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I wonder what is the long-term future of these tanks? 10 years from now, SLS will likely be winding down. Few see it as the long-term answer. How long it has t
by skissane 4y ago
I wonder what is the long-term future of these tanks?
10 years from now, SLS will likely be winding down. Few see it as the long-term answer. How long it has to last, really depends, I think, on how quickly SpaceX can get Starship operational.
Once SLS is finally mothballed – whether that happens in 5 years or 10 – then what happens to all this hydrolox infrastructure? Methalox can use the oxygen tanks, but how feasible would it be to put methane in the hydrogen tanks?
- Stevvo 4y agoThe answer is given in the slides; Potential for use in global logistics supply chains of LH2 storage and transfer.
- skissane 4y agoOne has to wonder how likely such a future use actually is going to be. Opinions vary widely as to how much adoption hydrogen is actually going to see in coming decades. Attempts to commercialise it thus far have seen quite limited success, and sceptics who question whether there will be any greater success in the future could be right. Even if those sceptics are wrong, and the "hydrogen economy" really takes off – how close is this hydrogen storage infrastructure going to be to the actual supply, demand and transit points? It might turn out to be in an inconvenient location given the geography of the supply chain, and end up seeing little use as a result. Is the fact that this is right next to a rocket launchpad – which I assume will still be in use for decades to come, even if not for SLS – going to impose a limit on potential non-space uses?
- Stevvo 4y agoIt's a big tank, but not so big it couldn't be shipped anywhere in the world it is needed and reassembled.