"A Ring of Space Ports?" Topic

The recent SpaceX launches (and landings!) has gotten me thinking. Currently, when they launch a rocket from Cape Canaveral, it cannot use all of its propellant to boost its payload to orbit. It has to keep a reserve to reverse its course and come back to the Cape and land.

But what if there was another launch facility further east? In Spain, perhaps. Instead of returning to Canaveral, the boosters go on and land in Spain, where there is a complete launch facility serving Europe. Boosters which land there are refurbished and repaired and then launched again, this time landing in India. From there they hop to the Philippines. Then to Hawaii, California, and ultimately back to Canaveral. Maximum efficiency and worldwide access to space launch facilities.

Just an idea…

The sight of Space-X launching and the two boosters returning was exhilarating. Maybe the future is about here.

But what if there was another launch facility further east? In Spain, perhaps. Instead of returning to Canaveral, the boosters go on and land in Spain, where there is a complete launch facility serving Europe. Boosters which land there are refurbished and repaired and then launched again, this time landing in India. From there they hop to the Philippines. Then to Hawaii, California, and ultimately back to Canaveral. Maximum efficiency and worldwide access to space launch facilities.

That's why SpaceX has Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ships for landing. Those are positions such that the core stage can land with a minimum of fuel remaining, and that's 300-400km from the Cape. To get to Spain, you'll need a much larger lower stage, as well as having more mass dedicated to structural integrity and heat management – and that would come off from payload.

Better to go with what's being done for now, but the next gen are gong to be even bigger, and at that point, it's more mass efficient to do the boost-back and land at launch site than boost across an entire ocean even if the payload is quite large.