a comprehensive approach to carbon and energy problems

A Comprehensive Approach to Carbon and Energy

Problems (Or Making the Rocket Equation Work for Us)

H. Keith Henson, Founder L5 Society

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$ per kg

Design to cost goalspower Sat solution:

• Raise millions of tons a year to GEO at a cost of less than $100/kg

• Space based solar power for a 1-2 cents a kWh, synthetic fuels made from that power for $1 a gallon (easy)

• Excess energy (300TW-years) to put carbon back in the ground if we need to

• Danger of storing 470 cubic km of CO2

• We know how to make synthetic oil

http://www.ilr.tu-berlin.de/koelle/Neptun/NEP2015.pdf

290 t booster, 40t laser stage,14.5 t payload to GEO

1.1 g, miles vertical axis, NM horizontal

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Bounce mirrors after 15 hrs

Bounce mirrors after 5 hrs

GEO

Hohmann transfer orbit 5 hr

320km perigee

Credit Dr Stuart Eves

Geometry/Geography• GTO injection about 2600

NM down range• Needs to be on Equator • Best 5000km water to east• Good choices for US, EU

Location GPS of our private airport: S. 00º 06’ W. 049TH 35'

Lasers 45 deg to the West

$40 billion for the lasers• $60 billion for the rockets• Long build up time to get the lasers

installed and focusing mirrors in place, limited bootstrapping possible (does meet <$100/kg)

• Not impossible, but not compelling• Can we improve on the ISP of the

first stage and reduce front end cost? Yes!

Reaction Engines SABRE

“peaking at about 2800 seconds within the atmosphere”

Skylon and Lasers

Takes off from runway, 12 t to LEO

Laser stage 12 t• Mass ratio 2• 6 t propellant, 6 t payload• LEO to GEO 4.1 km/sec• Modest ISP of 600 • 6MW of laser, $60 million

takes 24 hrs LEO-GEO• First mirror is a problem

Eventually (after much buildup)

• 50 t laser stage, 25 t payload to GEO

• Skylon sub orbital, contributes 4-5 km/sec delta V

• 8 GW laser (8 years @ a GW/ year) contributes 9-10 km/sec

After 8 years, a Skylon flight every 15 minutes

• 96 flts/day, 60-100 rockets• 800,000 t/year to GEO• Growth with more laser• Skylon life up to 500 flights• Fleet size at 1.5 flights/day• Other sub orbitals work too

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Power sats GW/qtr

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Power sat sales at $1/watt net, $1.5-2 B/GWCumulative PL (low point = peak financ-ing)

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Cost/kg to GEO

• Initial figured at twice the per flight depreciation of a $450 M vehicle and 6 t to GEO ~$750/kg

• Mature figured at twice the per flight depreciation of a $292 M vehicle and 25 t to GEO ~$46/kg

• Design to cost goal met <$100/kg

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World nickel productionInvar use, t/quarter

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CO2 level ppm

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The Skylon to LEO or sub orbital and laser to GEO concept is less two weeks old. So please nitpick the

physics and economicshkhenson@rogers.com

www.htyp.org/dtc