External Tanks in Orbit

Creative Ship Designs

These layouts are care of David Dietzler. He writes:

About five years ago I thought I had a brilliant idea-use ETs for spaceships hulls,space stations,etc. Now I know that I am not original,nor am I alone. I have drawn some diagrams of spaceships based on external tanks. I think it's a great idea. NASA did some experiments with robotic manufacturing of ETs back in the early eighties. It should be possible to churn out ETs at a low price. They experimented with robotic manufacturing of SSMEs, removal of spray on ablator from SRBs and application of spray on ablator and polyurethane foam to the SRBs and ET. It may cost $20,000/lb. to LEO now, but mass production could make the shuttle cheap if private industry buys it someday. Using ETs in orbit makes the shuttle system 100% reusable.

Other ideas of great interest to me are the use of aluminum or silicon + LOX burning hybrid rockets to shuttle between the lunar suface and lunar orbit. The silicon or aluminum powder could be bound with aluminosilicate glass or calcium obtained on the Moon, since rubber is not to be had on Luna. Spaceships based on the ET could use electric propulsion-hall thrusters or propagating magnetic wave plasma accelerators ( see the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts-NIAC,website) with power from fusion reactors that pose no nuclear material release dangers for maximum propellant economy. This technology should be realized in 10-20 years. If you are interested in my designs, email me.