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As far as I understand Starship can only reach LEO and requires refueling from several refueling missions while in orbit for longer missions. Great if spacex is
by Thlom 4y ago
As far as I understand Starship can only reach LEO and requires refueling from several refueling missions while in orbit for longer missions. Great if spacex is able to pull it off, but it is years if not decades until they get there.
- szundi 4y agoSeveral refueling is actually much cheaper than having it launched in a single piece because of the "rocket equation", google it. It is a good thing.
- tehbeard 4y agodownplaying the difficulties of on orbit refuelling. This isn't kerbal space program... Fluid's gonna fluid dynamics in a 0g environment...
- cnlevy 4y agoDifferential pressure + milli-g induced gravity using thrusters should help a lot. I bet it won't take more than 5 tries to do a full tank Starship transfer. And SpaceX iterates quickly
- mlindner 4y ago> downplaying the difficulties of on orbit refuelling. Every single person I've heard say this hasn't given a reasonable reason why it's difficult other than "we've never done it before". Also on-orbit refueling has been done, just not with cryogenics. Additionally it's only been done in zero-G with bladders. A slight vehicle spin to settle tanks seems like it would be sufficient to feed some low speed pumps without bladders.
- randomsearch 4y agoDescribing anything SpaceX are already working on as “decades out” seems a bit risky given their rapid successes!
- mlindner 4y agoStarship didn't even exist other than in the form of some slides and early test articles as of 3 years ago. Now it's a fully built vehicle with one almost completed pad and one pad in early construction, getting very close to launch. Predicting decades when it took them only 3 years to go from "nothing" to on the pad is a bit much.