DocM Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 (edited) The last 2 paragraphs need little parsing; NASA will be paying attention in September. http://www.aviationweek.com/space/nasa-may-pay-elon-musk-land-scientific-instruments-mars Quote NASA May Pay Elon Musk To Land Scientific Instruments On Mars NASA is ready to help Elon Musk land a Dragon capsule on Mars and is taking a wait-and-see approach to sending its own expensive instruments along with it. The U.S. space agency has an internal list of potential scientific payloads for the Red Dragon mission the SpaceX founder and his engineers hope to launch in 2018. NASA is ready to spend on the order of $30 million to assist that first private mission to Mars. Landing NASAs own stuff inside the capsule is another story. "We've got to demonstrate we can safely land on Mars, which we know is hard, using a technique that he's going to try," says Jim Green, head of NASAs Planetary Science Div. The techniquesupersonic retropropulsionis the odds-on favorite for landing the heavy payloads that would be needed to support humans on the Martian surface. The combination of heat shields, parachutes and retro-rockets used for the current generation of landers will only work with payloads weighing about a ton. It worked for the Curiosity rover that landed on Aug. 7, 2012, and is planned for a follow-on mission set for the 2020 planetary launch window. >But exploration planners believe a human outpost will need habitats and supplies to arrive in 20-ton loads, and the sky-crane hovering retro-rocket platform that lowered Curiosity to the surface in the famous 7 min. of terror will not work with payloads that big. Maybe supersonic retropropulsion turning a big rocket engine downward and lighting it up as a brake will do the trick. > "What really matters is being able to transport a large number of people and millions of tons of cargo to Mars," Musk said June 2 at a symposium in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. > The early flights will require the 27-engine Falcon Heavy, which Musk says should have its first flight by year-end. The companys website lists its planned payload capability as 29,980 lb. to Mars, with a $90 million commercial pricetag.While the Falcon Heavy will be the most powerful rocket on Earth, Musk says, the vehicle that will launch human colonies will be larger. He promised to give details in September. Meanwhile, NASA says it will continue to watch near-term developments in Musks ambitious plans. "If he can demonstrate he can land safely, I'm all in. We'll start working with him on payloads," says Green. Emn1ty, Unobscured Vision and Jim K 3 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unobscured Vision Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 14.99T payload to Mars using Falcon Heavy ... Now we're talkin'. RD-TF1 launch in 2018 if everything goes according to plan. /me rubs hands together gleefully Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted July 8, 2016 Author Share Posted July 8, 2016 (edited) Not to mention what a BFR could deliver using a cargo BFS, especially if it's like the Max Fagin concept which drops a cargo bay 1/3 the size of the ship. <shudder> Unobscured Vision 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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