Next best thing to a Saturn V
Discussion
Just thinking - Musk backed Zubrin with his 'Mars on Earth' project - Zubrin made a sound case for getting a man to Mars with 2/3 rockets the size of a Saturn V - this rocket can get 56 tons to the space station and Musk intends it to carry men... I wonder if this is the beginning of a private venture to end all private ventures?
Stu R said:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N-1_rocket - N1 had 30 
Yes, and how many successful missions did it fly?Stu R said:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N-1_rocket - N1 had 30
My thoughts in my earlier post. The explosion was massive apparently.Edit, not sure if this hold water but
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_largest_a...
The escape systems for the rockets make absolute sense when this sort of stuff is considered. I don't know the reality of using the zip wire but they have (if memory serves) armoured personnel carriers and bunkers if you can clear the zip wire and pad at Florida?
Edited by jmorgan on Wednesday 6th April 05:09
There were many problems with the N1, underfunding and under testing being the main causes.however the engine designs themselves were very robust and went on to power several other vehicle designs. The flight failure modes were not due to clustering per-se and included assembly problems, control system errors, and pogo oscillations which the Saturn 5 also suffered.
The air cavitation problem that the design was thought to have never materialised and may have been a speculation by western observers. Base heating was never a problem.
With proper funding and development the N1 design may well have worked
I think Elon and his team are far from dim and will have thought through the issues very carefully.
The important fact is this, SpaceX are delivering twice the lift of the Delta IV Heavy at half the cost.This is a major challenge to the incumbent suppliers.
The air cavitation problem that the design was thought to have never materialised and may have been a speculation by western observers. Base heating was never a problem.
With proper funding and development the N1 design may well have worked
I think Elon and his team are far from dim and will have thought through the issues very carefully.
The important fact is this, SpaceX are delivering twice the lift of the Delta IV Heavy at half the cost.This is a major challenge to the incumbent suppliers.
I believe SpaceX have already used this motor for their previous sub-orbital and the first ever privately funded orbital flight, there is some sense to scaling a reliable motor rather than building a bigger one... the N1's issue was it wasn't reliable due to many typically cold-war Russian reasons, the only similarity is the multi-motor design.
Good luck to them I say.
Good luck to them I say.
Good luck to them too - but running 27 rocket engines in one giant cluster will always be a bit fraught. Imagine the plumbing involved.
The current Russian R7 rocket runs 20 engines (plus 8 smaller verniers)during launch - so firing multiple engines can work (and has for over 50 years).
The current Russian R7 rocket runs 20 engines (plus 8 smaller verniers)during launch - so firing multiple engines can work (and has for over 50 years).
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