3 ms·
Delta-v to EML1 from LEO is 3.77 km/sec. Assuming an Isp of 320 sec, you get a mass ratio of about 3.3, which works out to about 75 Falcon payloads, not countin
by Pinckney 10y ago
Delta-v to EML1 from LEO is 3.77 km/sec. Assuming an Isp of 320 sec, you get a mass ratio of about 3.3, which works out to about 75 Falcon payloads, not counting any hardware you need to boost.
If you use ion thrusters, the delta-V becomes larger (7km/sec), but with an Isp of 3000 sec you can do it with only about 4.5 falcons. So this plan could be reasonable.
The real problem seems to be that crewed missions to the ISS probably can't use ion engines, and so take a huge payload hit getting there and back, right?
Also, won't radiation be an issue that far from earth?