Minimum Cost Design Launch Vehicles

[nyarlathotep]

'Simpler construction' and 'reduced cost' should under no circumstances EVER be used in the same paragraph as SSME.

 

[barrykirk]

Once you get to LEO you have a plethera of options opening up to go other places.<br /><br />Cryogenic fuels are just one of those options, but depending on the mission requirements may not be the best option.

 

[rocketman5000]

lining tanks with polyethlyene would be a fairly simple task. I work with a company that makes construction equipment. Many of our fuel tanks are made from rotomolded polyethlyene. The one caviot would be the tank would have to be able to withstand about 300 deg F temperature for the manufacuturing process. The process would evenly coat the entire inside surface.

 

[scottb50]

I was refering to the cost savings of using two pieces to construct a Module and the fact the same Module could be used for any number of uses. You also have to look at the scale they are built at. If you build identical Modules of different sizes yo can use the same basic design universally. As an example one Module could be a propellant tank and another a much smaller accumulator or even a much, much smaller one a Hydrogen tank for a lap-top computer fuel cell. If they all use the same design, just in different sizes, the economics should be self evident.<br /><br />As far as safety the design follows that used for the most demanding conditions. A high strength outer cage attached around an inner tube. Tubes could be individually modified to meet different requirements for specific applications adding even more flexibility.<br /><br />Best of all Modules are configured to attach to other Modules, end to end, for identical Modules and using smaller versions of the end connectors different size Modules can attach, or dock, to one another. Equally important each Segment can have either two identical ends or a closed and an open end, allowing multiple Segment Modules. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[josh_simonson]

SpaceX is big on modularity, using the same tanks for booster and upperstage, and using multiples of the Merlin engine for all their rockets and stages except Falcon 1 stage 2.<br /><br />However another big part of the way SpaceX works is to use existing technology rather than spend a lot on R&D. Peroxide may have some virtues, but they would have had to spend alot of time and money to develop hardware and process flows to use it. Rather they were able to hire guys that already knew how to build the hardware for the Merlin and Falcon - someone else paid for the R&D and projects to educate those guys, not SpaceX.

 

[publiusr]

I think an OSP type payload could be had with this:<br /><br />http://www.directlauncher.com/ <br /><br />