To the Moon: Rocketdyne, Keeper of the Flame

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Saturn V not necessarily cheaper

A big dumb booster may be cheaper than a Shuttle but not necessarily in the Saturn V configuration. The future is clearly in the combination of SRB and LOX/Hydrogen technologies in terms of higher specific impulse than LOX/RP-1. The rockets can be of much simpler designs, are more reliable and of higher performance than the Saturn V. The biggest problem is that we cannot staff the Space Program or fund it at the same rates as Apollo, we have to make do with a lot less people and a lot less money if we are to build the Ares 1 and Ares V.

The development of LOX/Hydrogen engines with the SSME and the RS-68 that followed the J-2 were important steps to take, even if the Shuttle itself proved to be too complex a vehicle overall and too expensive for the money spent. The re-use of the Shuttle technology in Constellation will end up making it a wash, probably.

Posted by: jperlow   Posted on: 07/18/09 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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