Re: Costs and availability of launchers

From: George William Herbert (gherbert_at_retro.com)
Date: 01/22/05 

Date: 22 Jan 2005 05:22:44 GMT

 <harmoneverett@hotmail.com> wrote:
>Let's assume I have figured out how to make a LEO space station pay for
>itself once it is in orbit and operational. Let's further assume
>Scaled Composites has developed a three person vehicle that can make
>weekly deliveries to this hypothetical space station and the market can
>pay what they would have to charge.
>The design I have in mind requires the three first components of the
>space station each to be the maximum the space shuttle can carry -
>about 25,000 kg. I would rather the first launch take all three
>components at once, but I'm resigned to the reality that there isn't
>any lift capacity available to do that. So the main structure could be
>broken down into these three primary pieces, but not really any
>further.
>It is looking like the shuttle is not going to be available to lift
>these anyway, so I'm looking for alternatives.
>What launch alternatives are available to get these three packages into
>orbit so they can be connected to form a space station, what will it
>cost me, and how soon could they do it?

You want either:
 International Reference Guide to Space Launch Systems (Iaskowitz, Hopkins^2)
 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/156347591X/103-1804819-3586225

...or a long look at the Encyclopedia Astronautica website on launch vehicles:
 http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/orbindex.htm

FYI, 25 tons is the Wrong Weight. You really want to limit your
pieces to 20 tons.

If you're willing to relax your constraints a bit, then there are
several vehicles which are potential carriers. For example, at
20 ton payloads...

The Russian Proton launch vehicle, the Lockheed-Martin Atlas-V
launch vehicle, and the Boeing Delta-IVH launch vehicle are all ready
now (Delta-IVH just flew for the first time recently, and had what
is probably a minor failure but appears to be easy to debug;
Proton has been flying forever, and Atlas-V has flown several times
and had no accidents).

The Delta-IVH is the only one which can lift the 25 ton modules.

Proton current market cost seems to be around $120 million,
though its actual production and flight cost seems to be
a fraction of that. It's readily available on open market
purchases.

Atlas-V 551 seems to cost around $140 million to $160 million
though that's a little harder to tell. It's in production
and could be ordered now.

Delta-IV Heavy apparently costs around $240 million per flight
and is not being marketed commercially, but presumably could
be available to someone with a large enough checkbook.

-george william herbert
gherbert@retro.com

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