Can Spaceflight Innovation Survive Deep Budget Cuts?

[LongTomH]

Participants at the 2012 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics heard some alarming truths from their opening speaker.

PASADENA, Calif. — A U.S. space industry stuck with the "tyranny of the rocket equation" faces tighter budgets and possibly several decades without a major revolution in spaceflight technologies.

Those sobering conclusions came from spaceflight industry experts in the opening talk here at the Space 2012 conference by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics on Tuesday (Sept. 11). Space systems such as weather satellites, GPS satellites, and communications networks have become necessary to sustaining the lifestyle millions of Americans take for granted — but the U.S. faces the challenge of maintaining such capabilities while investing in new innovations aimed at cutting costs rather than necessarily boosting space technologies.

"I predict that the next 30 or 40 years for the sustainability of space is about driving more efficiency and economics into the technology we have today," said Roger Krone, president of network and space systems at Boeing.

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Krone referred to the "tyranny of the rocket equation," a quote by NASA astronaut and flight engineer Don Pettit, that describes the laws of physics that still rules over spaceflight and keeps launch costs high. A true revolution in spaceflight might find a way to break that "tyranny," but until then Krone said that innovation would have to focus on making existing technology better and cheaper.

Read more at Space.com: http://www.space.com/17560-spaceflight-innovation-budget-cuts.html

[phantom power]

1. the list of ways to break the tyrrany of the rocket equation is fairly short...

You can use the atmosphere for lift, as high as you can, then kick into true rocket mode. You can build a space elevator. There are some concepts for not using fuel on-board, like rail-gun launching or propulsion with ground-based lasers, although those always seemed more fringe-y to me. If there's any other categories of solution, I'm unaware of them

In a hypothetical future, if we develop manufacturing in space, then a third option is to just avoid deep gravity wells altogether, whenever possible.

[a geek named Bob]

2. The main problem

with avoiding the Wells, is that we need organic volatiles, to keep a leither mining the CV setion ife cycle going...

That means either mining the CV section of the belt, or scoop-mining a gas giant.

Pournelle did a write up of how to operate laser-powered rockets. The main problem there, is that you're dealing with 3G at launch...

Not exactly standard passenger fare.

(Of course, I'll keep pushing for flights as comfortable as First class select, aboard a good quality old school jetliner...)