[AR] Re: OT laser propulsion and power satellites
- From: Keith Henson <hkeithhenson@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: arocket@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 15 Oct 2013 08:08:50 -0700
On Mon, Oct 14, 2013 at 10:40 PM, Derek Clarke <derek_c@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Nice try, but no cigar. That programme is far too expensive.
So far, the technical people say it is to expensive and the finance
people say it can't be done for technical reasons.
Now, *I* have no idea of how to raise that scale of money, but as
energy project go, it is about half the size of the largest and there
are several of the same size, mostly LNG projects. If the Chinese do
it, $60 B is twice the cost of Three Gorges Dam.
> Then there are
> the implications of large numbers of multigigawatt lasers.
That I clearly state in the talk. Even one of them has huge
implications. Someone with experiences in military studies says the US
will attempt to destroy any Chinese propulsion laser. If the Chinese
were doing it jointly with the Indians would we still destroy it? Is
it in the interest of the US for the Chinese to get off coal? From the
viewpoint of the US, how do propulsion lasers differ in kind from
Predator drones and Hellfire missiles?
> It was also not clear why you go to the expense of developing Skylon just to
> launch the first satellite.
The second generation Skylon, the one with the laser hydrogen heaters
is required to get the long term transport cost down. It's just too
much of a technological jump at one time so we need the original
version. The cargo needed for the first microwave powered propulsion
laser is in the ten thousand ton range. That will take ~1000 flights
of something to get it there. At two hundred flights per vehicle,
that will take 5-6 Skylons and about a year. I don't know any less
expensive way to get that much into space, especially when we need the
engineering experience of flying a couple of Skylons a day. Working
up to 3 flights an hour is going to be an interesting task.
Keith
> On Tuesday, October 15, 2013, Keith Henson wrote:
>>
>> http://youtu.be/qCiw99yRBo8
>>
>> Talk I gave at Google in July.
>>
>> Keith
>>
>
On Mon, Oct 14, 2013 at 10:40 PM, Derek Clarke <derek_c@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Nice try, but no cigar. That programme is far too expensive. Then there are
> the implications of large numbers of multigigawatt lasers.
>
> It was also not clear why you go to the expense of developing Skylon just to
> launch the first satellite.
>
>
> On Tuesday, October 15, 2013, Keith Henson wrote:
>>
>> http://youtu.be/qCiw99yRBo8
>>
>> Talk I gave at Google in July.
>>
>> Keith
>>
>
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