Questions tagged [reuse]
Questions regarding the reuse of parts or equipment.
174
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Is present-day plumbing technology enough to make refueling of hypergol rockets safe? What about only in space?
Sadly, all of the currently commonly used chemical rocket fuels that are either hypergolic or storable are horribly toxic/corrosive/explosive. RP-1 is so safe you can pour it out of a gas can, but ...
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66 views
Have studies / worked examples, including mass figures, been published for these reentry methods for reusable upper stages?
(Related: is there a general rule of thumb for thermal protection systems?)
For a fully-reusable launch vehicle to be developed, we need a lightweight thermal protection system and method for (...
5
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1answer
162 views
How do ships catch fairings? Can fairings steer or do the ships do all the work?
A comment in The Pod Bay says it all:
...fourth Starlink payload launched. Booster landed on OCISLY. (Has now launched three times, LC-39A, SLC-40, SLC-4W once at each launch pad they own!)
...
0
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2answers
219 views
Why was the reusability of the SSMEs so poor, and why was this considered acceptable given their purpose to launch a reusable vehicle?
The Space Shuttle Main Engines operated for around 8.5 minutes in every Shuttle launch, yet were removed from the orbiter after each flight and went through an overhaul, parts often being traded from ...
4
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3answers
145 views
Redeployable solar arrays. Do they exist? or are they being worked on?
Has it ever been done, or is anyone working on, redeployable solar arrays? In other words, a solar cell array that can be deployed in space, used for a period, and then folded up again into the ship, ...
0
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1answer
84 views
Would Sabre make a good first stage engine for a hypothetical 2-stage design?
Sabre is usually described in the context of the Skylon SSTO design but, would it make more sense to use such engines for the first stage of a two stage design?
Basically, would the air breathing ...
7
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3answers
361 views
Why do all recent proposed lunar landers have payloads on top?
Every recently-proposed vacuum lander I've seen has its payload as far off the ground as possible. This necessitates cranes, ladders, and elevators to get things down. (Starship may be a partial ...
4
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1answer
90 views
Could the SSMEs of the SLS do retro burns?
The SLS will use the main engines of the space shuttle. Are these capable of retro-burns in the upper atmosphere like SpaceX’s Merlin engines?
More broadly, could the SLS’ main engines and ...
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5answers
5k views
Reusable spacecraft: why still have fairings detach, instead of open/close?
Why do reusable rockets (e.g. SpaceX Falcon 9) still utilize detachable fairings? SpaceX keeps trying to find a way to recover the $6M fairings for obvious cost saving reasons, why not have them ...
8
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1answer
200 views
How much of the recovery system does Spacex remove from a Falcon 9 when using it in an expended manner?
Falcon 9s have a limit to how many times they can be reused, and, for the last flight of a booster they don't make it land (in one piece), and instead use all the fuel to help the payload. That way ...
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1answer
312 views
What is the Process for Re-certifying Flight Hardware?
I was reading about how we reused the water tanks because they were still within their certified life-time and had two questions:
When would a certification become VOID?
I'd assume if the water ...
54
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1answer
6k views
Why use water tanks from a retired Space Shuttle?
In 2015, technicians entered the retired Space Shuttle Endeavour to remove the water tanks, with the goal of reusing these tanks on ISS.
The space shuttle Endeavour is retired and on display at the ...
4
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2answers
380 views
Have there been any examples of re-usable rockets in the past?
I am writing a piece about re-usable rockets and I'm wondering, apart from SpaceX, have there been any re-usable rockets in the past, success or 'failure', as in didn't perform as expected.
Obviously ...
5
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3answers
261 views
Will the New Glenn have grid fins? Why or why not?
The January 2019 Blue Origin video New Glenn: The Road to Space shows the rocket with static fins at the bottom and four articulated fins near the top of the first stage.
Is this just notional, or ...
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0answers
63 views
Most challenging aspects of a reusable satellite scheme like this?
What would be the most challenging aspects of a reusable satellite scheme similar to the one shown in this video? For the kilo-constellations (e.g. SpaceX's StarLink with 4,500 to 7,500 satellites) ...
5
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2answers
313 views
Could Falcon 9 take off without launchpad
As far as I'm currently aware, the Falcon 9 block 5 does not have the capability to retract it's landing legs once they're deployed, however:
If F9 landing legs had the ability to retract themselves (...
4
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1answer
435 views
how reusable are electric pump fed rocket engines like Rutherford Engines of Electron rocket?
In electric pump fed rocket engines, propellants are pumped by two electric motors. So there is just one combustion chamber and that is the main combustion chamber. I guess electric pumps are fairly ...
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2answers
670 views
What is the most expensive part of a rocket?
I want to say fuel is, but this Question Why isn't stainless steel used for rocket engines? has got me thinking about cost in the long run.
What part commonly found on most rockets cost the most ...
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2answers
278 views
Is the BFB/super heavy likely to have an easier time landing than the Falcon 9 booster?
Despite the deep throttle of the Merlin 1D engine, the weight of the Falcon 9 booster is less than the force of a single Merlin engine firing at minimum throttle (See here). This means that the Falcon ...
3
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1answer
198 views
What's the shortest time to reflight of a Falcon 9 booster?
What has been the shortest time in between the landing of a Falcon 9 booster, and SpaceX reusing them on a different mission?
3
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1answer
266 views
What Apollo equipment could be salvaged from the Moon?
If humans returned to the original Apollo landing sites, what previously left-behind equipment could reasonably be salvaged as part of a future mission or colony? That is, is everything that was left ...
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2answers
87 views
When does reusable lower rocket stages become benificial?
Can lower stages of current rockets be replaced to reusable and more efficient boosters with parachutes? Would reusable rocket stages save money?
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0answers
41 views
Where are all the space capsules? [duplicate]
My understanding is that space capsules, at least until recently with the private companies, have been single-use. Including the Soyuz capsules that Russia keeps using. Which means there could ...
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1answer
229 views
Why was the water-landed Falcon 9 B5-B1050 towed backwards for retrieval?
The rocket was apparently recovered by attaching a towing line to the heavy, lower end (with the engines) and pulling at backwards.
This seems counterintuitive to me, as this pushes the water into ...
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0answers
123 views
Purging process of a rocket engine
Does spacex purge Falcon 9 engines after landing ? If so, which gas is used for purging?
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0answers
304 views
Final results on Space Shuttle SRB reuse goal?
One of the stated goals of the Space Shuttle solid rocket boosters (SRBs) was their re-usability and cost savings from such reuse. I know that many of them were reused, but in the end, how successful ...
4
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1answer
191 views
Satellite retrieval, fix and deploy possible remotely?
Is there any satellites that are designed to come back to Earth for repairs or upgrades and then be deployed again? Would there be any benefits to creating a capsule or inflatable heat shield to go on ...
2
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0answers
59 views
How to make a orbital launch tube work?
Normal rockets would not work in a pressurized tube, but could a stage be made for the diagonal launch tube to save fuel and weight? Can the bottom stage be nuclear powered?
Unlike the piston launch ...
19
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4answers
3k views
What would be necessary in order for us to achieve a single stage to orbit, reusable rocket?
I have read articles and seen videos explaining why an SSTO (Single Stage To Orbit) rocket* is not possible. But I was wondering... What would be required to achieve this? Answers can be literally ...
9
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1answer
239 views
Are there proven economic advantages to rocket re-usability?
Of course, you save a lot of material, but I have heard some Russian rocket people say that that the main cost in rocket comes from the manufacture and testing. And for reusable rockets, you need to ...
4
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5answers
344 views
What if anything makes launching a recovered SpaceX rocket from a drone ship implausible?
Since SpaceX lands their rockets on drone ships (aka ASDS, barges), I'm curious what if anything would prevent rockets from being relaunched from the ship.
Obviously the ship would need ...
6
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1answer
150 views
Is the atmosphere a positive or a negative for reusability?
Does the atmosphere provide a benefit or detriment in terms of fuel economy for rockets that take off and land back on Earth? We know that the atmosphere plays a large role in helping slow down ...
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2answers
185 views
How would the US military switch to re-usable rockets?
The Ars Technica article After 25 years, military told to move from “expendable” to “reusable” rockets gives me pause.
The military rockets I'm aware of generally explode at end of mission by design (...
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4answers
10k views
Why can't Falcon 9 fairings touch the water?
SpaceX is spending considerable effort to catch Falcon 9 fairings into a giant net on a ship. I am aware that salt water ruins almost everything in the long run, but the fairings are a composite ...
9
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1answer
408 views
What makes it so hard to precisely land a fairing?
SpaceX currently tries to land their fairing halves on a boat with a net attached to it. So far they had no success but landed nearby, although quadrupling the net area.
They first tried with this ...
7
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0answers
225 views
How is Mr Steven piloted when catching a fairing?
Mr Steven is the ocean-going vessel used by SpaceX in its attempts to catch re-entrant Falcon 9 fairings for possible reuse.
How is this ship controlled during fairing catch attempts?
Is she* manned ...
3
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1answer
407 views
Reuse statistics of SpaceX Dragon capsules?
The question about the rolled-up and deployable solar array How does ROSA unroll? (Roll Out Solar Array) begins:
The upcoming SpaceX launch with the apparently first re-use of a dragon capsule will ...
8
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1answer
225 views
Why aren't the Ariane 5's SRBs reused?
The Ariane 5 uses two solid rocket boosters (SRBs), which can be recovered by parachute if desired. However, unlike (for instance) the space shuttle SRBs, Ariane 5 SRBs are only occasionally ...
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3answers
910 views
Will reusable rockets be financially viable?
While the vertical landing of rockets by SpaceX is certainly a significant achievement, there seem to be many who say that reusability is not actually financially viable. Apparently, it is far too ...
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2answers
2k views
Why is the first stage from the Falcon 9 SES-12 mission not recovered?
Youtube video here
At 4:13 minutes into the Iridium-6/GRACE-FO NASA Launch, the commentator mentions:
The first stage is not going to be recovered, so there won't be any views from the drone ship ...
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3answers
7k views
Why won't they recover the Falcon 9 from CRS-14?
According to the upcoming livestream of SpaceX CRS-14 (resupply of ISS):
SpaceX will not attempt to recover Falcon 9’s first stage after launch.
Why not? Wasn't that the whole point of (among ...
3
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1answer
146 views
Is a soot covered flight proven Falcon 9 lighter or heavier than a new falcon 9?
Since SpaceX now does not repaint or clean off the sides of the first stage booster prior to reuse, does this make the soot covered stage heavier or lighter? And is this difference in weight ...
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1answer
2k views
Why is there a need for getting rid of ISS trash using the empty ATV and similar vehicles
Why is trash from the ISS sent down in some of the cargo vehicles. Would it not make more sense to dump it overboard in the downward + retrograde direction (as described here) and use reusable cargo ...
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4answers
10k views
Why is SpaceX building the Big Falcon Ship before the Big Falcon Rocket?
I believe that SpaceX is planning on building the BFS (Big Falcon Spacecraft) before the BFR (Big Falcon Rocket), which serves as the first stage for the second-stage BFS. Does anyone know why they ...
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3answers
3k views
Are spacecraft single-use?
Are today's spacecraft and carrier rockets really for one use only (launch and landing)? And then they can't be used anymore?
5
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1answer
246 views
Can (or will) Block5 Falcon 9s be used on the Falcon Heavy?
With the Block5 version of Falcon 9 booster soon to be flying, will they be used for the Falcon Heavy, or will they remain a stand alone thing?
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1answer
180 views
Why is Mr. Steven in California and not Florida
Mr. Steven is the ship that is used to catch fairings. There is one of these thus far, and it is based to assist Vandenberg, not Cape Canaveral. Why are they choosing to test the fairing catching in ...
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1answer
275 views
Falcon 9 fairings stability on reentry
On the descent of the fairings into the atmosphere how is stability provided?
Why does it not start to rotate in a uncontrollable fall but reenter gently without apparently damage on the interior ...
7
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2answers
295 views
Is SpaceX trying to catch two pieces of fairing with one boat?
During the Paz / Starlink demo mission (2/22/18), SpaceX attempted to catch the fairing before it splashed-down into the ocean. They failed to catch it by just a few hundred meters.
My question is:...
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2answers
2k views
What is the cause of this Falcon 9 first stage “dance” after landing?
Recently I watched a video on YouTube by Scott Manley: How To Do A Hoverslam - Things Kerbal Space Program Doesn't Teach. It deals about landing burns of Falcon 9 first stages. It features short clips ...
