I have recently proposed a Mars Research Base. An adequate rocket is required to implement it. The rocket should have five stages. The first one can be a reusable heavy lift rocket. The second one would put the upper stages into LEO. The third one would free the upper stages from Earth’s gravity. The fourth one would guide the upper stages during the long journey to Mars. The fifth one which carries the payload would be used to descend the payload safely on Mars.
Almost every spaceflight company on Earth is working on their reusable first stage. Some even try to reuse the second stage as well. However, the upper stages get almost no attention. “The chain is only as strong as its weakest link”
Companies claim that they would conquer Mars with their two stage rockets. I give no chance to such designs. Even the government agencies are in the same mindset. The physics of rocketry has not changed since the Apollo program. An efficient rocket needs to get rid of its additional weight during it journey in space. That’s the reason we have stages.
On my next articles I would like to detail the upper stages of a high payload planetary rocket which are omitted by the others.
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