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It will have custom launchpads, more refined in terms of, you know, arms, connections with the vehicle and all that stuff, but a full custom space center, with a VAB etc. is beyond the scope of my project for now. By the way, the launch site will be moved from Capo Passero (Italy), unsuitable...

We have a total of six mounts, three in the intertank/foward skirt and three in the aft skirt. The forward-central in particular must transfer the majority of the loads from the boosters to the core, and must also carry electrical connections and conditioning from the core to the booster, and...

I thank you so much for the enthusiasm; unfortunately, the old FOI team is no more. Sure I was the responsible for the rockets, so a certain continuity is assured :LOL: If you read this thread from the beginning, you can see a certain irregularity in the process; this is due to the fact that...

Advancements in the XCR-R, still lacking the "angry alligator" openable nosecone and the flaps. My decision to stick with a parallel staging configuration, mainly to avoid producing a mere copy of Starship, comes with difficulties. The main challenge now is posed by the side booster mounts...

First project update of 2026. There are a lot of constraints on the rocket base that prevents the right placement of the rear fins for the core stage (XCR-R reusable version) in a Starship fashion, forcing a sort of midbody placement. Here, a preliminary sketch of the stack, with and without the...

The external oxidant downcomers I've chosen for commonality with the expendable stage bothers me. They should be good at reentry due to the recent switch to stainless steel (they all are on the leeward side), but maybe some protection is still needed

Propellant plumbing in the XCS-R reusable core stage (right) and in the standard heavy-lift XCR expendable stage (left). Pressurization and venting lines are not showed. Please note the header tanks in the XCS-R. Only the central engine will have the ability to relight for landing. A possible...

Arrangement of the XLS and XLS-R core stage engines (expendable and reusable, respectively). The propellant capacity (Lox/LH2) will be approximately 890,000 kg for the former and 650,000 kg for the latter.

Looks like the "Comet" rocket concept. Very cool!

Work on the reusable version of the XCS core stage begins. Please note the three-engine configuration instead of the original with four.

Math time! I've calculated the expected performances with a stainless steel core stage instead of the aluminum one. LEO payload remains around 90 tons and the payload to the Moon, thanks to the big HES-4 upper stage, is not heavily affected and should still be in the right ballpark for the...

Thank you, Urwumpe. I've also asked to some AIs; Grok easily dismissed the problem (Musk's mentality?), whileChatGPT has gone nuts :ROFLMAO:

austenitic 300-series alloy. In my tank calculations I've assumed 6% densified LH2 (75,3 kg/m3). I've read that densified (subcooled) LH2 should further mitigate the problem. My aim is to the Moon, not Mars, so my missions should be measured in weeks, few months at most (boiloff permitting) but...

A question for you guys: is hydrogen embrittlement a showstopper for LH2 driven stainless steel reusable spacecrafts? I'm trying to give the maximum credibility to my project and if this emerges as grave weak point, I'm forced to rethink a good part of my architecture.

BO states that seven and nine engines versions f New Glenn will continue to work concurrently to cover different needs. Wouldn't it be more logical to keep only the nine-engine version, to be used (even partially refueled if necessary) with different upper stages? Why keep two different...

As you can see, the spacecraft maintains a certain dihedral of the rear flaps. The reason? Aesthetics! 🤣 But could also theoretically be useful in reducing the pitching moment due to aerodynamic loads as the AoA increases during launch.

I'm considering switching from aluminum-lithium to stainless steel in the core stage in order to bring costs down - meaning that I have to recalculate the dry mass. The payload would suffer but I have some margin. This could enable a reusable version with the same design of Starship and my Argo...

Revised fins after a more accurate calculation of the CoG and CoP during atmospheric descent, with the help of Grok AI. The aft fins are showed with some deflection. Also, I've placed phased array communication antennas on the hull - two on the forward skirt, two on the aft skirt.

Now some analysis of the theoretical CoG and CoP the reentry. That canard configuration looks cool but feels that renders the vehicle unbalanced. Could be necessary to swap the surfaces, placing the larger ones at center and the smaller at the tail. Stay tuned