3 ms·

Comparing liquid and solid stages, it seems like significant reason to use a solid booster is to maintain proficiency in building big stages which could be used

• credit_guy 8y ago
  >to maintain proficiency in building big stages which could be used in military I guess the grand prize here would be to be able to build a smaller, but equally potent version of the Trident 2 [1] missile. This would allow the Navy to downsize the new class of strategic nuclear subs (Columbia [2]) while keeping their deterrence capability the same. Since the lifetime procurement cost of the 12 projected Columbia class submarines is about $350 BN, this downsizing could be quite profitable. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UGM-133_Trident_II https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UGM-133_Trident_II [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia-class_submarine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia-class_submarine