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I doubt Falcon Heavy could throw enough mass to make it work. Dragon is just a poor vehicle to send to the moon. It should work for landing a few tons on Mars t
by zardo 11y ago
I doubt Falcon Heavy could throw enough mass to make it work. Dragon is just a poor vehicle to send to the moon. It should work for landing a few tons on Mars though (one way).
- greglindahl 11y agoFH is 117 MT to LEO vs Saturn V 140 MT, Dragon is bigger/heavier than the Apollo capsule, and the even smaller LEM was the thing that landed on the Moon.
- endymi0n 11y agoNevertheless, quick back-of-the-envelope calculation should make an Apollo-style operation completely viable. Launch Dragon into orbit, Launch a fully loaded second stage without payload into orbit with a second FH and dock with the Dragon, Command Module style, then use the second stage for lunar orbit insertion and back. Should do the trick, even with a much heavier capsule.
- JshWright 11y agoUsing more than one launch is very much not an 'Apollo-style' operation. One of the major features of the Apollo program is that is used a single launch, which distinguished it from all the other competing proposals at the time.
- adwn 11y ago> FH is 117 MT No, FH is advertised [1] as 53 mT to LEO (probably around 200x200 km, 28.5°). [1] http://www.spacex.com/falcon-heavy http://www.spacex.com/falcon-heavy
- greglindahl 11y agoSorry, pounds/kilograms brain fart on my part.