Our vision so far is a city in space and on the moon, with vehicles taking us to and from these exciting places
But like all vehicles, they require propellant. And propellant is a very exorbitant commodity no matter where you are in the solar system. The vast majority of Skylon flights by this time will consist of fuel or the oxidizer necessary for lunar flights; however, this excessive pace cannot be maintain indefinitely.
Another source of propellant must be found.
Well, as luck would have it, there does indeed exist another source of propellant: the Moon! Specifically, in the crater known as Shackleton. The floor of the crater is in permanent shadow; the theory is that ice from comets that have impacted the crater over the eons have been preserved in this shadowy region.
All we have to do now is go get it. Of course, that proposition is fraught with complexity and a staggering power requirement. However, these barriers can be overcome.
The machinery necessary to produce lunar propellant should have the ability to:
The propellant stations will be assembled together using standard Skylon modules after being brought to the lunar surface using the OTV Landers.
- Break apart the lunar soil (regolith plus ice)
- Scoop lunar soil into a soil container
- Tow the container to a propellant station
- Extract the ice (water) from the lunar soil
- Extract Gaseous Hydrogen (GH2) and Gaseous Oxygen (GO2) from the water
- Liquify the GH2 and GO2 (LH2 and LO2)
This last stitch in the tapestry we have weaved so far will transform our species into one that can boast of dwellings and industry on other worlds.
Cool.
Continued below the fold...