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Re:Orion has splashed down off the coast of Baja, California by mr_toad on Sunday December 11, 2022 @07:54PM (#33949504)
> None of that justifies claiming the cost is due to gravity.

It scales a lot with gravity. Compare the cost of a vehicle capable of reaching lunar orbit (e.g. the Eagle), with the cost of getting humans into Earth orbit (e.g. the Mercury-Atlas). And the Eagle carried two people.

Re:Orion has splashed down off the coast of Baja, California by pfdietz on Sunday December 11, 2022 @10:24PM (#33950502)
Sure, but once you're in space things can become easier, with high Isp engines and in situ propellant production. It's not necessarily all chemical rockets with fuel lifted from Earth.