Aviation Strategy

I was looking at the comparison of orbital rocket engines. There was so much different design. It reminded me of mobile phone manufacturers that would use tens of different cameras on their product line where as Apple would perfect a sensor for years. If a country has billions to spare there is no problem with experimenting with so many different designs. However, I would like to propose strategies for countries with limited budget.

Within the aviation sector, space has a considerably small percentage. There are more than 100 thousand one-way flights daily worldwide. The main cost of these flights is jet fuel. In the meanwhile, most space launches still use RP1 as the rocket fuel. Which is a more refined version of jet fuel. My proposition for the countries is that they should invest more on jet fuel refining to reduce the cost of RP1 and increase its production. Even though, liquid methane is becoming a new standard as a rocket fuel, RP1 has still have many advantages that would never go away. Most important of being a liquid at room temperature and having higher energy density per volume. This allows simpler engine design and smaller propellant tank for the same thrust.

The countries with considerable military budget should also invest on solid boosters as well. While most of the missiles use solid boosters on their initial stages. Additionally, solid boosters give so much thrust with simpler design compared to liquid rocket engines. Therefore, the rockets with solid boosters would require fewer liquid engines which would simplify the design. It is also important to establish a solid booster manufacturing facility that is consumed regularly. The produced missiles are mainly stocked pilled and only a few are tested regularly. On the other hand, regular space launches would allow the process to be continuously tested in real life. Establishing strong civilian roots for military is important. They would reduce the costs and keep high production capacities alive in peace time. That's why I propose RP1 as rocket fuel which has its root on jet fuel and solid boosters which has its root on military missiles.