[AR] Re: SpaceX Single Stage to Orbit
- From: Henry Spencer <hspencer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: Arocket List <arocket@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 22 May 2019 15:40:42 -0400 (EDT)
On Wed, 22 May 2019, Craig Fink wrote:
paradigm shift in what a "heat shield" is. Moving away from disposable
ablatives and dedicated (extra mass) heat shields to an integrated system
where the physical tank is the heat shield. Active Cooling of the heat
shield will be the new normal at some point in the future, using a little
propellant mass as the ablative so to speak.
Disposable mass is extra mass, whether it's fixed on the outer surface or
carried in an internal tank. And don't forget that if it's carried in a
tank, it has to get to where it's needed, and the hardware for that is
extra mass too.
Henry
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