ONESTAGETOSPACE.COM wants to build the first Single-Stage-To-Orbit vehicle, MARVEL, fit for the deep space exploration ambitions of humanity in the 21st century. As such it is a project, webshop and CROWDSOURCED grass-roots initiative that uses private funds to reach its goals.
– It is possible.
With SpaceX and Blue Origin showing the space industry how to reuse rockets and are thereby reducing cost considerably, it is time to start working on the next generation of rockets promising another leap in cost reduction. SpaceX’s and Blue Origin’s platforms are two stage and three stage rockets. This implies that, during ascent, their vehicles break up in ever smaller parts in order to get the most out of the rocket equation; a mathematical equation that dictates how much mass you can get into orbit, given how much your rocket weighs at liftoff. In this approach only small capsules or cargo platforms can be sent to deep space; each of them built as expensive one-of-a-kind specialized prototypes.
But if we embrace the paradigm of cost reduction through reusability and combine it with the idea of creating a versatile multi-mission deep space vehicle that can refuel in orbit, it opens up a lot of design freedom. Suddenly, we can build a vehicle that only needs one engine stage to reach orbit, refuel and go on to the surface of the MOON or MARS. In that paradigm, even a modestly sized vehicle can leave Earth orbit with enough fuel to land and ascend from the MOON SURFACE. You can go to MARS, refuel and then return to Earth. Truly a technology that has the versatility and, as a single vehicle, offers the cost reduction potential, to open up the inner solar system for science, humans and commercial space entrepreneurs. Because you only have to develop one stage, meaning one single vehicle, instead of a group of separate vehicles that need to be able to operate together, you save on the time you need to get an important capability to market.
“Our generation wants to go to MARS and do the other things”
– Me
Is Europe not even trying? Yes, Europe is. But while we are deeply impressed with the air-breathing-rocket-SABRE-engines developed at UK’s REACTION ENGINES LIMITED, it is not a vehicle fit for deep space exploration and interplanetary transport for crew and people. The engines do not work on Mars, there are no landing strips on Mars or the Moon, and the wings are dead weight in that environment. It is destined for an important role up and around Earth. By contrast, our vehicle, MARVEL, can visit every part of the inner solar system, and in a format much smaller than the competing design proposed by SpaceX. As an added bonus MARVEL is capable of generating artificial gravity and offers adequate radiation protection to keep the crew healthy and in good shape on long duration missions. This doesn’t require fancy and expensive materials or technology. It just requires to translate forward thinking in a sound design.
Both Refueling in orbit and creating fuel in Space and on MARS are technologies under development today. Satellite refueling tests have already been successfully performed in orbit in 2013 and 2015 and are continuing. A device that can extract Oxygen from the Martian atmosphere (MOXIE ) will land on MARS onboard the 2020 NASA Mars Rover. This proof of concept article, will produce enough oxygen in a day as an astronaut needs in a day, but the same technology scales well to large volumes (Oxygen is the most bulky and heavy part of a the Oxygen-Hydrogen propellant combination which we would preferably produce on MARS to reduce the mass to orbit requirements with hundreds of metric tons).
There are however a host of other recent (reusable cryogenic composite fuel tanks) and older technologies that now offer so many synergies, that designing an SSTO has not only become doable, but it is an imperative if you want to design systems beating the competition on cost, performance and versatility.
Today ONESTAGETOSPACE is a grass-roots initiative that will use OPEN INNOVATION AND CROWDSOURCING to help jump-start and build this ambitious project. We feel this is an excellent way to connect a sound vision with the talent and know how of people who are passionate about space.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens
can change the world;
indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.“
– Margaret Mead
Inspired by Elon Musk’s (the founder of PayPal, SpaceX, Tesla Motors and SolarCity), several companies were succesfully crowdsourced as gr Hyperloop Transportation Technologies was founded as a grass-roots initiative*. In such initiatives, workers and volunteers receive shares in the future project in accordance with their input. Inspired on the traditional cooperative idea, it is an enterprise model that works in several industries, be it insurance, agriculture, banking, healthcare, building bicycles or houses.
At WWW.ONESTAGETOSPACE.COM we see this as a useful template to build our project on and we will try, in the coming years, to use the lessons of this project wherever they are useful.
It also means that there is still time for you to join this civilian project. Don’t hesitate. Be part of this adventure and help create the future. Sell your products through our website, buy something on our site, donate, invest, share this site, visit us frequently, become a vocal supporter, buy a payload mission on our vehicle or start working on the SSTO.
Thank you for your interest and support
– Joris Luypaert, onestagetospace.com
Do you want to find out more? Read more:
- Why an SSTO is a good idea
- Our News & Contributions page
- You can support us with a donation
- You can join the team
- We will also start publishing documents son our Downloads & Documents page
- Want to contact us immediately, you can here
*as an example: Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT)