Originally Posted by
Deep Throat
Am I being simple?
Isn't the point of the throw away 'rocket' just that?
You don't have to make it strong because the fuel creates the integrity until it is done with?
Why do we have to recycle what is essentially junk?
Is this all 'clever but pointless'?
Have a look at the costs:
- Space Shuttle (partially reusable), 27,500 kg to low earth orbit at $61,720 per kg payload.
- Saturn V (not reusable), 140,000 kg to low earth orbit (the numbers are different if you take it to the moon), at $5,200 per kg payload
- Falcon 9, (significant part reusable), 22,800 kg to low earth orbit at $2,720 per kg.
- Falcon Heavy (significant part reusable), 63,800 kg to low earth orbit at $1,410 per kg.
The costs go down significantly due to reusability. The numbers would not be that low for throw-away versions of the Falcon family.
Source:
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20200001093/downloads/20200001093.pdf