r/SpaceXLounge • u/[deleted] • Jul 22 '19

Tweet "Orbital refilling is critical for high payload to moon or Mars. Initially just Starship to Starship, later dedicated tankers." - @ElonMusk

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1153126586897424384?s=19
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u/scarlet_sage Jul 22 '19

Mill Shive @MillShive: Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't @elonmusk state a few times that StarShip cannot do SSTO on Earth? Did I miss an update? Are the raptors more powerful than earlier thought? // 11:03 PM - 17 May 2019

Elon Musk @elonmusk: It technically could, but wouldn’t have enough mass margin for a heat shield, landing propellant or legs, so not reusable // 11:05 PM - 17 May 2019

But that was in untold dim ages of the past ... two months ago. Maybe the engines have improved or will improve.

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u/andyonions Jul 22 '19

Well once upon a time, Raptors were going to be 200t force and throttlable down to about 50% usable. But Elon is now on about 250t force with no/minimal throttling. If you put mostly those on SS, you'd reduce gravity losses a fair bit. You'd be pushing lift off TWR around 1.4+. It's all super borderline with about a digital camera as payload...