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> A tank of liquid oxygen masses only a few percent of its contents, and its contents store more chemical energy per mass than a lithium battery. Making liquid

• schiffern 4y ago
  Naturally, there's a trade between LOX and pressurized oxygen gas. Reused propellant tanks of one Starship at 6 bar would hold ~14 metric tons of oxygen, enabling a continuous lunar population of over 1,000 people. The energy for compression or liquefaction isn't necessarily a show-stopper, it just works into the total energy efficiency of the storage system. Compression is nice because practical isothermal compressors are now being demonstrated.[0] Both liquefaction and compression require cooling. I do think it probably makes sense to do the thermal storage trick in reverse also, storing up a bank of "cold" at night to be used during the day. The thermal radiator panels still provide (derated) cooling in the day, but the thermal storage pool time-shifts the natural oversupply of cooling power at night. [0] https://newatlas.com/good-thinking/carnot-centrifugal-air-compressor/ https://newatlas.com/good-thinking/carnot-centrifugal-air-co...