Small Can Be Better

I don’t want to be contradicting with my previous articles. I had previously stated that we needed bigger and more staged rockets to be able to explore the Moon and beyond. This proposal is true if we are planning to conduct high energy missions or deploy large modules to the orbit with a single rocket launched from ground. On the other hand, if we plan to assemble a high energy rocket in orbit, then the rockets can be two staged and comparably small.

Falcon 9 is a very good example. This rocket is enough to build a robotic base on the moon and even on Mars. The advantages of smaller rockets are they can be easily mass produced and their launch process can be simpler and less time consuming. These advantages speed up an in-orbit assembly. Additionally, smaller rockets are more effective on deploying LEO satellites. They can concentrate on one target orbit and efficiently deploy its payload there. Finally, smaller rockets can be easily launched from a military ship in case of a conflict compared to much larger ones.

My suggestion to countries or agencies that are planning to build their own reusable rocket. Take the payload capacity of Falcon 9 as reference. Develop a rocket engine that can be turned on and off multiple times and more precisely throttleable which allows the rocket to be reusable. Choose liquid methane as the fuel. Utilize this engine with slight modifications on the second stage as well. Also utilize it on Orbit Assembled Rocket. When you have the capability to mass produce this engine and the rocket, you can explore the solar system with advanced robotics. I propose no human missions while they are way more expensive for what they achieve.

Instead of developing multiple less capable rockets, it pays off to design a single proper one. The right rocket size allows higher launch frequency. In my point of view, this is the key to success. Additionally, put your effort on robotic missions to achieve more.