[AR] Re: kerosene coking (was Re: SSTO)
- From: Nels.Anderson@xxxxxxx
- To: arocket@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 12 Feb 2018 22:16:41 +0100
Gesendet: Montag, 12. Februar 2018 um 04:04 Uhr
Von: "Henry Vanderbilt" <hvanderbilt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
I take both SpaceX and Blue's methane plans as primarily reflecting
long-term plans for refueling with in-situ propellant sources.
As you point out, performancewise methane versus kerosene is a wash.
At the IAC, Musk has indeed made clear that ISRU is one of methane's major
advantages. But I wouldn't imagine that's such a big factor for BO, which has
had little to say about Mars and is interested in hydrogen too. My guess is
that methane's chemical stability (you can't do FRSC with kerosene) and low
viscosity are significant factors. Musk also seems to think costs could
ultimately be dominated by propellant, in which case methane beats kerosene.
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