Re:Concern in Europe that the Ariane 6 and Vega-C rockets wi...
by rbanffy on Tuesday March 23, 2021 @07:30AM
(#26553758)
OTOH, the weight of the rocket grows mostly linearly (it's essentially a skin around propellants), the number of engines grows with the square of the diameter and the fuel volume grows at a cubic rate, so the engines can burn for longer (at some point, aerospike engines will become practical).
Starship is already pretty marginal of an upper stage and it's fired early. More marginal than old Space Shuttle, but cheaper to refurbish.