/sci/ - Science & Math

why does titan 4 look so damn cool? second only to the space shuttle.

We are living in the best timeline

Titan IV
>17 tons to LEO
>$400 million per launch (1985)
>$800 million per launch today
>800 million!!!!
Fucking Delta IV is half the price at almost twice the capability

>>12159781
Back in the 50s-60s it was thought that solids might be a low-cost solution. Development of the minuteman icbm was maybe the only rocketry program from the early days that met its deadlines and stayed on budget. Their operations costs were theoretically low since you didn't need to worry about cryogenic storage or toxic spills. And the 120-inch solids that were used on the titan 3 worked well - it was the most cost-effective rocket the US had in the 70s.

NASA didn't want to use SRMs on the shuttle but they had a lower development cost than any liquid booster concepts and NASA didn't have any extra money.