Feasible single-staged reusable spacecraft
I'm trying do design a feasible passenger/cargo spacecraft stationed on a space station.
It's a far future setting, but I'd like to stay as close to real physics as possible, specifically, anti-gravity is not available. At the same time there are means to provide large amounts of energy. It doesn't matter how it's achieved. Some kind of a nuclear reactor or even something like a matter/antimatter reaction assembly would be ok.
The spacecraft should have following capabilities:
- efficient and safe landing on a terrestrial planet or a moon without any pre-existing infrastructure;
- atmospheric flight;
- orbital launch without any pre-existing infrastructure;
- able to carry at least 5 passengers and $\leq$ 50 metric tons / $\leq$ 200 $m^3$ of cargo to and from the surface;
- landing and orbital launch with g-forces safe for regular untrained people;
- reusable.
Other requirements:
- single-staged system;
- maximum dimensions: width: 90m, length: 90m, height: 50m.
Is that possible? Are there any problems with the concept I'm missing? What kind of propulsion system would be viable for this spacecraft?
This post was sourced from https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/q/50650. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
0 comment threads