Difference between revisions of "Launch Vehicle"

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(New page: Mission One is, of course, not set in stone, but for preliminary estimates, we can come up with some ground rules for figuring out what our launch vehicle is going to be like: 1. LEO to L...)
 
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Mission One is, of course, not set in stone, but for preliminary estimates, we can come up with some ground rules for figuring out what our launch vehicle is going to be like:
 
  
1. LEO to Lunar Transfer (3000m/s delta-v): Uses up 2/3 of the booster's LEO payload, or multiplies required Lunar Transfer mass by 3.
 
  
2. Landing (2600m/s delta-v, plus landing gear): Uses up 2/3 of the payload taken to Lunar Transfer, or multiplies Landing mass by 3. (Therefore, a booster's LEO payload can be divided by 9 to estimate how much we can get to the surface of the Moon.)
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The Launch Options for two [[mission one]] possibilities:
 
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3. The Rover: 20kg based on Sojourner Truth, the rover that went to Mars with Pathfinder in 1997, should be close enough for first estimates.
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4. The Docking Port: 5kg, a conservative guess
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5. A Hop (delta-v 1/10 of exhaust speed): Adds 1/8 mass to whatever mass we are hopping
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Baseline: 3 Rovers, landed at three different site separated by Hops:
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Rovers: 60kg
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Docking Ports: 15kg
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Hops: one at 35kg (40kg before hop), one at 65kg (73kg before hop)
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Mass at Landing: 93kg (13kg hopping system)
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Mass at Lunar Transfer: 279kg
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Mass at LEO: 837kg
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The baseline is probably a perfect fit for Falcon 1e, except that Falcon 1e wouldn't be able to inject directly to Lunar Transfer, so we'd need to procure an upper stage.
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Single Rover Option: 1 Rover, 2 Hops
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Rovers: 20kg
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Docking Ports: 5kg
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Nervous Factor: 10kg (somehow 25kg final mass seems too light)
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Hops: one at 35kg (40kg before hop), one at 40kg (46kg before hop)
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Mass at Landing: 46kg
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Mass at Lunar Transfer: 138kg
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Mass at LEO: 414kg
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The Launch Options for both possibilities:
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SpaceX Falcon 1e (can't inject directly to Lunar Transfer)
 
SpaceX Falcon 1e (can't inject directly to Lunar Transfer)

Revision as of 14:48, 22 August 2008


The Launch Options for two mission one possibilities:

SpaceX Falcon 1e (can't inject directly to Lunar Transfer)

Orbital Pegasus (can't inject directly to Lunar Transfer)

Orbital Minotaur (can't inject directly to Lunar Transfer)

Orbital Minotaur IV (can't inject directly to Lunar Transfer)

Orbital Taurus (can inject directly to Lunar Transfer, but non- standard service)

Piggyback on big booster (might be cheapest, but we'd most likely wind up on a GTO...not quite Lunar Transfer...ad 20% to Lunar Transfer Mass)

Something New: One of our team members is working on a new, pressure-fed liquid fuelled small booster family embodying most of the recommendations from USAF Lt. Col. John R. London III's LEO On The Cheap. If successful, a dedicated launch service could be provided below the minimum capacities (and well below the prices of) the above listed boosters. Such a booster would have no immediate competition. The first step in moving ahead with this booster is figuring out if there is enough of a market for its services for it to be a worthwhile investment.

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