This night, the heavy-duty (10 ton) version of the Ariane 5 rocket was successfully launched from Kourou in French Guyana.
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February 13, 2005
European Truck of the Year
Comments
Now, expecting comments from you’all on (i) space debris (ii) phallic symbols (iii) arms race. What other negative externalities have I forgotten?!
Posted by: Jérôme | Feb 13 2005 10:49 utc | 1
Thanks, J. Glad civilization is still happening somewhere in the world.
Posted by: ralphbon | Feb 13 2005 13:09 utc | 4
looking at the pictures of that big rocket over at the ESA website, mainly 3 things came to my mind:
– there must be some pretty bad environmental problems over in guyana, probably the reason why these activities are being done over there rather than here in europe. nothing i approve of.
– how big was the american payload to the moon when they sent three people plus everything needed to survive plus a buggy plus descent and return modules, and how big was the rocket used to send all that stuff over there.
– in the last years the basic ideas around design and construction of space elevators have been made public. from what i read it is a far more economic and less environmentally compromising solution to space access. i wonder if ESA is doing things in that direction. for further reference, look here >>> http://www.spaceelevator.com/
Posted by: name | Feb 13 2005 13:57 utc | 5
name – the launch site is in Guyana because it is easier to launch rockets when you are at the Equator or as close to it as possible. It’s only physics.
pyload to the moon: 0.05 ton (0.13 ton to orbit)
Posted by: Jérôme | Feb 13 2005 14:26 utc | 6
Good! Let us keep some dreams alive that have at least the potential to transcend the petty everyday. (I know, in the end it’s just a business…)
As to ‘negative externalities’: I cannot help noticing that there is something strange in the very name “French-Guyana”. Like “Deutsch-Südwestafrika” or “New South Wales”… Carrying the white man’s burden out into space? 😉
Posted by: teuton | Feb 13 2005 14:55 utc | 7
Saturn V
Payload to orbit: 129,300 kg (285,000 lb)
Payload to Moon: 48,500 kg (107,000 lb)
Ariane 5 ATV
Payload to orbit: 21,000 kg
Space Shuttle
Payload to orbit: 28,800 kg
All numbers are theoretical (i.e. are guaranteed to not be exceeded)
So Saturn V was by far the bigger bird, but then – who wants to reach the moon?
The real question is cost per kilogramm put into orbit.
With Saturn V nobody did care about this.
A Shuttle lauch (before the recent revamps) is about $500 million or $18,000 per kg payload to orbit, an Ariane 5 launch is about $140 million or $6,700 per kg payload to orbit.
thanks for the info jerome. you shuld have said ‘130 tons to orbit’ and ’50 tons’.
Posted by: name | Feb 13 2005 16:38 utc | 9
whoa, I see that i got the numbers wrong by 3 orders of magnitude, that pretty bad!!!. At least I got the link right…
always click through!
Posted by: Jérôme | Feb 13 2005 19:59 utc | 10
I see that i got the numbers wrong by 3 orders of magnitude
I have this huge windmill here, can you get me loan?