“It’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock and roll.”
– AC / DC
=<<>>=
One of the many afflictions that besiege any intelligent species in the Universe is the urge to expand their territorial domain. This, of course, includes adventures into outer space. Humans are no different. However, space travel is currently the birthright of various governments or billionaires, for only these entities have the Right $tuff to accomplish the seemingly impossible. This most unfortunate axiom is the reason why commercial spaceflight has not yet fully become a reality.
This blueprint presents one possible solution to the dilemma.
Tourism will be the number one industry in the coming multi–trillion dollar outer space market while simultaneously helping to boost other industries and markets, including science. Tourism can and will pay for space; all that is lacking is the infrastructure and the will to do it. This blueprint describes not only how to use contemporary ideas and technology to provide a presence in Earth orbit and the Moon, but also the use of an innovative strategy as the funding mechanism for the entire endeavor. A few years after financing has been secured, a spaceport oasis in the middle of a desert will emerge, complete with manufacturing plants, control towers, runways, launch pads, propellant storage, training facilities, etc., all powered using a vast array of solar panels.
Critics say that there does not exist a flock of tourists spending gobs of money going to Antarctica for a vacation, and it's a lot cheaper to get there than flying to the lunar surface, for example. So why would anyone pay to go to the Moon?
My answer to that is the Overview Effect. It is an apples to oranges comparison. There is nothing really exciting to see or experience in Antarctica, except lots of whiteness and cold. On the Moon, they get to see the Earth as the fragile, beautiful, and awe-inspiring “Christmas Tree ornament" as Jim Lovell put so well. Their lunar surroundings will be a "magnificent desolation" as Buzz Aldrin put so well as well. That's the difference between Antarctica and the Moon. The Overview Effect is probably not going to happen in Antarctica, but it's a sure bet it will happen in space.
We can even hope these millionaires come back having a newfound respect for "the good Earth," as Frank Borman said while orbiting the Moon. It was once said that Apollo 8 went to the Moon and discovered Earth. Maybe space tourism will be similar?
Once we have a permanent location in space, science will surely follow. But tourism will always lead the way.
This paper will show that using present–level technology, a Single–Stage–To–Orbit launch vehicle is not only possible but feasible, and that this spacecraft can carry other spacecraft that will eventually reach out into cislunar space. The vision entailed is one for science fiction movies such as 2001: a Space Odyssey: commercial passenger spaceliners, space hotels, space tugs, and lunar landings at a lunar base. The spaceliner is absolutely essential for tourism to happen.
Cryogenic propellant for the spaceliners back on Earth will be produced by bringing seawater in from a nearby coast using a pipeline and using power from solar panels for electrolysis and liquefaction. Single–Stage–To–Orbit Reusable Launch Vehicles will carry cargo into Low Earth Orbit at an altitude that will assure regularly scheduled flights into space. This higher and more stable orbit will house a permanent space station, including (of course) tourists. The orbital station will be the launch point for various sorties, including missions involving science, but mostly, tourism. The station will also refurbish spacesuits and spacecraft and crew modules for reuse by tourists and scientists alike.
Critics say that there does not exist a flock of tourists spending gobs of money going to Antarctica for a vacation, and it's a lot cheaper to get there than flying to the lunar surface, for example. So why would anyone pay to go to the Moon?
My answer to that is the Overview Effect. It is an apples to oranges comparison. There is nothing really exciting to see or experience in Antarctica, except lots of whiteness and cold. On the Moon, they get to see the Earth as the fragile, beautiful, and awe-inspiring “Christmas Tree ornament" as Jim Lovell put so well. Their lunar surroundings will be a "magnificent desolation" as Buzz Aldrin put so well as well. That's the difference between Antarctica and the Moon. The Overview Effect is probably not going to happen in Antarctica, but it's a sure bet it will happen in space.
We can even hope these millionaires come back having a newfound respect for "the good Earth," as Frank Borman said while orbiting the Moon. It was once said that Apollo 8 went to the Moon and discovered Earth. Maybe space tourism will be similar?
Once we have a permanent location in space, science will surely follow. But tourism will always lead the way.
This paper will show that using present–level technology, a Single–Stage–To–Orbit launch vehicle is not only possible but feasible, and that this spacecraft can carry other spacecraft that will eventually reach out into cislunar space. The vision entailed is one for science fiction movies such as 2001: a Space Odyssey: commercial passenger spaceliners, space hotels, space tugs, and lunar landings at a lunar base. The spaceliner is absolutely essential for tourism to happen.
Cryogenic propellant for the spaceliners back on Earth will be produced by bringing seawater in from a nearby coast using a pipeline and using power from solar panels for electrolysis and liquefaction. Single–Stage–To–Orbit Reusable Launch Vehicles will carry cargo into Low Earth Orbit at an altitude that will assure regularly scheduled flights into space. This higher and more stable orbit will house a permanent space station, including (of course) tourists. The orbital station will be the launch point for various sorties, including missions involving science, but mostly, tourism. The station will also refurbish spacesuits and spacecraft and crew modules for reuse by tourists and scientists alike.
Freeflying platforms can provide invaluable and profitable science products. For example, the electrophoresis process in a microgravity environment can easily produce pure proteins for medical uses. The same environment aides in the growth of large crystals for use in electronics. As the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) has shown, a fairly large mirror in space can produce spectacular results. With several HST style telescopes in orbit, the process of Aperture Synthesis can be used to peer even further into the abyss.
The list of science spin offs that are realistically achievable is virtually endless.
The list of science spin offs that are realistically achievable is virtually endless.
But before any sorties can take place from the station, cryogenic propellant replenishment of orbital spacecraft must become simple and routine. The replenishment module will fit into the Reusable Launch Vehicle. The module will rendezvous and dock with an orbital spacecraft, then use sump pumps to transfer three cryogenic substances: Liquid Hydrogen (fuel), Liquid Oxygen (oxidizer), and Liquid Nitrogen (tank pressurization). The module is then returned to Earth for refurbishment and refilling and returned back into orbital space. Lather, rinse, repeat.
The moment spaceships can be easily refilled, flights into cislunar space will become just as routine as flights into space. Tourists will not only fly circumlunar flights but will also land on the Moon. Once on the lunar surface, a base will be set up near the lunar equator for easy access. The philosophy of In–Situ Resource Utilization can then be implemented to process regolith using electrolysis to separate oxygen, aluminum, silicon, nitrogen, and other materials. The oxygen will be liquefied to be used for breathing and as a rocket engine oxidizer. By combining the liquid oxygen with liquid hydrogen fuel transported from Earth, a fairly easy process for propellant replenishment on the lunar surface will be achieved. Meanwhile, the aluminum and silicone will be used to build shelters and other structures at a reduced cost. Additionally, scientists and tourists will have a place to stay and will fly sorties to interesting lunar destinations. Before long, flights to the ice fields in the permanently–shadowed craters at the South Pole will occur, where rovers will collect ice and use electrolysis to separate the hydrogen and oxygen, thus providing a source of propellant independent of Earth.
Realistic science fiction movies will serve as our vision. The concepts of hardware reuse and commonality will be our inspiration. Refilling cryogenic propellant tanks in space will be our driving force. In–Situ Resource Utilization will be our guiding principle. We hope to accomplish everything within the first 3,000 days, which just happens to be about the same amount of time between President Kennedy’s speech calling us forward to the Moon and Armstrong’s famous words reverberating from Tranquility Base into the beyond. If they can do it, so can we.
It may be a long way to the top of the space industry, but with present–level technology coupled with a crowdsourcing campaign, the payoff will be just as high. The dream of space entrepreneurship by the common millionaire is afoot; we wish to seize the opportunity afforded to us during this moment in history.
The moment spaceships can be easily refilled, flights into cislunar space will become just as routine as flights into space. Tourists will not only fly circumlunar flights but will also land on the Moon. Once on the lunar surface, a base will be set up near the lunar equator for easy access. The philosophy of In–Situ Resource Utilization can then be implemented to process regolith using electrolysis to separate oxygen, aluminum, silicon, nitrogen, and other materials. The oxygen will be liquefied to be used for breathing and as a rocket engine oxidizer. By combining the liquid oxygen with liquid hydrogen fuel transported from Earth, a fairly easy process for propellant replenishment on the lunar surface will be achieved. Meanwhile, the aluminum and silicone will be used to build shelters and other structures at a reduced cost. Additionally, scientists and tourists will have a place to stay and will fly sorties to interesting lunar destinations. Before long, flights to the ice fields in the permanently–shadowed craters at the South Pole will occur, where rovers will collect ice and use electrolysis to separate the hydrogen and oxygen, thus providing a source of propellant independent of Earth.
Realistic science fiction movies will serve as our vision. The concepts of hardware reuse and commonality will be our inspiration. Refilling cryogenic propellant tanks in space will be our driving force. In–Situ Resource Utilization will be our guiding principle. We hope to accomplish everything within the first 3,000 days, which just happens to be about the same amount of time between President Kennedy’s speech calling us forward to the Moon and Armstrong’s famous words reverberating from Tranquility Base into the beyond. If they can do it, so can we.
It may be a long way to the top of the space industry, but with present–level technology coupled with a crowdsourcing campaign, the payoff will be just as high. The dream of space entrepreneurship by the common millionaire is afoot; we wish to seize the opportunity afforded to us during this moment in history.
In the end, it is a win–win scenario for everyone: the next generation of potential future space travelers get to be inspired and we get to make our own space history. Our argument thusly becomes: wouldn’t it be nice to make a little money while doing all that inspiring and space history–making?
::