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posted by Fnord666 on Thursday April 02 2020, @04:46AM   Printer-friendly
from the high-orbit dept.

SpaceX releases a Payload User's Guide for its Starship rocket:

SpaceX has released the first edition of a Payload User's Guide for its Starship launch system, which consists of a Super Heavy first stage and the Starship upper stage. The six-page guide provides some basic information for potential customers to judge whether a launch vehicle meets their needs for getting payloads into space.

The new guide is notable because it details the lift capabilities of Starship in reusable mode, during which both the first and second stages reserve enough fuel to return to Earth. In this configuration, the rocket can deliver more than 100 metric tons to low-Earth orbit and 21 tons to geostationary transfer orbit.

The killer application, however, is the potential to refuel Starship in low-Earth orbit with other Starships, enabling transportation deeper into the Solar System for 100 tons or more. "The maximum mass-to-orbit assumes parking orbit propellant transfer, allowing for a substantial increase in payload mass," the document states. SpaceX has yet to demonstrate this technology—which has never been done on a large scale in orbit—but the company's engineers have been working on it for several years and partnered with NASA last summer.

The user's guide also provides information about the size of the payload fairing in the cargo configuration of the vehicle, with a width of 8 meters and an extended volume capable of encompassing payloads as long as 22 meters. This would be, by far, the largest usable payload volume for any rocket that exists today or is in development. For human flights of up to 100 people, according to the document, "The crew configuration of Starship includes private cabins, large common areas, centralized storage, solar storm shelters, and a viewing gallery."


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  • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday April 02 2020, @03:43PM (2 children)

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Thursday April 02 2020, @03:43PM (#978337) Journal

    Has SpaceX announced an anticipated price per lunch?

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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Thursday April 02 2020, @05:09PM

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Thursday April 02 2020, @05:09PM (#978374) Journal

    Elon Musk says SpaceX’s Starship could fly for as little as $2 million per launch [techcrunch.com]

    Speaking with USAF Lieutenant General John Thompson at the event (via Space.com), Musk said that fuel costs for the Starship should be around $900,000 per launch, and that once you factor in operational costs, it’ll probably add up to around $2 million per use.

    Inside Elon Musk’s plan to build one Starship a week—and settle Mars [arstechnica.com]

    SpaceX’s stretch goal is to build one to two Starships a week, this year, and to pare back construction costs to as low as $5 million each.

    $5 million to build, $2 million to fly, $900,000 for the fuel. Even if the first two go up by 10x (fuel estimate should be accurate since that's based on volume), it still undercuts Falcon Heavy and competing rockets while delivering more to orbit.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 02 2020, @07:15PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 02 2020, @07:15PM (#978417)

    Has SpaceX announced an anticipated price per lunch?

    And has Elon given a schedule for when they'll be offering trips to the Restaurant at the End of the Universe?