| I have an incredible idea, give the SLS vertical landing and relaunch capability. Or just trade each $2 billion [0] SLS launch for a mix of 2000 $1 million [1] Starship launches to orbit, from orbit to destination, and/or returns. Even if Starship launches have a significant likelihood of costing more than that, just 2 Starship launches per SLS seems like a bargain. 20 would be fantastic. 200 would be surreal. 2000 would be … what on (off) Earth could NASA do with 2000? Put all of NASA, its entire supply chain, and the Senate on Mars! O_o Then achieve a further cost reduction for trips to Mars surface: just the cost of the electrical current required to operate a Mars habitat airlock. Talk about time and cost efficiency!! What is ridiculous is the crazy logic of all this is fairly sound, due to the beyond ridiculous (for today) SLS costs. I have a funny feeling that the SLS’s days are numbered. [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Launch_System [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX_Starship |