Posted on 08/20/2020 7:13:56 AM PDT by Shark24
I was at Beale AFB 1986-1989 with multiple deployments to Kadena and Mildenhall.
Assuming that the Starship will be either. But reach exceeds grasp, else what’s a heaven for?
Thanks, I’d never heard about VB’s Elon.
[snip] “The Martian government was directed by ten men, the leader of whom was elected by universal suffrage for five years and entitled “Elon.” Two houses of Parliament enacted the laws to be administered by the Elon and his cabinet. The Upper House was called the Council of the Elders and was limited to a membership of 60 persons, each being appointed for life by the Elon as vacancies occurred by death.” In the 1950s, the proposed title of “Elon” had no particular significance. It was likely derived from the Hebrew name “Elon” which means “oak tree” and signifies great knowledge and wisdom. [/snip]
Elon very definitely stated that the Starship would SSTO, but had to concede that they’d go up and come back with almost nothing aboard.
Zubrin’s critique of the Mars colonization plan is valid — given the time frame of a round trip, making every craft just a transport vessel doesn’t make economic sense. Using AI to build the settlements on Mars, to include large indoor facilities to grow food, so that the colonists have somewhere to move to, makes sense, and would not require vessels making round trips, be a good way to start.
[snip] Starship will be the world’s most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, with the ability to carry in excess of 100 metric tonnes to Earth orbit. [/snip]
Weird that the Saturn V booster orbited Skylab, a mere 77 metric tons, back in 1973. :^) That version didn’t have a third stage boost, the third stage was replaced with the Skylab inside 11K kg fairing that was thrown away. For Apollo, the payload capacity of the Saturn V was 140K metric tons.
Once operational, the cost of fuel and labor for each launch should be no more than a couple of million. Interesting trivia: the helium used for a Falcon 9 flight costs more than the liquid oxygen, which is two thirds of the vehicle mass. Starship won’t use helium. It will use gases bled off from the engines.
Regarding “Elon”: I’d never heard of the name until Musk hit the spotlight.
I used to think Musk was merely a kook. Now I have to give him credit, a visionary kook, a guy who delivers. I’m a believer.
Excellent. Thank you for that.
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