3 ms·

Extremely simple (basically just one big rocket combustion chamber with the propellant already inside, no pumps or plumbing) and shelf storable and potentially

Extremely simple (basically just one big rocket combustion chamber with the propellant already inside, no pumps or plumbing) and shelf storable and potentially extremely high thrust to weight ratio. Useful for munitions and for one-time-use. I’d like to think we’re going to reusable rockets and not as much war, so I’d LIKE to think they have fewer uses, but…

numpad0 5y ago
Biggest drawback is Americans don’t like them built in volume and ITAR-free. They didn’t like it in free hands so much that they once did a civilian “military aid” to let an ally build a clone of then top of the line Delta II. Looking back at history, maybe what goes on top actually do keep the peace in the world, so maybe we could safely go back to building solids at scale for peaceful space transportation. But not likely without an American nod, I would imagine.
- Robotbeat 5y ago
  Solids are not ideal for space exploration as they are difficult to control and reusing them is expensive (& thus usually isn’t worth it). I am fully on board to reusable liquid rockets, which can use extremely cheap propellants liquid liquid methane or liquid hydrogen fuel and (70-90% of the mass of propellant) liquid oxygen. These propellants are extremely cheap, about 25¢/kg of propellant on average, enabling very cheap launch costs, compared to around $5/kg in solid rocket motor propellant costs (and greater difficulty in reusing them and much higher dry mass and lower Isp). And the exhaust is really bad for the environment. The high acceleration and sometimes high vibration and inability to turn off in an emergency make them non-ideal for human spaceflight. And they’re basically use-once (with possibly of remanufacture) so you can’t acceptance-test the same motor like you can for liquids, and refueling them is a complicated process that can’t easily be done off-planet (unlike liquid rockets which can be and are refueled such as the ISS’s propulsion systems). So while there are some niche uses of them for space exploration (interplanetary kick stages for probes), from an energy, performance, safety, reusable cost, and ride comfort standpoint, I’m rooting for liquids.

numpad0 5y ago

Biggest drawback is Americans don’t like them built in volume and ITAR-free. They didn’t like it in free hands so much that they once did a civilian “military aid” to let an ally build a clone of then top of the line Delta II. Looking back at history, maybe what goes on top actually do keep the peace in the world, so maybe we could safely go back to building solids at scale for peaceful space transportation. But not likely without an American nod, I would imagine.

Robotbeat 5y ago
Solids are not ideal for space exploration as they are difficult to control and reusing them is expensive (& thus usually isn’t worth it). I am fully on board to reusable liquid rockets, which can use extremely cheap propellants liquid liquid methane or liquid hydrogen fuel and (70-90% of the mass of propellant) liquid oxygen. These propellants are extremely cheap, about 25¢/kg of propellant on average, enabling very cheap launch costs, compared to around $5/kg in solid rocket motor propellant costs (and greater difficulty in reusing them and much higher dry mass and lower Isp). And the exhaust is really bad for the environment. The high acceleration and sometimes high vibration and inability to turn off in an emergency make them non-ideal for human spaceflight. And they’re basically use-once (with possibly of remanufacture) so you can’t acceptance-test the same motor like you can for liquids, and refueling them is a complicated process that can’t easily be done off-planet (unlike liquid rockets which can be and are refueled such as the ISS’s propulsion systems). So while there are some niche uses of them for space exploration (interplanetary kick stages for probes), from an energy, performance, safety, reusable cost, and ride comfort standpoint, I’m rooting for liquids.