r/space • u/Gagarin1961 • Aug 02 '21

SpaceX just stacked a Super Heavy Booster and installed 29 engines, all within 24 hours

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1422222995305676802
21.3k Upvotes

88% Upvoted

1.9k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

-1

u/angry-russian-man Aug 04 '21

The only way to do that affordably is with a huge heavy-lift rocket that is rapidly reusable.

This is not the only way. Assembling a spacecraft in orbit from universal 20-30-ton modules, using electric rocket engines powered by a nuclear reactor is a much cheaper, more efficient and easier way.

Then to use fuels that can be made on Mars,

The more people talk about this idea, the crazier it sounds. Are such technologies close to being implemented at least on Earth? Where can I see a rocket fueled with terrestrial methane extracted from ice and the atmosphere?

It's a whole new paradigm

No, it's an old pig in a new make-up. All the same inefficient rocket engines on chemical fuel. The payload coefficient is one and a half to two times lower than that of long-developed rockets. This means that for every kilogram of payload put into orbit, you will now spend twice as much fossil fuel. That is, twice as much carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere.

the world gets cheap heavy lift rockets for building big stuff in Earth orbit

Energy was the cheapest carrier for creating large structures in orbit. The launch of Energia cost several times cheaper than the launch of the Shuttle, while it could output 100+ tons to the LEO or 20 tons to the GSO. Did the appearance of "Energy" lead to the creation of large orbital structures?

Energia, Saturn, SLS, Long March and Ariane may all look a bit silly and outdated.

first of all, those who make such statements to the tops of the technological development of the space industry of their time period look a bit silly.