[ExI] Eyes on the Solar System

[spike at rainier66.com]

-----Original Message-----
From: spike at rainier66.com <spike at rainier66.com> 
...

>...Well... NASA still needs senators and congressmen  to support their
effort.

>...Hate to say it, but I think that is a lotta why we are seeing a hydrogen
first stage.  Egregiously cynical is this attitude!  More Eeyore than Tigger
I am!

spike

_______________________________________________


Stuart, you have me on a rant here, but I will try to see the bright side of
it all (my trademark (hell I was the guy cheering for goddam HURRICANES.))  

Using hydrogen first stages will increase Artemis' total payload capability
which is a good thing, and maybe we will get better at handling liquid
hydrogen, even knowing it is inherently difficult and dangerous.

After I did a few calcs, I realized we could lift the restartable engines
and tanks all the way up to LEO and park them there, so they will be
available to haul stuff to Mars.  Kerosene can be stored on orbit, but
hydrogen really can't (it boils off too quickly.)  However, we might be able
to use the increased payload capability of Artemis to haul a re-startable
rocket motor and tanks of kerosene to orbit, transfer the capsule to that
vehicle, then fly that to Mars.

On second thought, Stuart, scratch that.  The irony of using a hydrogen
first stage to lift a kerosene final stage, oh that is killing me.

OK then.  There is a bright side in all this somewhere, but the argument
above is an epic fail, my apologies, sheesh how embarraskin.

I have the option to not post this note, but I think I will post anyway.
Reasoning: my engineering notebook was filled with approaches I would look
at, do some BOTECs, reject, leave the pages in there to show how and when I
considered it already.

spike