each launch is $200 million. The cost
of the satellite is $3.66 billion. A total cost of $3.86 billion.
With a useful life of 30 years, and an 8% risk free discount rate, the
value of the revenue stream generated by the satellite at switch on
is $16.28 billion a net value of $12.62 billion at switch on. The
world generates a total of 1.7 TW of electrical power using coal fired
power plants generating 19.3 billion tons of CO2 in the process,
nearly half the amount created by humans. 604 satellites of the type
described here are sufficient to meet these needs. So, at a flight
rate of 48 per year, this takes 12.5 years to meet this need.

(3) Replacing the 2.65 km diameter concentrator and 62.5 meter
diameter emitter/target with a 366.7 m diameter emitter target without
concentrator, a sun orbiting system is launched that uses solar
powered ion engine capability (used in #2 for 30 year ACS) to fly to
Jupiter, execute a gravity boost maneuver, to drop the satellite
directly into the Sun. At 3.5 million km from Earth it generates 92
GW of solar energy. This system costs the same $3.86 billion to
launch. A similar system in GEO receives the directed laser beam and
re-directs it to receivers visible to it on Earth and in cislunar
space. At $0.03 per kilowatt hour the system earns $272.3 billion per
year. The pair costs $7.72 billion to put in place. Displacing the
1.7 TW of electrical power on the planet with these satellites
requires a total of 19 pairs to be launched. This takes less than 1
year to meet this need. Crude oil contains 1,694 kWh of thermal
energy when burned. To release this same amount energy from lasers in
space, at $0.03 per kilowatt hour requires the expenditure of less
than $51 per barrel equivalent. Driving electric vehicles, rather
than thermal ones, the effective price drops below $25 per barrel
equivalent. 30 MW to 100 MW are the power requirements of airliners.
920 to 3,066 aircraft are driven by a single satellite pair at a
fraction of the cost of kerosene with no pollution.

(4) Using a 53 metric ton payload on LEO 12 people can be sent to the
moon in a two stage deep space ship powered by LOX/LH2 at less than
$85 million each.

(5) Using a 187 metric ton payload on LEO 36 people can be sent to the
moon in a larger two stage deep space ship powered by LOX/LH2 at less
than $20 million each.

(6) Using a 53 metric ton paylod on LEO 4 people can be sent to mars
in a two stage deep space ship.

(7) Using a 187 metric ton payload on LEO 12 people can be sent to
mars in a two stage deep space ship.