The 110,000 pound thrust BE-3 would be able to land a…large…payload on the Moon. And if refueled on the Moon could lift off with large loads of water for cosmic ray shielding in Frozen Low Lunar Orbit (LLO) workshops. Human platforms, likely SHLV wet workshops in LLO, NRHO, and Lunar Cycler orbits, will all require massive cosmic ray water shields. These platforms are the key to any missions Beyond Earth and Lunar Orbit (HSF-BELO). Docking a nuclear propulsion module to them makes them capable of going to first Ceres and then beyond. And tether systems to provide artificial gravity would also be needed and make them “true spaceships.”
The enabling technology for a long duration human presence in the vicinity of the Moon is cryo-cooler hardware capable of preventing boil-off losses of liquid hydrogen. This is critical and I have seen no development of this.
“The final engine specifications, released in April 2015 following the full test phase, included a minimum thrust of 89 kilonewtons (20,000 lbf), an even wider throttling capability by 20 percent than the preliminary numbers, while maintaining the previously released full power thrust spec.[11]”
No problem with “subsidizing” the military since they would support themselves by armed robbery of other countries if we did not. It is when they make up stuff to get money. You know what I mean Vlad. Why are you laughing at me? You think it is funny that we blow billions on the farce that is missile defense and the most expensive DOD project ever- the F-35 fighter? All that treasure for…nothing.
We should be building spaceships.
The problem is these billionaire hobbyists are not building what is needed.
And that results in two steps back for every one forward.
Just what they can do on the cheap and calling it the best.
It is a lie.
There is no cheap. The Shuttle, marketed as paying for itself, proved that, and the NewSpace dogma of everything-on-the-cheap has empowered a cult of toxic libertarian fanboys, much like Trump empowered his cult, to be the worst thing that has ever happened to space exploration. I am not the one that is blind.
Low latency is really meaningful to only one industry: video games.
No low population state lacking high speed internet can subsidize this.
It was a ridiculous field of dreams scam from the start. Much like those shiny starships to the Martian libertarian paradise it is supposed to pay for.
Ice on the Moon 