New Mars Forums

Implanted wi-fi chipsets are so much more 21st century . . .

I recall reading somewhere that an RL-10 is no more complex than a gas turbine helicopter engine which cost about $100,000. Maybe the RL-10 is less complex than the gas turbine engine.

An RS-68 is a bigger engine, but how much more?

The difference between gas turbine engines and rocket engines? Assembly lines and demand.

Create demand and prices will fall.

Some personal attention mongering trying to explore some near term benefits from space exploration.

Comments?

I seem to recall (too lazy to google it up) that Griffin was scathing about STS / ISS before becoming NASA Administrator. His reasons parallel the reasons you often recite.

Griffin by himself cannot "cancel" STS / ISS - its waay above his pay grade. But, if circumstances develop that allow him to make a case to Congress . . .

One can always hope. 

GCNRevenger, the Mormons might possibly be a group interested in being that non-profit organization you describe, except they probably haven't thought about it yet.

Otherwise, I cannot say I disagree much at all with your descriptions.

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A MXER tether could allow bulk supplies to be transported at a relatively modest cost multiple over whatever Earth-to-LEO lift costs could be achieved.

George Bush and Teddy Roosevelt.

Ya' gotta love the internet. 8)

A methane RL-10 has already been built, as I recall.

Also, disposable LSAMs need to be temporary otherwise no sustained presence is possible.

At first I was dismayed by the cancellation of plans for a methane ascent engine but then realised (thanks, google!) that steam reformation is a leading method of creating pure hydrogen.  So? Well, store methane and then mix with water at 1100 C and pure H2 and CO2 comes out. The H2 comes from both the water and the methane.

Steam reformation might take less energy than cracking H2O by electrolysis and at least some of the steam production can be done (started?) by passive solar.

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Edit to add: Pratt & Whitney doesn't seem worried that a methane RL-10 is any big deal. Or at least one author at P&W

http://pdf.aiaa.org/preview/CDReadyMJPC … 4_4210.pdf

Some outgrow it sooner than others.

Classic persuasion / compliance technique. Get folks to agree to something modest and more significant compliance comes later.

Cool! Ain't it.

When you read / say those words think about John Travolta in that otherwise bad move - - Broken Arrow. Travolta's partner says

"Whoa! You're crazy"

Yeah, I know. Ain't it cool!"

I once listened to an historical anthropologist discuss this very subject. Actually it was about watching television. But the comment applies to web fanatics as  well, IMHO.

He said that watching hours upon hours of TV was indeed weird but then in the 14th century people passed the time picking lice out of each others hair. Maybe its not progress, but maybe its no going backwards either.

GCNRevenger, do you "buy" the t/Space claim of being able to lift 4 astronauts for $20 million?

What about $50 million?

5x for wages makes sense.

Proton at $250 million ($50M x5) is about the same a Delta IVH, right? No magic here. Its the same story as paying computer folks in Bangladore $18K to do what a coder in Silicon Valley would charge $64K to do.

What we (America) do about this long term is too large of a question for me to ponder tonight.

Why do you need an RLV to bring PGM down. Just dump it in the atmosphere with a rudimentary heat shield and target a remote desert.