To: tricky_k_1972; Lonesome in Massachussets; RightWhale
The F-1 engine produced 1.7 million pounds of thrust, and the five-F1 Saturn V put circa 150 tons into orbit. This proposed booster would have five 1.2 million pound thrust engines, and would put over six times as much into orbit. This makes me a little curious, but I'd hazard a guess that the greater payload to orbit comes from dropping the weight of the Saturn V fuel components. (?)
93 posted on
09/27/2005 11:35:48 AM PDT by
SunkenCiv
(Down with Dhimmicrats! I last updated by FR profile on Sunday, August 14, 2005.)
To: SunkenCiv
So long as the thrust is enough to lift the assembly off the ground, the overall performance will depend on specific impulse. A nuke powerplant would have a lot more specific impulse than the chemical powerplant, which results in much more payload. Specific impulse has units of seconds and is called ISP or something similar. A way of thinking about ISP is how long the powerplant can produce that thrust. The chemical rocket will run out of fuel while the nuke will still be blasting away for a lot longer.
96 posted on
09/27/2005 1:15:25 PM PDT by
RightWhale
(We in heep dip trubble)
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