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It's not just recycled Space Shuttle materials, though - the program (if it ever gets far enough) will run out of recycled Space Shuttle launch hardware after 3
by GolfPopper 4y ago
It's not just recycled Space Shuttle materials, though - the program (if it ever gets far enough) will run out of recycled Space Shuttle launch hardware after 3 or 4 flights... at which point the plan for additional launches is to use new hardware (theoretically with improved performance) that is still in the process of being designed and built.
To me, that seems to be the worst of both worlds: all the cost and headaches of developing an effectively new launch system, but doing so shackled to a launch vehicle design that's dominated by ideas from the late 60s.
- jlmorton 4y agoAnd in the case of the engines, once those existing engines are used, Aerojet Rocketdyne has to spin up a new assembly line, and they are essentially a sole source contractor, so they can charge nearly whatever they want. So what started out as a grand idea to reuse old Shuttle hardware ends up with Aerojet Rocketdyne charging $146 million per engine. Each. And there are four of them.
- Reason077 4y agoThose engines were designed to be re-usable and each were used on multiple Space Shuttle flights. Besides the huge cost, it seems super wasteful to be strapping them on to an expendable rocket!