4 ms·
It only takes 1.87 km/s to get from the moon's surface to LLO, and there's fuel and science and real estate at the bottom. The delta-V budget of, say, LLO to th
by Sir_Cmpwn 7y ago
It only takes 1.87 km/s to get from the moon's surface to LLO, and there's fuel and science and real estate at the bottom. The delta-V budget of, say, LLO to the nearest Earth-Moon Lagrangian point is about 1 km/s. So yeah, it's more expensive to go to the lunar surface, but it's not outrageous and there might be other benefits to round-trips to the surface.
- avmich 7y agoIn addition to orbital velocity (~1.7 km/s) and gravity losses (~0.2 km/s?) you should take into account all safety reserves - Eagle could hang a minute or more above the surface selecting the place to land. Given that we can't ignore safety, it's better to budget 2200-2500 m/s delta-V to get from the Moon orbit to the Moon surface. We need both Lagrange point stations and surface bases. It's arguable what should go first; an argument for Lagrange station is that it's easier to build.
- manicdee 7y agoBy the time we are collecting fuel from the lunar surface there will be well marked solid landing pads and no need for thirty seconds of reserve fuel to scoot over to a new landing site.