Abstract
In Sect. 1.3.1, we found out that there are limits to the obtainable payload mass because of the finite structural mass. This limit is crucial for the construction of a rocket. If a rocket is to reach the low Earth orbit, a propulsion demand of about 9 km s−1 has to be taken into account (see end of Sect. 6.4.7), which is at the limit of feasibility for today’s chemical propulsions. If a higher payload ratio beyond 3% is required, or the S/C needs to leave the gravitational field of the Earth requiring a higher propulsion demand, one has to take measures to increase the rocket efficiency.
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31 October 2019
In the original version of the book, the following belated corrections are to be incorporated.
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Walter, U. (2018). Rocket Staging. In: Astronautics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74373-8_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74373-8_3
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