Author Topic: Commercial first lunar architecture - an alternative approach  (Read 2005 times)

Offline Space Ghost 1962

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« Last Edit: 10/14/2017 12:24 am by Space Ghost 1962 »

Offline A_M_Swallow

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Bigelow can supply a LEO spacestation that Falcon 9, Atlas V, Vulcan and Antares can reach. This can provide a way station allowing transfer from the launch vehicles to the transfer vehicles.

A second Bigelow spacestation can be placed in orbit around the Moon. Each spacestation costs less than $1 billion to LEO, lunar transport costs more.

The refuelled Vulcan upper stage can move people and cargo between the two spacestations.

Should a Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) tug turn up it can move heavy cargoes between the two spacestations.

The Lunar CATALYST initiative will have produced expendable 100kg payload lunar cargo landers within 2 years (by say 2019). Masten Space is working on a lunar vertical landing and take off kit for the Vulcan upper stage, able to work from the surface to a spacestation.

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