A Review of Current Trends in Technology for Reusable Launch Vehicles 670400
A review of current trends in the technology for reusable launch vehicles is an appropriate method of highlighting the pacing technologies to provide a suitable introduction to discussions in specific technical areas.
Improvements in both operational capabilities and in economic characteristics can be expected from the advances in the relevant technologies.
The attainment of such improvements involves two dilemmas of technical innovation. One is that the greater the desired capabilities, the more significant the technical challenge. The second is that the more complex technical approaches involve significant program investments that are justified only in terms of high levels of utilization.
The paper establishes the technical areas of most fundamental importance and provides a resume of each area in terms of its potential contribution to the attainment of low-cost orbita transportation.
