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Economics of Separated Ascent Stage Launch Vehicles

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Economics of Separated Ascent Stage Launch Vehicles

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    1. Economics of Separated Ascent Stage Launch Vehicles By Chris Y. Taylor 42nd AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference July 11, 2006

    2. Separated Ascent Stage Launch Vehicles Multiple vehicles launch separately but cooperate to put one of their number into orbit.

    11. R and RD R = Structure Payload Mass Ratio

    13. R&D costs must be lowered! Launch costs >$1000/lb. payload to LEO with current development & flight rate even if all recurring costs are zero! How can RD(Gnr/a) be lowered?

    14. Reduce Cost through Lean Operation and Good Management

    15. Reduce Cost through Evolutionary Design

    16. R&D costs must be lowered! Launch costs >$1000/lb. payload to LEO with current development & flight rate even if all recurring costs are zero! How can RD(Gnr/a) be lowered?

    17. Using Identical Stages for Reduced Development Cost

    18. N-mese? Flock Space Launch Architecture By Allan Goff, Novatia Labs, Folsom CA

    19. FLOC Weight Growth

    20. Separated Ascent Stage Tradeoff Large number of identical stages mean low RD. Simple configuration allows low vehicle Gnr. Flock flexibility might allow high flight rate and a. Requires demonstration of safe, reliable mid-ascent rendezvous. This requires expensive and risky development effort. TANSTAAFL!

    21. Mid-Ascent Rendezvous? Are You Serious? The idea of refueling an airplane in flight must have seemed bizarre to anyone witnessing the Wright Brothers first flights. By the 1920s it had been demonstrated and today it is done routinely. - R.M. Zubrin Black Horse Proposal: 6 min. of exo-atmospheric coasting, fuel transfer via. extendable boom needs 2 FLOC Proposal: Exo-atmospheric rendezvous, mating booster to orbiter instead of refueling, only 1 restart

    22. Is Rocket Rendezvous Worthwhile? Duration and cost of development program to demonstrate rocket mid-flight rendezvous unknown. Novatia estimates specific cost of FLOC system at about $100 to $200 per pound to LEO. Are Novatias cost estimates accurate?

    23. FLOC Performance Estimates

    24. RocketCost.xls (beta)

    25. 32 Unit FLOC Baseline Cost Estimate

    26. Is FLOC a Rocket or a Plane?

    27. Conclusions Amortized development cost is really important for economical space access. Dont spend $$$ to develop more than you have to. Separated ascent stage launch systems can achieve low amortized vehicle development cost. Keeping operations labor intensity low and reusability high would be key to realizing the cost savings of separated ascent stage launch systems. The cost, duration, and risk of developing the mid-ascent rendezvous capability needed for separated ascent stage launch systems is unknown. Do vehicle savings justify mid-ascent rendezvous development costs? I dont know, but it is a serious question.

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