Re: How big would an SSTO be?

Ian Parker wrote:

There is one other vital fact. Suppose we accept that a hypersonic
SSTO orbiter is possible. There is still one other important
parameter.

Will it be able to perform 1000 flights maintainance free - only fuel
and LOX, or will it like the Shuttle have to virtually be rebuilt
after every flight? You cannot tell simply be looking at the Skylon
design.

Skylon appears to be designed for a life of 200 launches. I doubt they expect the engine to last that long, but one would hope that the engine didn't need to be stripped down after each flight.

It appears from my what I've read over the last few days that a very significant factor in the life and reliability of rocket engines is the chamber pressure, and one reason the SSME requires so much maintenance is that it runs at a very high pressure.

I haven't been able to find any indications of what kind of pressures RE's SABRE engine will use.

Sylvia.
.

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