Perspectives on Reusable Launch Vehicles
Report from the 2001 IAF Congress, Toulouse.
by Carol Pinchefsky
by Adriano Autino
Perspectives on Reusable Launch Vehicles
Report from the 2001 IAF Congress, Toulouse.
by Carol Pinchefsky
by Adriano Autino | |
The 52nd
IAF Congress In spite of all this, the IAF Congress
Exercises in Business Planning, Waiting for the New Space Market
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The topic of reusable launch vehicles (RLVs), as opposed to currently used expendable launch vehicles (ELVs), was developed in several symposia dedicated to space tourism and other possible new space markets. Most studies | |
All the prospective developers have placed conservative figures on the costs of
RLV | |
As Professor Koelle demonstrated, a two stage to orbit (
TSTO Several studies outlined RLV According to Henry Hertzfeld (Space Policy Institute of George Washington University), the economic success of an RLV
New Vehicles or New Services?
Mr. Youdale (International Launch Services, USA) said that in coming years we will see the transition from technology-driven vehicles to customer-driven services. We should therefore not expect new vehicles but new services. In such a scenario, expendable rockets would remain the main launch vehicles for at least another ten years. Mr. Tetuichi Ito (NASDA
Europe Sticks with an Unmanned Programme
No technological revolution is to be expected, explained Mr. Dautriat (CNES). Propulsion is the core of launcher design, and chemical propulsion has been unchallenged for decades. Airbreathing engines will have a chance to challenge rocket propulsion, but not for at least fifteen to twenty years. In this conservative scenario, a plan for a
TSTOCould we hope to follow NASA
Mythical New Markets and Slow Current Activities
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Currently, the term "launch vehicle" is only mentioned in the conrext of satellite launches. But the satellite market does not require a number of flights per year high enough to feed an
RLV At this rate, no one foresees the true beginning of the industry for perhaps fifteen years. But Werner Inden (ASTRIUM, Germany) has a more optimisitic view, particularly concerning Alpha, the International Space Station Mr. Inden also mentioned that spaceplanes should have the feel of an airplane: they should have upright seats and use a horizontal takeoff; they should leave from standard civil airports; they should have windows so people could take photographs. Such vehicles require a new design approach: up to now only military and research vehicles are built. For space tourism, vehicles specifically designed for passenger transportation are required, as well as some super-heavy vehicles (space trucks) for transportation of construction materials, hotels assembly, etc. Expendible parts of the trucks could then be used as construction materials for the hotels. Space-fairing governments must agree on some basic laws and create a global space agency, authorized by the United Nations.
Sub-orbital Flight: A Precursor to Orbital Space Tourism?
William
Gaubatz
Some Considerations but No Conclusions
According to the situation described above, it appears very unlikely that an
RLVAs to any of the above statements, anyone could see how they are false. In fact this planet is not safer than space, and space is not expensive. In terms of safety, if Schumaker Levy had stroked Earth instead of Jupiter all our troubles would have been ended in few minutes, while an artificial house in orbit could quickly move away from the course of any killer comet. And in terms of cost, the absence of gravity makes transportation costs much cheaper. Large amounts of materials can be moved from earth orbit to lunar orbit with the same amount of fuel used to keep a satellite in its orbit. | |
But showing the reality and potential of space to people is a matter of philosophical and not just technological education -- something that was quite neglected, even by this Congress. If we gave the public correct information, our main concern would quickly change from "how much does it cost?" to "how soon can we get started?"
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