4 ms·

So I specifically called out efficiency because 100X’ing your thrust is about scaling up technology. That generally involves solving engineering problems—figuri

So I specifically called out efficiency because 100X’ing your thrust is about scaling up technology. That generally involves solving engineering problems—figuring how to control vibration resonance would be one example in the case of the Saturn. 100X’ing efficiency, it seems to me, is another animal entirely—it’s often about legitimate scientific breakthroughs. Like going in, you don’t even know for sure of its possible.

JumpCrisscross 2y ago
> 100X’ing efficiency, it seems to me, is another animal entirely Saturn V had a specific impulse of 263 s [1]. NSTAR did 3,000 s [2]. That’s an order of magnitude improvement in efficiency in 30 years of low-effort improvements. Starship should demonstrate in-orbit refuelling next year. That’s another 10x technology. Add on a solar sail and you’re in the realm of two orders of magnitude of efficiency gains with known technologies. (Three from Apollo.) [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn_V https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn_V [2] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_Solar_Technology_Application_Readiness https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_Solar_Technology_Applic...