In a conversation about the future of space travel a few days ago, Musk said that in the long run, the interstellar spacecraft and its carrier rockets will be “launched mainly from ocean spaceports.” He later clarified: ” Occasionally, it is possible to take off from land, but frequent daily flights may require a clear area of about 30 kilometers to avoid noise impact on the surroundings .”
Musk has previously explained that each interstellar spacecraft can complete 1,000 launches per year. Considering that the company has only completed 100 launches in the past 14 years, this is a pretty staggering number. SpaceX’s 57 launches were carried out at the land-based launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, but as the frequency of flights increases dramatically, the company may need to launch far from land.
Picture: SpaceX marine spaceport concept map
Musk has also proposed the idea of building a marine spaceport before. In November 2019, he claimed that SpaceX would build such facilities more than 30 kilometers offshore. In June 2020, he shared information about recruiting offshore operations engineers in Brownsville, Texas, where SpaceX is developing an interstellar spacecraft.
Earlier, Russia announced plans to restore its maritime launch site, and Musk made the latest comments in response to the news. The project was launched in 1995 and supported its launch until 2014. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov (Yuri Borisov) said that the repair cost is about 35 billion rubles (about 470 million US dollars).
This maritime launch platform supported 32 launches at sea with Zenit rockets. This rocket was designed by Soviet engineers and flew for the first time in 1985. The RD-171 engine on the rocket can produce nearly 726 tons of thrust on the sea surface and was once regarded as the most powerful liquid fuel rocket engine.
And China also successfully carried out the first sea launch experiment in 2019, using the Long March 11 sea-launched solid carrier rocket to successfully send the technical test satellite Fengfeng-1 A, B and five commercial satellites into the predetermined orbit. Success.
The most powerful rocket currently in use is SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket, which can generate more than 2,268 tons of thrust. The booster of the interplanetary spacecraft is designed to further increase the thrust, which will eventually reach 7,257 tons.
The design goal of the interplanetary spacecraft is to transport up to 150 tons of payload (or 100 people) into space at a time. When paired with a booster, the reusable spacecraft is approximately 122 meters high. It is expected to take on all the tasks currently launched by the existing Falcon 9 rocket and achieve more ambitious goals such as manned moon landings and Mars trips.
Perhaps the greatest benefit of ocean-based spaceports will be to support more frequent ground-to-ground flights. Musk claimed in June that SpaceX will begin such test flights within two to three years. These spacecraft can transport 1,000 people across the earth at a time, from London to Hong Kong in just 34 minutes.
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