RE: SpaceX moon trip 2018
March 3, 2017 at 11:08 am
(This post was last modified: March 3, 2017 at 11:08 am by Alex K.)
(March 3, 2017 at 11:02 am)vorlon13 Wrote: No atmosphere at the moon means the craft has to burn fuel to a complete stop at the surface instead of bleeding off speed thru aerodynamic drag effects like we see at earth during re-entry.
And at the moon, you also have to burn fuel during landing to decelerate all the fuel you need to take off again. This means you need a much bigger rocket to start with back home to lift all that fuel in the first place.
Just looping around the moon and returning to earth is an EXTREMELY challenging mission. I would strenuously object to such a flight with people without a successful unmanned test flight first.
Also, the heatshield used when returning to earth will need to be uprated from an orbital design as the speed is much higher, like 50% or so IIRC.
I'd also think they have to successfully execute a complete unmanned test mission with all bells and whistles this summer in order to have a realistic chance to fly next year, but I haven't seen a schedule for that.
The fool hath said in his heart, There is a God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
Psalm 14, KJV revised edition
