There are projects for launching ships from Earth using the kinetic energy of portions of lunar matter
that are thrown from the Moon into low-Earth orbit [1]. Such projects do not require ships that
accelerate to orbital speed. It uses suborbital ships similar to those created by Richard Branson’s
company Blue Origin. This increases the ship’s carrying capacity by almost 10 times. The ship only
needs to rise vertically to a height of 120-150 km and enter the flow of lunar matter, which is
organized by a motorcade of interorbital shuttles. Such a substance could be liquid lunar oxygen.
Lunar water loses here – insignificant production and high cost. Using Krafft Ehricke’s technology,
millions of tons of oxygen can be produced annually on the Moon ($1/kg). To launch cargo from
Earth with a total mass of 10 000 tons approximately 20 000 tons of lunar oxygen are needed.
Taking into account the fuel consumption for launching from the Moon, it is necessary to produce
approximately 50 000 tons of oxygen using thermonuclear explosions. This will require 400 kilotons
of total power of “underground” explosions on the Moon. Due to this free energy, it is possible to
launch cargo from Earth into orbit with minimal use of a rocket to accelerate the cargo. The speed
imparted to the load by the rocket is reduced by five times. This increases the payload capacity of a
typical rocket by 16 times (from 3% to 50%). For example, a suborbital rocket based on the Proton
space rocket is capable of launching vehicles with a maximum mass of up to 250 tons (in a
disposable version) and up to 150 tons (in a reusable version). In its normal version, the carrying
capacity of the Proton rocket is 20 tons. Converting the SpaceX Starship rocket into a suborbital
rocket increases its payload capacity to 2,000 tons. In its normal version, the carrying capacity of the
SpaceX Starship rocket is 100-150 tons. This opens up fundamentally new opportunities for the
industrialization of space and the creation of colonies outside the Earth. Ready-made factories,
power plants, and settlements can be sent into space. Economics of production You can estimate
the cost of producing oxygen using the Krafft Ehricke method. As a prototype of an industrial charge,
we will take the B-61 aviation thermonuclear bomb. Its diameter is 34 cm, which corresponds to the
task of delivering it to the lunar depths through a borehole. Other parameters: length – 3.6 m; weight
– 324 kg, which is convenient for delivery from Earth to the Moon. Maximum explosive power – 400
kt. Currently, the cost of B-61 is $28 million. To produce 1 million tons of oxygen, the required power
must be at least 8 Mt. According to these conditions, detonation of a B-61 type charge with a power
of 400 kt will create 50 thousand tons of oxygen, the cost of which will be $0.56/kg. It is also
necessary to take into account the costs of delivering a thermonuclear charge, drilling equipment
and an oxygen pumping and purification station. However, these are variable costs – they decrease
as cheap oxygen is produced. Taking these costs into account, the price will be about $1/kg. The
video diagram was prepared as an illustration for publication two publications in the scientific
magazine Aerospace Sphere [1; 2] and in Nezavisimaya Gazeta – Science [3]
[1] Mayboroda A. O. Sistema Satpush: ispol’zovaniye vnezemnykh zapasov potentsial’noy i
kineticheskoy energiy dlya kosmicheskikh zapuskov//Vozdushno-kosmicheskaya sfera. 2018.
№2(95). S. 30-39.
[Mayboroda A. O. Satpush system: the use of extraterrestrial reserves of potential and kinetic
energies for space launches // Aerospace sphere. 2018. No. 2(95). pp. 30-39.]
[2] Mayboroda A. O. Yadernaya industrializatsiya Luny // Vozdushno-kosmicheskaya sfera. 2021. №4. S. 68-77.
[Mayboroda A. O. Nuclear industrialization of the Moon // Aerospace sphere. 2021. No. 4. P. 68-77.]
[3] Mayboroda A. O. Lunnaya promyshlennost’ na novykh fizicheskikh printsipakh. Nezavsimaya
gazeta – Nauka 12.12.2023
[Mayboroda A. O. Lunar industry on new physical principles. Nezavisimaya newspaper – Science
12.12.2023]
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dedicated to the latest scientific developments and discoveries in various fields of industry, current
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