Category Archives: Space Transportation

Depot-Centric Human Spaceflight

Posted on July 30, 2009 by Jonathan Goff

In light of how well today went at the Augustine Committee, I felt that it would be worthwhile to post the propellant depot white paper that a group of us submitted last week. I was originally planning a much longer … Continue reading →

Posted in Commercial Space, Launch Vehicles, Lunar Commerce, Lunar Exploration and Development, Propellant Depots, RLV Markets, Space Transportation | 17 Comments

One of the Most Amazing 25 Minutes in (Recent) NASA History [Updated]

Posted on July 30, 2009 by Jonathan Goff

Or at least that’s how Stephen Flemming put it on Twitter regarding Jeff Greason’s presentation at the Augustine Committee meeting today in Florida. To be fair, the rest of the subgroup also did an amazing job, especially Chris Chyba’s wrapup … Continue reading →

Posted in Commercial Space, COTS, ESAS, International Space Collaboration, International Space Competition, Launch Vehicles, Lunar Commerce, Lunar Exploration and Development, NASA, Propellant Depots, Space Policy, Space Transportation, Technology | 8 Comments

Random Thoughts: Tuggery and RCS

Posted on July 6, 2009 by Jonathan Goff

This is just a short one that someone pointed out to me over the weekend.  For spacecraft that have to do their own rendezvous and docking with say a space station or depot, you need an RCS capable of not … Continue reading →

Posted in Space Transportation, Technology, Tuggery | 14 Comments

Random Thoughts: Pre-Depot 2-Launch Manned Missions Using L2 Swingby

Posted on June 28, 2009 by Jonathan Goff

Ok, two weeks ago, I mentioned that the “pre-depot” dual EELV launch concept my friend had passed to me could be adapted to do manned lunar missions.  Lunar missions are a lot easier to close if you assume a depot … Continue reading →

Posted in Bigelow Aerospace, Commercial Space, ESAS, Launch Vehicles, Lunar Commerce, Lunar Exploration and Development, MSS, NASA, Propellant Depots, Space Transportation, SpaceX | 13 Comments

The Incredible (Already) Shrinking Moon Program

Posted on June 27, 2009 by Jonathan Goff

A few years ago, I asked the question of “how many crew do you really need for a lunar program?“  The conclusion was that if you could reduce the crew requirements (at least initially), it might allow for a much … Continue reading →

Posted in ESAS, NASA, Space Transportation | 5 Comments

Quick Notes: Debunking The PLF Volume Argument for HLVs

Posted on June 17, 2009 by Jonathan Goff

I noticed during the DIRECT presentation at today’s HSF public meeting, that they were asked why they would need an HLV if they had depots.  Now, I didn’t hear the exact question, since I had a phone call come in … Continue reading →

Posted in Commercial Space, ESAS, Launch Vehicles, Lunar Exploration and Development, NASA, Propellant Depots, Space Transportation | 17 Comments

Random Thoughts: Risk, Orbital Rendezvous, and Depots

Posted on June 4, 2009 by Jonathan Goff

[Ed: I’m pretty sure I’ve used this argument before, but didn’t see it on the blog, so I figured I’d put it down in writing even if it ends up being repetitive.] One of the most common criticisms I hear … Continue reading →

Posted in NASA, Propellant Depots, Space Development, Space Policy, Space Transportation | 24 Comments

Regarding “Lunar COTS”

Posted on May 26, 2009 by Jonathan Goff

I’ve been busy a lot lately (between this, this, this, and having friends in from out of town for the holiday), so I hadn’t had a chance until now to reply to Mark Whittington’s correspondence with me (found here).  A … Continue reading →

Posted in Commercial Space, COTS, ESAS, Launch Vehicles, Lunar Commerce, NASA, Space Development, Space Policy, Space Transportation | 22 Comments

RLV Markets Part II: The Black Aluminum Analogy

Posted on April 22, 2009 by Jonathan Goff

[Editor’s Note: It’s been too long since I wrote the first article in this series, and I wanted to write some more on this topic.  My tendency to try to cram everything into one ginormous ominbus post has been almost … Continue reading →

Posted in Commercial Space, Launch Vehicles, RLV Markets, Space Transportation, SpaceX, Technology | 37 Comments

Orbital Mechanics Tricksiness to Increase the Frequency of TLI Opportunities for LEO Depots

Posted on February 10, 2009 by Jonathan Goff

[Update 2/10/09 11pm: I’m actually pretty sure I made a mistake here, and my entire idea may be more or less worthless. Basically, the problem is that for any elliptical trajectory, you have a “line of apsides”, which basically is … Continue reading →

Posted in Commercial Space, Lunar Commerce, Lunar Exploration and Development, Propellant Depots, Space Transportation | 39 Comments