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Published: 2020-09-02 20:11:49 +0000 UTC; Views: 2246; Favourites: 39; Downloads: 23
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Description
Physical Specifications:- Dimensions: 3 m diameter, 18 m height
- Composition: carbon-fiber reinforced silicon carbide aeroshell, boron nitride aerogel insulation, stainless steel structure
- Specific Impulse: 159 to 271 s (sea level), 188 to 322 s (vacuum)
- Dry Mass: 10 tons (no payload)
- Propellant Mass: 28 tons hydrogen peroxide, 4 tons kerosene
- Payload to 4 km/s: 2.5 tons
- Thrust/Weight: 2 (wet, full payload)
- Powerplant: inline solar panel array, auxiliary hydrogen peroxide fuel cell
The Descendant is a city bus sized spacecraft derived from the space shuttle orbiter (though in many regards, it's more closely related to the Boeing X-37). Unlike either of those craft, it has significant propellant reserves allowing for substantial orbit changes, although this is still a fraction what is required to reach orbit from the ground so it must be carried up on another launch vehicle. When paired with the Defiant, it serves as a side-mounted launch escape system for passengers, seeing as the larger ship's bottom-mounted payload bay makes the typical arrangement impractical, and it can serve this role if needed during any part of the flight or return profile.
EDIT: I increased the mass to be more in-line with spaceplanes of comparable role, such as the Dream Chaser and HOPE-X.
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Comments: 3
Lsimi [2024-06-14 01:02:47 +0000 UTC]
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SFeather2022 [2021-12-27 15:02:47 +0000 UTC]
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Krcmar [2020-09-02 21:22:43 +0000 UTC]
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