Reusable versus Expendable Launch Vehicles
- Paper number
IAC-05-D2.4.06
- Author
Dr.-Ing. Robert Goehlich, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Germany
- Year
2005
- Abstract
Space transportation is one of most essential elements for enabling activities in space. For current rockets, reliability is too low and launch cost is too high when compared to aircraft operations. Re-usable Launch Vehicles could solve these deficiencies and are investigated by many companies. Reusable Launch Vehicles may enable a new philosophy for developing, producing and operating satellite due to inexpensive and many available launches per year. However, many satellite launches are unique missions so that Reusable Launch Vehicles may not always be the best choice as transportation system. For understanding above mentioned coherences better, an investigation in the reasons for developing Reusable Launch Vehicles and their advantages and disadvantages is done. This investigation is based on a databank of more than 250 worldwide suborbital and orbital Reusable Launch Vehicle concepts. It covers the first concepts such as Silver Bird proposed by Eugen Saenger in 1944 to present ones such as Space Ship One concept proposed by Burt Rutan in 2003 as well as the X Prize candidates. KEYWORDS: Cost Estimation, Expendable Launch Vehicle, Reusable Launch Vehicle, Program Planning, Satellite, Space Transportation System
- Abstract document