3 ms·
My point is that they still fail. Both liquid and solid boosters are a lot more mature than hybrids, no doubt. But I'm not so sure that either is fundamentally
by termain 12y ago
My point is that they still fail. Both liquid and solid boosters are a lot more mature than hybrids, no doubt. But I'm not so sure that either is fundamentally more reliable. And for hybrids to mature, somebody has to use them.
"Liquid/liquid engines, by any measure, are orders of magnitude more stable."
What do you mean by stable?
A reason to go with hybrids, at least on paper, is that they are mechanically simple but throttlable, hopefully combining the simplicity of a solid booster with the ability to throttle and shutdown of a liquid.
Of course, much of that also applies to blowdown liquid systems, and I personally find a blowdown methane/lox system particularly compelling. I figure Virgin wanted to avoid cryogens, though.