Re: Ares V: Launch Industry Game-Changer

On Apr 22, 10:54 am, spacecr...@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
The materiel and labor costs of launching a single, large, unmanned
rocket like Ares V, should be less than launching several smaller
rockets to get the same amount of payload into orbit.

"should be" doesn't mean it is and it won't be. Ares V will cost on
the order of a billion per launch

Every launcher in the world, with the exception of those built by
SpaceX, was developed with some government's funding.  Ironically, the
greatest beneficiary of an Ares V fuel depot would probably be
SpaceX.  Their Falcon I rocket would likely be the cheapest way to
launch a commercial comsat.

Falcon 1 is too small for commercial comsats to LEO. Comsats weigh on
the order of 2 to 5 tonnes on station in GSO. Falcon 1 upperstage
(fully loaded) is too small to put the same spacecraft into GTO
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Ares V: Launch Industry Game-Changer
    ... development cost of Ares V doesn't figure into the equation because ... The only way you can make a 10 meter core work is if you power it with SSMEs and take it directly to orbit where it will be incorporated into vast orbiting spaceports and spacecraft a la' Star Trek, and where the expensive reusable engines can be recovered and returned to Earth. ... Their Falcon I rocket would likely be the cheapest way to ... If you want a reusable heavy lift, your best bet is to use SSTO hydrogen powered cores with reusable engines, and hydrocarbon powered reusable boosters, where those boosters are recovered from the ocean or even better, flown back to the launch site. ...
    (sci.space.policy)
  • Re: Ares V: Launch Industry Game-Changer
    ... Ares V will cost on ... Their Falcon I rocket would likely be the cheapest way to ... launch a commercial comsat. ... Falcon 1 is too small for commercial comsats to LEO. ...
    (sci.space.policy)
  • Re: The Moon will have to wait
    ... its Ares launch rocket mean the faster timeline is no longer tenable. ... "Reduce the levels of vibration"? ...
    (rec.sport.football.college)
  • Re: Ares V: Launch Industry Game-Changer
    ... rocket like Ares V, should be less than launching several smaller ... Ares V will cost on ... launch a commercial comsat. ... Using a fuel depot in LEO, one would not want to launch direct into GTO. ...
    (sci.space.policy)
  • Re: Branson and Bigelow to team up for a space hotel?
    ... lol. ... their launch facility in the Marshall Islands might have been ... And it is a nice rocket for those 0.57 ... how a commercial company will minimise a large rocket launch cost. ...
    (sci.space.policy)