[AR] Re: Flying to Orbit with Hydrogen?
- From: Henry Spencer <hspencer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: Arocket List <arocket@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 25 Dec 2019 22:59:15 -0500 (EST)
On Wed, 25 Dec 2019, Keith Henson wrote:
Superheavy/Starship should be able to get to that cost, or lower...
...The two problems are the launch rate for a serious power satellite
project is high, and the other problem is how much damage hydrocarbon
rockets do to the ozone?
There's nothing about vertical-takeoff rockets that inherently dictates a
low launch rate. A good V-2 crew, in a safe area with no threat of air
attack, could launch once an hour. And that was a half-baked wartime
design with a lot of touch labor required.
Vertical-launch hydrocarbon rockets, at first glance, ought to be better
for ozone than a wing-supported LH2 airbreather. They'll certainly spend
less time in the upper atmosphere, and should put out less water vapor
than a hydrogen burner and less nitrogen oxides than an airbreather.
(Although a careful look at the numbers would be needed to make sure.)
Henry
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