A comparison is made between a space-based and earth-based orbital transfer vehicle (OTV) for use in the Shuttle era and beyond. The space-based vehicle alleviates the limited capability inherent in an earth-based OTV whose design is constrained by a particular launch vehicle. Several sizes of space-based OTVs were generated and compared with an earth-based system for a number of mission scenarios with varying types and levels of traffic. The space-based OTVs showed substantial cost savings for each scenario, with the smallest space-based vehicle showing the largest saving. The space-based OTV retains the cost advantage even if the number of missions or the Shuttle cost-per-flight is drastically reduced.
A space-based orbital transfer vehicle - Bridge to the future
Conference on Advanced Technology for Future Space Systems ; 1979 ; Hampton, VA
01.01.1979
Sonstige
Keine Angabe
Englisch
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