Sea Launch Derived Heavy Lift Launcher

Sea Dragon Derived Heavy Lift Launcher

http://www.scribd.com/doc/45631474

Here is a brief study I've done after reviewing the Sea Dragon concept
by
Bob Truax. This pressure fed system uses common materials and
techniques
to build very large launchers at very low cost. As a result, the
structure is 9x heavier than it might be using more advanced
techniques. The benefit is that the construction is 1% the cost of
that typical of aerospace construction, while the system is far more
robust.

As for propellant. I use solar derived hydrogen and oxygen from sea
water using a solar panel I have developed that produces hydrogen and
oxygen at a cost of $100 per 9 kiloliters of water processed into 9
metric tons of oxygen and hydrogen.

Since the oxygen/hydrogen ratio is 6 to 1 for an efficient engine - we
pay $128.57 per tonne of propellant. A 266,000 tonne propellant load
then costs $34,200,000 - but the 78,800 tonnes of excess oxygen
generate $15,900,000 in sales - reducing the total cost of propellant
to $18,700,000 - vehicle handling and processing cost $1,250,000 -
which
brings the total cost to $19,950,000 per launch.

The payload put into orbit is 20,000 metric tons. The mass of nearly
7 fully loaded Saturn V moon rockets.

In operation the seven flight elements are towed to the launch point
and released. They
flip into the vertical position and use azimuth thrusters to dock with
one another. They connect their cross-feed lines. The system then
launches.

The first stage drains four of the seven elements. The second stage
two of the three remaining elements. The final stage goes into
orbit. All elements re-enter and slow to subsonic speeds
ballistically. They then deploy wings turning into a low speed
glider, and settle down like a sea plane onto the surface of the
ocean. The wings are retracted and the elements are then met by a tug
and towed back to port for refueling and reuse.

William Mook

Sea going vessels today cost $5,181 per metric ton of construction
judging by current costs from major builders. Achieving that cost
here allows us to estimate that each 9,000 tonne structure will likely
cost $52,362,000 and that all 7 will cost $366,534,000. The flotation
systems ans support ships will likely cost an additional $180 million
based on size and complexity- a total of $547 million plus development
costs. This is far less than an land based system. Existing piers
and dock yards are used - there is a surplus of ship building
capacity.

A small 'space yacht' system 1/1000th the mass and 1/10th the
dimension, of the larger system would still put 20 metric tons on
orbit and should cost $547,000! plus development costs of course,
which are very much the same.

Obviously a sub-scale system will be built to act as a laboratory for
the full-scale system - which will have a few challenges of its own
due to size.

The sub-scale system is 3.2 (10.5 ft) meter diameter and 17.5 (57.4
ft) meter length - masses 9 tonnes empty carrying 38 tonnes of
propellant (5.43 tonnes hydrogen, 32.57 tonnes oxygen) The primary
structure is 4.7 metric tons. The mass budget for all the hardware is
9.0 metric tons.

The structure is semi-monocoque, like the original ET, with largely
the same structure

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/ssc/mi...ank/index.html

Instead of being made of fusion welded aluminum lithium alloy
chemically etched to fine tolerances, the sub-scale system uses 1.15
mm thick sheet of AISI 302 cold rolled stainless steel pressed into
shape and laser cut.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NsM0-9_n3Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uio9cvDJszs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTFzi-UKnfs
http://www.custompartnet.com/wu/sheet-metal-forming

Parts are laser welded on jigs into sub-assemblies that are then
assembled with non-metal parts - like insulation, electronics,
absorbers, actuators, etc., and bolted together. The bolts are then
welded in place to form the final system.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TJur00-R8k

Generally speaking sheet steel is cut or punched to shape on the flat,
then formed into a 3D shape by pressing rolling spinning or folding.
The parts are then trimmed and joined and welded together.

These operations are routinely carried out at shipyards and machine
shops with high precision.

The engine is regeneratively cooled at the throat, with film cooling
at the hottest parts. Radiatively cooled further along the expansion
nozzle. Cryogenic liquids are stored in insulated steel tanks housed
within a protective stainless steel outer shell.

All these elements must be put together and programmed, along with all
the tooling, and measurement systems put in place to measure results
and modify operations...

for the sub scale system.

This is a $20 million effort - including the construction of a half
dozen test articles and three flight weight systems ($6 million of the
total)

and will take 18 months.

Avionics and software is another $8 million effort all by itself
involving electronics, sensors, etc.

($28 million total)

and another 6 months of flight testing the three flight weight
systems.

Five additional flight systems are built for another $3 million once
we've got a workable system. Another $5 million for support vessels -
and $4 million for avionics

($40 million total estimate)

These are reusable up to 1,000x - and support 250 flights to orbit per
year with 20 metric tons or more.

A single 20 ton payload on orbit costs $50 million.

Collecting a refundable deposit for 5 flights - and giving away half
the profits when realized provides fabulous returns for investors (40%
per annum compounded for all money at risk until revenue).

RISK REWARD

2,000,000 10,756,480 YEAR 1
4,000,000 15,366,400 YEAR 2
8,000,000 21,952,000 YEAR 3
16,000,000 31,360,000 YEAR 4
10,000,000 14,000,000 YEAR 5

40,000,000 93,434,880 TOTAL

250,000,000 VALUE OF 5 FLIGHTS

37.37% PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL

Investors have claim on the first $93.4 million in revenue after year
five. They have a continuing interest in 37.37% of all future
operations.

2 flights per month earn $1.2 billion per year and cost $200 million
per year. This is enough to fund the larger system costing $557
million each. Successful launch of the larger system, combined with
successful tests of sub-scale power beaming

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QAUkt2VPHI

Which will take an additional 3 years - this time using ship yard
hardware instead of sheet metal shop hardware.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWIOnKrv4Mw

Which by the time avionics, test articles, and lost flight articles
are accounted for will cost $1 billion.

Which will be earned from the sale of satellite launches with the sub-
scale fleet.