Presented at the AIAA/AAS Stepping Stones to Mars Meeting, this paper compares the "payload velocity spectrum for existing and future missions" with Saturn V capabilities.
The objective is to examine the technical requirements and feasibility of conducting orbital launch operations with systems now in the development phase. In order to maintain realistic constraints on the analysis, the Saturn S-IVB stage has been used as an example of present stage technology. The requirements, procedures and complexity of operations for orbital assembly and launch are discussed. The primary design requirement for orbital assembly and launch operations is increased orbital stay time (from hours to days or weeks).
