3 ms·
Hydrogen rockets sound like a classic case of narrow over-optimization for one or a few dimensions of performance at the expense of the overall picture. The me
by api 13y ago
Hydrogen rockets sound like a classic case of narrow over-optimization for one or a few dimensions of performance at the expense of the overall picture.
The methane direction SpaceX is taking going forward strikes me as almost a no-brainer. It gives you a higher isp than kerosene, is about as easy to handle as LOX, and is super-abundant and cheap. In addition to being basically 95% of natural gas it can also be made electrochemically/thermochemically from water and CO2 or trivially obtained from biomass digestion. The latter options are all possible on Mars. It's also a renewable fuel if you get it from non-fossil sources on Earth.
- Crito 13y agoHydrogen can make sense, but not really as the Shuttle used it. The second and third stages of the Saturn V used hydrogen, which was in part responsible for the much greater mass to TLI than the N-1 would have had (despite having a first stage with more thrust).