[AR] Re: Ozone layer was Re: Removing Coking Deposits
- From: Henry Spencer <hspencer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: Arocket List <arocket@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 28 Sep 2016 00:10:25 -0400 (EDT)
On Tue, 27 Sep 2016, Rand Simberg wrote:
... If and when SSTO achieves the operational advantages (=
cost reductions) that it's capable of in principle, there will be ways
to boost its performance, or augment it with other systems, to deal
with missions that are beyond its unaided capabilities.
I don't think that refueling a launch system on orbit would be cost
competitive with a pure in-space orbit-transfer system; far too much
parasitic mass.
It probably wouldn't be competitive with such a system that already
existed. However, it might be of some use as a temporary measure in the
absence of such a system, given that development takes more time and money
than flying already-existing hardware a few extra times.
As I said, SSTO makes sense for high traffic to low inclination, but not
as a general-purpose launcher.
If the SSTO is sufficiently cheaper than the "general purpose launcher"
(whatever that is), people will find ways to enhance it, or supplement it
with auxiliaries, to add the missing capabilities. Insisting that it must
be considered in isolation, rather than as part of a system, is a relic of
the artillery-rocket mindset.
Henry
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