/sci/ - Science & Math

>>16024207
Delta Clipper (test)

>>12264969
>>12264859
>my ancestors :)

bring it back bros

>>11847459
1990 at the latest, that's when the DC-X flew.

If you take DC-X, make it four times as large, add a payload bay, and put it on top of a second DC-X that uses methalox instead of hydrolox (so it masses more and has more thrust), you have a fully reusable two stage launch vehicle.

Never forget that we could have been where we are now 30 years ago.
Never forget that they took this from you.
Never forget that this was cancelled in favor of Venture Star because of favoritism despite the latter being a hot mess of technological shortfalls that everyone could see would never actually work.

>>9215467
the shuttle wasn't a rocket, it was a brick. Sure they recovered the the LOX-H2 rocket engines, but they threw away a big expensive propellant tank.
>>9215448
We did have rockets that could land 20 years ago, the Delta Clipper is an example of one:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_DC-X

But Musk has definitely reduced the cost of launching rockets and that's a pretty big deal. We should certainly be skeptical of his recent announcements though. For one, if their Internet via satellite plan doesn't succeed then we could see another iridium style crash. Other similar past crazy announcements like SpaceX's Red Dragon, which was to send an unmanned Dragon capsule to Mars in 2018 or 2020, got cancelled. https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/07/spacex-appears-to-have-pulled-the-plug-on-its-red-dragon-plans/