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Super-heavy lift reusable launcher



 
 
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  #1  
Old August 9th 08, 04:57 AM posted to sci.space.policy
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Default Super-heavy lift reusable launcher

Imagine a hydrogen oxygen rocket engine with an exit nozzle diameter
of 17 meters in diameter, 36 meters long and produces a thrust of
53,300 tonnes with a specific impulse of 450 seconds.

Now imagine a three stage rocket built around this engine.

The first stage

Consists of a truncated cone that has a base diameter of 196.96 meters
and a ring of 36 engines around the base - exhausting into a zero
height aerospike engine arrangement - that doubles as a re-entry heat
sheild. The vehicle has 316 support legs around the base to form its
own self supporting platform. These legs are equipped with powered
wheels that allow the vehicle to move on the ground after landing and
before take off. The legs also have powered anchors, reusable hold
down clamps. The stage length is 154.88 meters. The stage masses
217,415 metric tons empty and carries 136,164 metric tons of hydrogen
in a single spherical tank 154.88 meters in diameter. At the base of
the cone, above the 36 engines are 8 smaller oxygen tanks each 27.76 m
in diameter, together they carry 816,988 metric tons of liquid
oxygen. Total stage weight is 1,225,567 metric tons. All 36 engines
produce nearly 2 million tons at lift off.

The second stage

Consists of a smaller truncated cone that has a base diameter 112.81
meters. It is equipped with a ring of six engines around the base -
exhausting into a zero height aerospike engine - that also doubles as
a re-entry shield. The vehicles has 36 support legs around the base
to form its own inter-stage connection during lift-off and landing
gear during vertical touchdown. The legs are powered and can also
operate as anchors as above. The stage length is 88.71 meters. The
empty stage masses 50,993 metric tons and carries 25,582 metric tons
of hydrogen in a single spherical tank that is 88.71 meters in
diameter. At the base of the cone, above the 6 engines are 8 smaller
oxygen tanks each a sphere 15.90 meters in diameter. Altogether the 8
tanks carry a total oxygen load of 153,495 metric tons. Total stage
weight is 230,070 metric tons.

The third stage

Consists of a smaller truncated cone that has a base diameter of 64.61
meters. It is equipped with a single engine at its base - exhausting
at the center of a heat sheild that is equipped with a door. Smaller
vernier engines surround the heat sheild for vehicle recovery. There
are 6 support leges around the base to form its own inter-stage
connection during lift off and operate as landing gear during vertical
touchdown. The legs are powered and can also operate as anchors. The
stage length is 50.81 meters. The empty stage masses 9,580 metric
tons and carries 4,806 metric tons of hydrogen in a single spherical
tank 50.81 meters in diameter. 28,839 metric tons of oxygen are
carried in 8 tanks each 9.11 meters in diameter. Total stage weight
is 43,225 metric tons.

Payload fairing

The payload fairing rides atop the third stage, and ispart of it. It
consists of 6 clamshell type doors that open 20 degrees and are self
powered and have a powered clamping mechanism. The fairing base sits
atop the third stage and is 37 meters in diameter and has an overall
length of 91.94 meters. It is cylindrical from the base for its first
23.78 meters. It then tapers at a half angle of 15.75 degrees until
it comes to a point another 68.16 meters above the top of the
cylinder. Total volume within the fairing 50,000 cubic meters. Total
payload capacity 10,000 metric tons.

Piloted option

Around the base of the payload fariing is a 37 meter diameter torus
that is 3 meters in diameter - this 116 meter long ring is equipped to
carry a crew of up to 35 - although the vehicle is capable of
unpiloted operations. 90 tele-operated humaniform robots are attached
throughout the fairing volume to allow operators in the pressurized
zone access to the cargo and spacecraft. These robots may also be
teleoperated from the ground.

Notes on Cost:

Fighter aircraft and spacecraft range in prices from $5 million to $10
million per ton. Transport aircraft range in prices from $1 million
to $1.8 million per ton. Cargo ships cost $1,500 to $2,000 per ton.
The variation in cost has to do primarily with non-recurring
engineering charges, scale of production, and volume produced - to a
smaller degree the sort of environment and the nature of the materials
used play a part. On the scale we're discussing here - it should be
possible to achieve $2,000 per ton for structure cost, and $20 per ton
propellant cost. This means each vehicle can be built for $664
million - the payload costs $20 million - and recurring cost per
flight is $48 million.

Notes on Size:

Total mass of the empty vehicle is 331,986 metric tons. This is about
the size of a very large ocean going ship. Its total length when
fully stacked is 386.34 meters. Total mass at lift off is nearly 1.5
million tons and it burns nearly 1.2 million tons of propellant.

Operation

The first stage lights, and powers up, and the anchoring gear
releases. The stage rises at 1.3 gees. When the vehicle reaches 3.5
km/sec the stage falls away and re-enters downrange. There it
executes a powered touchdown at a downrange field. There it is partly
refueled and flown back to the launch center ballistically, in a
'bounce back' maneuver. At the launch center it re-enters, lands -
and motors over to the launch center again to be reused.

The second stage ignites and continues upward achieving a final speed
of 7.7 km per second and placing the fully loaded 53,225 metric tons
into LEO. The second stage after release of the third stage, deorbits
and re-enters so that it lands vertically in a powered touchdown near
the launch center. Once down, it motors to the 400 meter tall
assembly crane where it is placed atop the booster stage once again.

The third stage ignites and enters a GTO and rises to GEO. There it
executes a circularizing burn - and releases its payload after opening
its nose shroud. Once the payload is released and the payload
successfully deployed, the reusable kick stage, deorbits slowing to
GTO velocity, and re-enters the atmosphere and lands at the launch
center - motors over to the tower, and is placed again on the stack
after refurbishment.

Once the stack is assembled, the vehicle is then refueled and reused.

A fleet of 6 vehicles are built to deploy 52 payloads per year - with
a cycle time of 6 weeks.

* * * *



  #2  
Old August 9th 08, 05:35 AM posted to sci.space.policy
Alan Erskine[_2_]
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Posts: 1,316
Default Super-heavy lift reusable launcher

wrote in message
...
Imagine a hydrogen oxygen rocket engine with an exit nozzle diameter
of 17 meters in diameter, 36 meters long and produces a thrust of
53,300 tonnes with a specific impulse of 450 seconds.


Not even if I were using drugs would I be able to imagine something so
ridiculous as this.


  #3  
Old August 9th 08, 05:47 AM posted to sci.space.policy
[email protected]
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Posts: 1,465
Default Super-heavy lift reusable launcher

Now,

imagine a 200 GW laser power satellite on orbit. It has the capacity
to beam energy to the upper stage of the vehicle just described. Now
imagine that a second stage engine is equipped to receive laser energy
from space, sufficient to produce 339,556 metric tons of thrust by
heating 167 metric tons of hydrogen per second - to exhaust it at 20
km/sec.

This requires the power 33 TW of laser energy - the output of 167
power satellites.

The second stage is equipped with a stretched second stage hydrogen
tank with a 16.84 meter spacer between spherical end caps, which is
filledwith 129,644 metric tons of hydrogen in the 105.55 m long
stretched tank. the base of the second stage is the same, but has a
16.84 m long 88.71 m diameter cylinder inserted mid way through the
stage, before narrowing to a 64.61 meter at the top - with a 112.81
meter base.

This vehicle delivers 102,658 metric tons to GEO - using the same
booster and an improved upper stage.

A stretched deep space stage is attached to the top of this two stage
booster. The deep space stage is a stretched version of the third
stage which is capable of landing on the moon and returning to Earth -
with 20,000 tons of payload. The vehicle is also capable of executing
a powered touchdown on Mars and returning to Earth - again with 20,000
tons of payload.

A laser propelled version of this vehicle is capable of flying to the
asteroid belt, surveying to find rich feedstock for human industry,
and attaching laser powered rockets that use the asteroid itself as
propellant.



  #4  
Old August 9th 08, 07:53 AM posted to sci.space.policy
Alan Erskine[_2_]
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Posts: 1,316
Default Super-heavy lift reusable launcher

wrote in message
...
Now,

imagine a 200 GW laser power satellite on orbit. It has the capacity
to beam energy to the upper stage of the vehicle just described.


No it doesn't. There's no such thing as a laser that powerful. There's
also no satellite that can generate that much power.

Oh, and what if the laser misses the 'target'? Of course, in _your_
imagination, it wouldn't do that.


  #5  
Old August 9th 08, 10:23 AM posted to sci.space.policy
Ian Parker
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Posts: 2,554
Default Super-heavy lift reusable launcher

On 9 Aug, 04:57, wrote:
Imagine a hydrogen oxygen rocket engine with an exit nozzle diameter
of 17 meters in diameter, 36 meters long and produces a thrust of
53,300 tonnes with a specific impulse of 450 seconds.

Now imagine a three stage rocket built around this engine.

The first stage

Consists of a truncated cone that has a base diameter of 196.96 meters
and a ring of 36 engines around the base - exhausting into a zero
height aerospike engine arrangement - that doubles as a re-entry heat
sheild. *The vehicle has 316 support legs around the base to form its
own self supporting platform. *These legs are equipped with powered
wheels that allow the vehicle to move on the ground after landing and
before take off. *The legs also have powered anchors, reusable hold
down clamps. *The stage length is 154.88 meters. *The stage masses
217,415 metric tons empty and carries 136,164 metric tons of hydrogen
in a single spherical tank 154.88 meters in diameter. *At the base of
the cone, above the 36 engines are 8 smaller oxygen tanks each 27.76 m
in diameter, together they carry 816,988 metric tons of liquid
oxygen. *Total stage weight is 1,225,567 metric tons. *All 36 engines
produce nearly 2 million tons at lift off.

The second stage

Consists of a smaller truncated cone that has a base diameter 112.81
meters. *It is equipped with a ring of six engines around the base -
exhausting into a zero height aerospike engine - that also doubles as
a re-entry shield. *The vehicles has 36 support legs around the base
to form its own inter-stage connection during lift-off and landing
gear during vertical touchdown. The legs are powered and can also
operate as anchors as above. *The stage length is 88.71 meters. *The
empty stage masses 50,993 metric tons and carries 25,582 metric tons
of hydrogen in a single spherical tank that is 88.71 meters in
diameter. *At the base of the cone, above the 6 engines are 8 smaller
oxygen tanks each a sphere 15.90 meters in diameter. *Altogether the 8
tanks carry a total oxygen load of 153,495 metric tons. *Total stage
weight is 230,070 metric tons.

The third stage

Consists of a smaller truncated cone that has a base diameter of 64.61
meters. *It is equipped with a single engine at its base - exhausting
at the center of a heat sheild that is equipped with a door. *Smaller
vernier engines surround the heat sheild for vehicle recovery. *There
are 6 support leges around the base to form its own inter-stage
connection during lift off and operate as landing gear during vertical
touchdown. *The legs are powered and can also operate as anchors. *The
stage length is 50.81 meters. *The empty stage masses 9,580 metric
tons and carries 4,806 metric tons of hydrogen in a single spherical
tank 50.81 meters in diameter. *28,839 metric tons of oxygen are
carried in 8 tanks each 9.11 meters in diameter. *Total stage weight
is 43,225 metric tons.

Payload fairing

The payload fairing rides atop the third stage, and ispart of it. *It
consists of 6 clamshell type doors that open 20 degrees and are self
powered and have a powered clamping mechanism. *The fairing base sits
atop the third stage and is 37 meters in diameter and has an overall
length of 91.94 meters. *It is cylindrical from the base for its first
23.78 meters. *It then tapers at a half angle of 15.75 degrees until
it comes to a point another 68.16 meters above the top of the
cylinder. *Total volume within the fairing 50,000 cubic meters. *Total
payload capacity 10,000 metric tons.

Piloted option

Around the base of the payload fariing is a 37 meter diameter torus
that is 3 meters in diameter - this 116 meter long ring is equipped to
carry a crew of up to 35 - although *the vehicle is capable of
unpiloted operations. *90 tele-operated humaniform robots are attached
throughout the fairing volume to allow operators in the pressurized
zone access to the cargo and spacecraft. *These robots may also be
teleoperated from the ground.

Notes on Cost:

Fighter aircraft and spacecraft range in prices from $5 million to $10
million per ton. *Transport aircraft range in prices from $1 million
to $1.8 million per ton. *Cargo ships cost $1,500 to $2,000 per ton.
The variation in cost has to do primarily with non-recurring
engineering charges, scale of production, and volume produced - to a
smaller degree the sort of environment and the nature of the materials
used play a part. *On the scale we're discussing here - it should be
possible to achieve $2,000 per ton for structure cost, and $20 per ton
propellant cost. *This means each vehicle can be built for $664
million - the payload costs $20 million - and recurring cost per
flight is $48 million.

Notes on Size:

Total mass of the empty vehicle is 331,986 metric tons. *This is about
the size of a very large ocean going ship. *Its total length when
fully stacked is 386.34 meters. *Total mass at lift off is nearly 1.5
million tons and it burns nearly 1.2 million tons of propellant.

Operation

The first stage lights, and powers up, and the anchoring gear
releases. *The stage rises at 1.3 gees. * When the vehicle reaches 3.5
km/sec the stage falls away and re-enters downrange. *There it
executes a powered touchdown at a downrange field. *There it is partly
refueled and flown back to the launch center ballistically, in a
'bounce back' maneuver. *At the launch center it re-enters, lands -
and motors over to the launch center again to be reused.

The second stage ignites and continues upward achieving a final speed
of 7.7 km per second and placing the fully loaded 53,225 metric tons
into LEO. *The second stage after release of the third stage, deorbits
and re-enters so that it lands vertically in a powered touchdown near
the launch center. *Once down, it motors to the 400 meter tall
assembly crane where it is placed atop the booster stage once again.

The third stage ignites and enters a GTO and rises to GEO. *There it
executes a circularizing burn - and releases its payload after opening
its nose shroud. Once the payload is released and the payload
successfully deployed, the reusable kick stage, deorbits slowing to
GTO velocity, and re-enters the atmosphere and lands at the launch
center - motors over to the tower, and is placed again on the stack
after refurbishment.

Once the stack is assembled, the vehicle is then refueled and reused.

A fleet of 6 vehicles are built to deploy 52 payloads per year - with
a cycle time of 6 weeks.

* * * *


You are assuming that heavy lift is need for SSP. In fact what you
require is the phase locking of small (a few Kw) units.


- Ian Parker
  #6  
Old August 9th 08, 12:12 PM posted to sci.space.policy
Martha Adams
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 371
Default Super-heavy lift reusable launcher

"Alan Erskine" wrote in message
...
wrote in message
...
Imagine a hydrogen oxygen rocket engine with an exit nozzle diameter
of 17 meters in diameter, 36 meters long and produces a thrust of
53,300 tonnes with a specific impulse of 450 seconds.


Not even if I were using drugs would I be able to imagine something so
ridiculous as this.


============================================

"Ridiculous" is a very bad word, because it shuts-off
thinking. I might go for "extravagant," but I'd like
to point out, if it's out toward the far end of a
good imagination, it's realistic, and I have guessed
a scenario where the national effort would be directed
to building a "small" fleet of these things. If you
restart your thinking, maybe you can guess something
too.

Titeotwawki -- mha [sci.space.policy 208 Aug 09]


  #7  
Old August 9th 08, 12:14 PM posted to sci.space.policy
[email protected]
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Posts: 1,465
Default Super-heavy lift reusable launcher

On Aug 9, 12:35*am, "Alan Erskine" wrote:
wrote in message

...

Imagine a hydrogen oxygen rocket engine with an exit nozzle diameter
of 17 meters in diameter, 36 meters long and produces a thrust of
53,300 tonnes with a specific impulse of 450 seconds.


Not even if I were using drugs would I be able to imagine something so
ridiculous as this.


Why?

Are you not familiar with the scaling laws of rocket engines?

As early as 1959 the US Army concluded that there was no fundamental
reason rockets of several thousand tons thrust could not be built if
there were a reason for it.

Furthermore,study after study since that time also concluded that
vehicle cost could be reduced by;

1) increasing launcher size
2) making components reusable
3) increasing flight rate

This proposal achieves that.
  #8  
Old August 9th 08, 12:22 PM posted to sci.space.policy
[email protected]
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Posts: 1,465
Default Super-heavy lift reusable launcher

On Aug 9, 2:53*am, "Alan Erskine" wrote:
wrote in message

...

Now,


imagine a 200 GW laser power satellite on orbit. *It has the capacity
to beam energy to the upper stage of the vehicle just described.


No it doesn't. *There's no such thing as a laser that powerful.


Are you familiar with Bob Forward's plans to use laser light sails to
send payloads interstellar distances? This rocket is far less
powerful than that.

*There's
also no satellite that can generate that much power.


Not today. However the powersats that have been proposed can generate
that much power. 480 sq km of sunlight - harvested by a mylar disk
24.72 km in diameter, shaped by very low pressure gas into a near
parabolic shape, illuminating a thin film PV/FEL/MEMs device 400 m in
diameter - does produce 200 GW of controlled laser energy.

Oh, and what if the laser misses the 'target'? *


You misapprehend a detail. The laser cannot miss the receiver.
That's because the power laser beam is functionally GENERATED BY the
receivers 'pilot beam' which interacts with the nonlinear optics IN
the laser controlled window to create a conjugate beam that makes its
way back precisely to the receiver.

This is just the methodology proposed by SDI to shoot down thousands
of warheads at once. Except here the reciver is cooperating.

Now, what happens when the pilot beam disappears? The power beam
shuts off.

Of course, in _your_
imagination, it wouldn't do that.


Nonsense. I've worked out the details which you haven't yet. Of
course that doesn't stop you from growling your nonsense does it?


  #9  
Old August 9th 08, 12:33 PM posted to sci.space.policy
[email protected]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,465
Default Super-heavy lift reusable launcher

On Aug 9, 5:23*am, Ian Parker wrote:
On 9 Aug, 04:57, wrote:





Imagine a hydrogen oxygen rocket engine with an exit nozzle diameter
of 17 meters in diameter, 36 meters long and produces a thrust of
53,300 tonnes with a specific impulse of 450 seconds.


Now imagine a three stage rocket built around this engine.


The first stage


Consists of a truncated cone that has a base diameter of 196.96 meters
and a ring of 36 engines around the base - exhausting into a zero
height aerospike engine arrangement - that doubles as a re-entry heat
sheild. *The vehicle has 316 support legs around the base to form its
own self supporting platform. *These legs are equipped with powered
wheels that allow the vehicle to move on the ground after landing and
before take off. *The legs also have powered anchors, reusable hold
down clamps. *The stage length is 154.88 meters. *The stage masses
217,415 metric tons empty and carries 136,164 metric tons of hydrogen
in a single spherical tank 154.88 meters in diameter. *At the base of
the cone, above the 36 engines are 8 smaller oxygen tanks each 27.76 m
in diameter, together they carry 816,988 metric tons of liquid
oxygen. *Total stage weight is 1,225,567 metric tons. *All 36 engines
produce nearly 2 million tons at lift off.


The second stage


Consists of a smaller truncated cone that has a base diameter 112.81
meters. *It is equipped with a ring of six engines around the base -
exhausting into a zero height aerospike engine - that also doubles as
a re-entry shield. *The vehicles has 36 support legs around the base
to form its own inter-stage connection during lift-off and landing
gear during vertical touchdown. The legs are powered and can also
operate as anchors as above. *The stage length is 88.71 meters. *The
empty stage masses 50,993 metric tons and carries 25,582 metric tons
of hydrogen in a single spherical tank that is 88.71 meters in
diameter. *At the base of the cone, above the 6 engines are 8 smaller
oxygen tanks each a sphere 15.90 meters in diameter. *Altogether the 8
tanks carry a total oxygen load of 153,495 metric tons. *Total stage
weight is 230,070 metric tons.


The third stage


Consists of a smaller truncated cone that has a base diameter of 64.61
meters. *It is equipped with a single engine at its base - exhausting
at the center of a heat sheild that is equipped with a door. *Smaller
vernier engines surround the heat sheild for vehicle recovery. *There
are 6 support leges around the base to form its own inter-stage
connection during lift off and operate as landing gear during vertical
touchdown. *The legs are powered and can also operate as anchors. *The
stage length is 50.81 meters. *The empty stage masses 9,580 metric
tons and carries 4,806 metric tons of hydrogen in a single spherical
tank 50.81 meters in diameter. *28,839 metric tons of oxygen are
carried in 8 tanks each 9.11 meters in diameter. *Total stage weight
is 43,225 metric tons.


Payload fairing


The payload fairing rides atop the third stage, and ispart of it. *It
consists of 6 clamshell type doors that open 20 degrees and are self
powered and have a powered clamping mechanism. *The fairing base sits
atop the third stage and is 37 meters in diameter and has an overall
length of 91.94 meters. *It is cylindrical from the base for its first
23.78 meters. *It then tapers at a half angle of 15.75 degrees until
it comes to a point another 68.16 meters above the top of the
cylinder. *Total volume within the fairing 50,000 cubic meters. *Total
payload capacity 10,000 metric tons.


Piloted option


Around the base of the payload fariing is a 37 meter diameter torus
that is 3 meters in diameter - this 116 meter long ring is equipped to
carry a crew of up to 35 - although *the vehicle is capable of
unpiloted operations. *90 tele-operated humaniform robots are attached
throughout the fairing volume to allow operators in the pressurized
zone access to the cargo and spacecraft. *These robots may also be
teleoperated from the ground.


Notes on Cost:


Fighter aircraft and spacecraft range in prices from $5 million to $10
million per ton. *Transport aircraft range in prices from $1 million
to $1.8 million per ton. *Cargo ships cost $1,500 to $2,000 per ton.
The variation in cost has to do primarily with non-recurring
engineering charges, scale of production, and volume produced - to a
smaller degree the sort of environment and the nature of the materials
used play a part. *On the scale we're discussing here - it should be
possible to achieve $2,000 per ton for structure cost, and $20 per ton
propellant cost. *This means each vehicle can be built for $664
million - the payload costs $20 million - and recurring cost per
flight is $48 million.


Notes on Size:


Total mass of the empty vehicle is 331,986 metric tons. *This is about
the size of a very large ocean going ship. *Its total length when
fully stacked is 386.34 meters. *Total mass at lift off is nearly 1.5
million tons and it burns nearly 1.2 million tons of propellant.


Operation


The first stage lights, and powers up, and the anchoring gear
releases. *The stage rises at 1.3 gees. * When the vehicle reaches 3.5
km/sec the stage falls away and re-enters downrange. *There it
executes a powered touchdown at a downrange field. *There it is partly
refueled and flown back to the launch center ballistically, in a
'bounce back' maneuver. *At the launch center it re-enters, lands -
and motors over to the launch center again to be reused.


The second stage ignites and continues upward achieving a final speed
of 7.7 km per second and placing the fully loaded 53,225 metric tons
into LEO. *The second stage after release of the third stage, deorbits
and re-enters so that it lands vertically in a powered touchdown near
the launch center. *Once down, it motors to the 400 meter tall
assembly crane where it is placed atop the booster stage once again.


The third stage ignites and enters a GTO and rises to GEO. *There it
executes a circularizing burn - and releases its payload after opening
its nose shroud. Once the payload is released and the payload
successfully deployed, the reusable kick stage, deorbits slowing to
GTO velocity, and re-enters the atmosphere and lands at the launch
center - motors over to the tower, and is placed again on the stack
after refurbishment.


Once the stack is assembled, the vehicle is then refueled and reused.


A fleet of 6 vehicles are built to deploy 52 payloads per year - with
a cycle time of 6 weeks.


* * * *


You are assuming that heavy lift is need for SSP. In fact what you
require is the phase locking of small (a few Kw) units.

* - Ian Parker- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


Not when you look at lowest system cost. There are cost differences
when scale changes. While it is feasible to build on the scale you
speak of, it is not AS cost effective. Demonstration projects using
subscale systems - will certainly be built as you suggest.

The size I propose here is nearly optimal to transition from chemical
launcher, to chemical/laser launcher, and deep space laser probes, and
laser recovery of asteroidal feedstock.

haha.. even at 200 GW per satellite - which is broken down using
conjugate optics into many many beams some as small as 10 kW - you
still have to combine 100s of satellites to do heavy lifting with
laser energy - so 200 GW satellite size WILL also operate in phase
locked mode - sharing a common pilot beam from a common receiver to
usefully combine energies to do heavy lifting.

What's interesting is if you look at the consumption curve of each
person throughout the day and by season at each latititude in an
industrial society, and then you shift that curve by longitude and
latitutde for each person - and then sumall the component curves - to
get a global energy demand curve - you end up with something like 210
TW average power - which peaks at over 300 TW and drops to less than
100 TW - throughout the day. This means there will be 1,500
satellites of this size!! So, they'll certainly operate in a variety
of modes - including combining their outputs for space workmostly.
Harvesting asteroids, sending out space probes, sending out
interstellar probes, and so forth.

This means that there are certain times of the day that you'll have
the 33 TW available for launch for 10 minutes or so at a time. You'll
be limited to launching fewer than 6 vehicles per day - once your
system is fully use and integrated into the world's economy.

Ultimately - 100 or so of the 200 GW satellites will be permanently
dedicate to supporting space operations.
  #10  
Old August 9th 08, 12:35 PM posted to sci.space.policy
[email protected]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,465
Default Super-heavy lift reusable launcher

On Aug 9, 7:12*am, "Martha Adams" wrote:
"Alan Erskine" wrote in message

...

wrote in message
....
Imagine a hydrogen oxygen rocket engine with an exit nozzle diameter
of 17 meters in diameter, 36 meters long and produces a thrust of
53,300 tonnes with a specific impulse of 450 seconds.


Not even if I were using drugs would I be able to imagine something so
ridiculous as this.


============================================

"Ridiculous" is a very bad word, because it shuts-off
thinking. *I might go for "extravagant," but I'd like
to point out, if it's out toward the far end of a
good imagination, it's realistic, and I have guessed
a scenario where the national effort would be directed
to building a "small" fleet of these things. *If you
restart your thinking, maybe you can guess something
too.

Titeotwawki -- mha *[sci.space.policy 208 Aug 09]


Reading declassifie reports about what is possible also helps. What's
surprising is that many of these reports are 50 years old - and are
based on sound engineering and materials science practices of the
1940s and 50s. Using today's abilities - we can far exceed the
visionary thinking of the 50s - if the folks doing the thinking had
the technical skill to design a rocket with a slide rule and handbook
of materials! lol.
 




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Small, cheap, reusable rocket launcher Andrew Nowicki Technology 20 September 3rd 06 12:29 PM
SpaceX Announces the Falcon 9 Fully Reusable Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle [email protected] News 0 September 12th 05 05:21 PM
Any word on heavy lift? MattWriter Policy 4 August 29th 04 11:43 PM
Heavy Lift launcher is allready here serge Policy 27 February 13th 04 07:03 PM
"Off the shelf" heavy lift??? Phil Paisley Technology 3 November 23rd 03 07:49 AM


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