| Title: | Cost estimation comparison of commercial reusable launch vehicle concepts |
| Authors: | Bethany Downer, Author |
| Material Type: | ISU Individual Project |
| Publisher: | Illkirch-Graffenstaden (France) : International Space University, 2017 |
| Size: | 1 electronic resource (73 p.) / col. ill. |
| Bibliography note: | Includes bibliographical references |
| Languages: | English |
| Description: | Following a thorough review of existing works on the cost estimation of launch vehicles and the economic benefits of reusable vehicles compared to expendable ones, this paper applies a parametric cost estimation method to compare the development, production, and operations costs of three reusable launch vehicle designs: Bristol Spaceplane’s Spacecab , Reaction Engines Ltd’s Skylon , and Blue Origin’s New Shepard . The chosen TRANSCOST-model employs various cost mass-based estimation relationships and quality cost factors that account for considerations including commercial development, technical quality, team experience, country productivity, assembly, and integration modes. The results are subsequently analyzed for their breakdowns according to the three cost areas, their compliance with the TRANSCOST-model predictions, and are compared to the Ariane 5 vehicle to interpret the relevant market for these vehicles in the context of the future commercial aspect of the space sector. |
| ISU program : | Master of Space Studies |
| Permalink: | https://isulibrary.isunet.edu/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=10160 |
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 Downer, Bethany_IPR (4.15MB) Adobe Acrobat PDF |
