Only the experimental RLV need to be small. You want parts that can be made using ordinary workshop tools. A very expensive made-to-measure tool makes implementing design changes difficult.
I guess what I was advocating about the Sea Dragon concept is to build a smaller one to launch 50-100 tons to orbit. Not the big 500 ton one. It would be able to launch less expensive than a Jupiter, Ares V or sidemount, and be reusable. Sure it would be big, but not as big as the 500 ton. I think for human filght a flyback booster would cut the costs and build a robust flyback for the 25 tons or so capacity for the human cargo.
Quote from: spacenut on 10/18/2009 01:23 pmI guess what I was advocating about the Sea Dragon concept is to build a smaller one to launch 50-100 tons to orbit. Not the big 500 ton one. It would be able to launch less expensive than a Jupiter, Ares V or sidemount, and be reusable. Sure it would be big, but not as big as the 500 ton. I think for human filght a flyback booster would cut the costs and build a robust flyback for the 25 tons or so capacity for the human cargo. I would not advocate the Sea Dragon, or any variation of it, being a manned launcher at this time.
I suppose Greenpeace wouldn't be all right with the acoustic effects of a Sea Dragon launch? How far away would a whale have to be to survive one?
Quote from: 93143 on 10/08/2009 03:43 pmI suppose Greenpeace wouldn't be all right with the acoustic effects of a Sea Dragon launch? How far away would a whale have to be to survive one?Does anyone know if any of the studies for any kind of sea-launched vehicle have examined the noise issue?
As this thread is somewhat hypothetical, let's suppose for the sake of discussion that a major space colonisation effort is under-way and that Sea Dragon could be man-rated. Given its 550MT capacity, approximately how many people could it lift to LEO in a single launch?-Arb.
Quote from: Arb on 11/21/2009 09:40 pmAs this thread is somewhat hypothetical, let's suppose for the sake of discussion that a major space colonisation effort is under-way and that Sea Dragon could be man-rated. Given its 550MT capacity, approximately how many people could it lift to LEO in a single launch?-Arb.May be a bit too hypothetical. Your question might also need to include a time frame - within the next year or two, or further out, in which time SpaceX might have been able to fine-tune or even slightly upgrade their booster and stage 2 engines, and possibly further reduce mass in the first or second stages to allow greater mass to LEO. Dragon itself might also be able to lose some mass once several successful flights have taken place and the final data examined (or not, maybe gets heavier).And there's also the fact that nobody, not even Elon, knows for sure what final mass any cargo or crewed Dragon would have - because none have been flown yet, neither boilerplate or preliminary orbital test final production modules. The final mission launch mass might decrease slightly, or be required to increase drastically to ensure launch and reentry safety.
Quote from: Arb on 11/21/2009 09:40 pmAs this thread is somewhat hypothetical, let's suppose for the sake of discussion that a major space colonisation effort is under-way and that Sea Dragon could be man-rated. Given its 550MT capacity, approximately how many people could it lift to LEO in a single launch?-Arb.About 7,000 average people or maybe 5,000 Americans.