The Albatros launcher

X33M, SPACE INDUSTRY MADE IN MARS

Game changing strategy

In the early stages of the settlement, interplanetary transportation was carried out by terrestrial companies such as SpaceX, with their own vehicles. However, the moons of Mars were eventually proven to harbor underground ice. This made for a paradigm shift for Earth-Mars transportation. With industrial production starting in earnest on Mars, local investors created a single stage to orbit (SSTO) rocket, built on Mars to compete with Earth suppliers. The design of the rocket was inspired by the futuristic but ill fated X33 Lockheed Martin SSTO prototype.

A spaceport was built on Phobos to produce propellant to refuel the Martian SSTOs. This extended their range to many destinations in the solar system, including Earth orbits, the lunar orbital station, and the asteroid belt, where they provided the lowest transportations costs for the growing asteroid mining companies. Mars benefits from much lower deltaV requirements than Earth, and can supply consumables to the asteroid belt at a competitive rate.

Earth-Mars transportation optimization

For Earth-Mars trans- -portation, numerous Starships (giant vehicles with more than 100 passengers) make the round trips. The stop at Phobos allows an important reduction of costs as well as an improvement of safety.

Most manned Starships do not reach Foundation soil anymore, passengers are now transferred in Phobos Station to the winged Albatross SSTO that handles the descent, allowing for less complex, safer and more comfortable landing procedures. Then Starships refuel with methane and oxygen and returns to Earth. As they arrive in Earth orbit with half filled tanks, only 2 refueling missions are needed instead of 5 for the next interplanetary transit, which cuts the cost by a factor of 2. In addition, thanks to the elimination of the descent and landing on Mars, the payload capability has been increased and the reusability rate has been tripled.

Profitability of the 'Albatross' SSTO vehicles

Martian SSTO such as the Albatross have made Mars the leader for delivering satellites to geostationary orbits. The Albatross SSTO has some important advantages over Earth rockets:

For the descent to the Martian surface the shape of the vehicle allows for efficient aerobraking in the atmosphere. The landing can be either vertical or horizontal.
It is a robust and fully reusable rocket. With appropriate maintenance, it can be reused up to 500 times without extensive refurbishment.
It is a single block. There is no need to assemble different parts for the launch.
Thanks to the low gravity of Mars, the spaceship is quite small and light. The dry mass is only 30 metric tons. In comparison with Earth rockets, the Albatross can be assembled, moved and set up for launch using much simple equipment.

A spaceport developed specifically for the Albatross X33M vehicle.

Multi function vehicles move the spaceships from the landing or to the take off areas to the connecting hub for cargo or passenger transfer.

Next page -> Phobos station

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