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The prospects for European aerospace transporters

Part III: Applications of aerospace transporters

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 July 2016

D. M. Ashford  and
P. Q. Collins
D. M. Ashford
Affiliation:
Almondsbury, Bristol
P. Q. Collins
Affiliation:
The Management School, Imperial College, London
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Summary

This, the third part of the paper on aerospace transporters, considers their applications. It is concluded that a small nearterm vehicle would be useful for launching small satellites, for servicing satellites in orbit, for supplying space stations and as a lead-in to larger and more advanced vehicles. The latter have a potential cost per flight about 1000 times less than that of the Space Shuttle, given traffic levels sufficient to enable design and operational maturity to be achieved. Space tourism, (i.e. the making of short flights to Earth orbit by fare-paying passengers), would appear to be the first application likely to provide these traffic levels. Given high priority and an immediate start, the first space tourism flights could possibly take place this century.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Aeronautical Journal , Volume 93 , Issue 923 , March 1989 , pp. 77 - 87
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society 1989 

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