4 ms·

Imagine a reusable rocket, like the SpaceX one, but bigger and being able to reflight in, say, one week. If in every flight there were a satellite + space tour

Imagine a reusable rocket, like the SpaceX one, but bigger and being able to reflight in, say, one week. If in every flight there were a satellite + space tourists, going to the space would be much more cheaper, and it's feasible I'm the near term. I see both SpaceX and Blue Origin offering "cheap" traveling to Space in less than a decade.

simonh 10y ago
The concept video for the MCT launcher showed it landing on the launch pad, having a new second stage craned on to it, refuelling and launching in the same day.
- robryan 10y ago
  The stated SpaceX goal is for 24 hour turnaround times. Right now their turnaround times are around 2 weeks, assuming that they can get a slot for the range. This will improve once the pad that was destroyed is rebuilt mid/late this year.
  - lorenzhs 10y ago
    Their current turnaround time is 2 weeks for launching two different rockets, while their goal is to launch the same booster twice within 24 hours. That's a bit different and even more ambitious. The first "flight-proven" booster (to use Elon's phrase) took 4 months to refurbish, and the lessons learned from that are incorporated into the next version of Falcon 9 (Block 5) in order to simplify and speed up the process (and probably fix some things they noticed on the landed boosters to improve the number of times they can be flown).
    - simonh 10y ago
      Given the lead time it takes to develop a satellite project and have it ready to launch, there may even be a danger that within a year or two SpaceX will have so many boosters on hand and ready to go that there won't be enough demand around to meet their capacity. They already have a handful of re-flyable boosters lying around. The limiting factor on SpaceX will be their ability to churn out second stages. I'm sure that would balance out eventually, but it could take years for the customer demand to catch up with them.
      - Already__Taken 10y ago
        And now you understand the reason for their satellite internet plan.

simonh 10y ago

The concept video for the MCT launcher showed it landing on the launch pad, having a new second stage craned on to it, refuelling and launching in the same day.

robryan 10y ago
The stated SpaceX goal is for 24 hour turnaround times. Right now their turnaround times are around 2 weeks, assuming that they can get a slot for the range. This will improve once the pad that was destroyed is rebuilt mid/late this year.
- lorenzhs 10y ago
  Their current turnaround time is 2 weeks for launching two different rockets, while their goal is to launch the same booster twice within 24 hours. That's a bit different and even more ambitious. The first "flight-proven" booster (to use Elon's phrase) took 4 months to refurbish, and the lessons learned from that are incorporated into the next version of Falcon 9 (Block 5) in order to simplify and speed up the process (and probably fix some things they noticed on the landed boosters to improve the number of times they can be flown).
  - simonh 10y ago
    Given the lead time it takes to develop a satellite project and have it ready to launch, there may even be a danger that within a year or two SpaceX will have so many boosters on hand and ready to go that there won't be enough demand around to meet their capacity. They already have a handful of re-flyable boosters lying around. The limiting factor on SpaceX will be their ability to churn out second stages. I'm sure that would balance out eventually, but it could take years for the customer demand to catch up with them.
    - Already__Taken 10y ago
      And now you understand the reason for their satellite internet plan.