Book Description

Next, the results of a parametric study analyzing the effects of staging, mass ratio, and specific impulse on optimal refueling orbit placement and mass savings are shown and discussed. Specifically, this parametric study confirms that orbital refueling can offer significant launch vehicle mass savings, potentially providing equivalent missions for 1.4-7.3 times less total mass than the traditional single rocket architecture for two-stage rockets and enabling utilization of single-stage to orbit (SSTO) launch vehicles for more demanding missions. Additionally, upcoming missions, such as NASA's Artemis 1 mission and a SpaceX Starship Mars mission are assessed with refueling in mind, and potential mass savings are tabulated for applicable optimal refueling architectures. Finally, the idea of sustainable, on-orbit cryogenic refueling infrastructures is discussed as a whole, with long-term effects on the human exploration of the solar system theorized and presented. The second topic of research in this thesis concerns itself with developing technologies and methods needed to achieve on-orbit refueling.