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If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Titan IIs are no longer around, but they too were used into the 21st century.
by catalogia 6y ago
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Titan IIs are no longer around, but they too were used into the 21st century.
- jabl 6y agoNot broken, but better choices are available. Many early space rockets were outgrowths of military ballistic missile programs, where hypergolics were favoured due to storability, as being able to launch on a moment's notice was critical. But for launching satellites or humans into orbit, that's not a particularly relevant consideration. On the downside, hypergolics are expensive, and their toxicity makes handling them more expensive still. Meanwhile, cryogenic technology has developed and is today affordable and reliable. Heck, even amateur efforts like Copenhagen Suborbitals are using LOX.