(Newswire.net — November 11, 2020) — Building reusable rockets is a critical question in modern spacecraft engineering. Some developers feel quite optimistic about this idea, while others remain critical about it. Today, we will look at this question and find out whether reusable rockets are worth building.
The importance of modern spacecraft building
Spacecraft building is a vast area of modern technology. Most well-developed countries have their interest in exploring nearby space. Humanity always dreamed of conquering space, and today we can witness this process with our own eyes. Various gear and space equipment was developed for space exploration. New carriers like SkyHy and Electron are being designed to make satellite launches more affordable. However, reusable rockets remain the most widely discussed topic in this industry. Many people believe that a rocket going into space should lift off just once.
Perspectives of reusable space vehicles
Recently, people started to doubt the necessity of building reusable rockets. Opponents claim these carriers are expensive and unsafe. For example, despite being one of the leading players in space exploration, NASA supports only those projects they find prospective. NASA doesn’t require a sufficient amount of rockets to make this business financially viable. At least for now.
The thing is that reusable model rocket engines are a prospective innovation. However, to become a commercial success, they are frequently used to bring back and multiply all money invested in them. The modern cosmic program tends to use disposable rockets as it is cheaper to build one of them once in a while than pay for maintenance and repairs of reusable rockets. Don’t forget that, like any machine, reusable rockets also need to be taken care of.
Origins of multiple launch space vehicles
Nevertheless, the idea of having reusable rockets is not new. Since the dawn of space exploration, many countries have spent a lot of money and effort in developing a space vehicle capable of making multiple launches. However, not all of these efforts were successful, though Space Shuttle NASA created appeared to be quite a step forward in the whole industry. Multiple space launches eventually affect reusable rockets. That is why you need to have a staff of good technicians to keep your reusable spacecraft running for as long as you need it. No one will allow a spacecraft to do another flight without checking its condition as crew members’ lives and expensive equipment are too important to risk.
Problems of building reusable rockets
Tech is moving forward, and today, reusable rockets become less relevant. Many countries tend to use disposable rockets that are built from scratch for one single launch. Such a policy ensures more safety, as a newly-built device seems more reliable to many people. Next, space engineers rocket launcher tech changes quite rapidly. That is why it is cheaper to build a new space vehicle than to modernize the old one.
Considerable breakthrough in building reusable spacecraft
History knows examples when some countries tried to do the same thing. It is known that Russia and France were attempting to turn the Ariane 5 into a space vehicle for multiple space launches. This idea was met with tremendous enthusiasm, however further problems put this project to an end. Turning a disposable piece of hardware into a space shuttle required too much gear, and it was next to impossible to equip this vehicle. These problems showed the differences between using disposable and reusable rockets.
Modern efforts in building reusable rockets
Source: https://pixabay.com/photos/flight-falcon-9-spacex-landing-1245695/
Nowadays, SpaceX tries to do a similar thing with their technological breakthroughs. Most of the company’s difficulties were building a reusable rocket that required many investments into creating technologies that barely existed in the current period. Elon Musk’s ambitions allowed scientists to push spacecraft, building boundaries much further than humanity was expecting. Nevertheless, not all countries can afford such investments in the space industry until it brings significant financial profit.
Future perspectives for space traveling
The main thing that can change this situation with reusable rockets is making most governments more interested in developing this industry. Moon and Mars colonization can push this whole movement further. When space travel becomes a reality for the human race, the need for reusable rockets can become very urgent. Today, most space vehicles are used for delivering various hardware to the Earth orbit. Considering the quality of modern devices, there is no need to send astronauts to regularly fix something. Generally, such work is done from Earth via computers. Space drone usage also becomes more popular. But when times to cross the boundaries of Earth’s orbit will come for us, we won’t do anything special without having reusable rockets.
Wrapping it up, this sphere of spacecraft industry remains perspective, even though it often needs enormous investments. Nevertheless, sooner or later, humanity will undoubtedly make reusable rockets quite an ordinary thing.