From: vince@offshore.ai (Vincent Cate)
Newsgroups: sci.space.policy
Subject: Re: Will suborbital RLVs lead to orbital RLVs?
References: <9e9d0fc4.0312191819.29b8385d@posting.google.com>
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Message-ID: <9186edb5.0312211150.2d65ab97@posting.google.com>

An X-prize vehicle could be a reusable first stage for
sending a small payload into orbit.  At 90 km height it 
could fire a small expendable solid rocket to send around 
10 lbs to orbit.  It could be 2 regular stages and a backward 
facing apogee kick motor all spun up before firing.  Very 
simple and very cheap.

By dry mass this could be a 90+% reusable orbital launcher. 
The solids might be 500 lbs and maybe 90% fuel, so maybe
only 50 lbs of dry mass is not reused. This is much more 
reusable than the space shuttle, which should probably be 
called rebuildable.

I expect an X-prize vehicle to become our most reusable
orbital launcher, not just lead to one.

   -- Vince