Heavy Lift Launchers: Mechanical Advancements to
Further Space Exploration
George Ghandour, Jeffrey Herrera, Andy Salinas, Trisa Vo
Abstract—Heavy lift launchers have been in use
since the 1960’s and in that era the launchers
were just used a couple of times then retired, this
was mainly due to the fact that the technology
wasn’t as sustainable at the time. While carbon
fiber is lighter than steel or aluminum, its
decreased strength is This cost would be greatly
increased with the addition of carbon fiber
composites but would also allow a better
payload for the vehicle due to the reduced total
weight. Another factor that will come into play
in the efficiency of a Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle
would be the re-usability of the structure of a
launcher. The rockets of today’s age and of the
past have always used a rocket engine which is
essentially a jet engine, a good alternative to this
which would most likely cost more for research
but can be used for the long term would be
electric propulsion which is the usage of
electrical power to power the vehicle and propel
it into space, and couple this with a more
detailed multiple layer of launchpad then
essentially most of Heavy Lift Vehicle launch
project would be able to have been reused.
Index Terms— carbon fiber, aerospace, heavy-
lift launch vehicle, space exploration, nanotubes
I. Introduction
The heavy lift-launch vehicle is integral in
providing astronomers a definite supply source
in order for them to build, enhance, and repair
structures mankind creates in space. The main
concern with introducing newer models of
existing models is the increasing cost and time.
Thankfully, renowned space companies such as
SpaceX have dedicated a large portion of their
staff in developing more efficient methods to
readily enhance space exploration. Here, we use
their research as a foundation and synthesize a
possible advancement for heavy-lift launch
vehicles.
II. Current existing
vehicle models
Saturn IV and the Falcon Heavy are a few
examples of successful HLVs. Their
achievements set a milestone in space
exploration and have motivated many to
continue enhance the design for maximum
efficiency.
A. Current Composite Structures
One of the more interesting current structures is There are several new types of development
that of the Space X’s two Launch vehicles one stemming from the aerospace industry and space
of which is the Falcon Heavy which is a Heavy travel, but there are a couple of new design
Launch Vehicle, and the Falcon 9 which is a solutions that could propel advancements in
Medium Launch Vehicle. The two Space X space exploration which could obviously lead to
structures that were just mentioned use the same more things, as a group we have narrowed down
composite structure fabricated in-house by our research to four different design solutions
Space X which protects the satellite during the that we feel would revolutionize the way we
whole launching and landing process. The travel to space.
composite is made of an aluminum honeycomb A. Carbon Fiber Composites
core, with carbon-fiber face sheets fabricated in
We decided on existing carbon fiber composites
two half-shells. The carbon fiber offers
used for aerospace manufacturing but examined
durability as well as chemical resistivity to
them with different criteria to predict whether or
whatever the vehicle may face in outer space,
not it would be viable in space, where it would
the aluminum honeycomb core allow more
undergo different challenges and difficulties.
strength in the composite and also does not
One particular composite is enlaced with carbon
corrode therefore as an industrial application in
fibers and provides for a great amount of
this instance for a HLV it is the perfect
strength to weight ratio, and ranks up there in
combination of structure to protect the HLV as
terms of materials goes. This is obviously a very
well as contribute to the efficiency of the
expensive alternative, but still the fact of the
vehicle.
matter is that a lighter craft means better payload
for the shuttle, and as a result of a better payload
the shuttle will be able to execute longer
B. Flaws of current Technologies in use missions with more cargo and fuel to be loaded
on.
One of the major flaws is the cost, as using pure
carbon fiber is extremely expensive, ranging
from $10/kg to sometimes $14/kg. In addition,
the exterior of the HLV makes up for a
noticeable portion of its total weight, so
reducing the percentage can yield favorable
results. In addition, carbon fiber is often used in
aerospace applications so little research has been
done for space applications. Carbon fiber by
itself can only be stretched in one direction, so a Fig. 1: A possible design structure for
woven composite allows the strength to carbon fiber to provide the most
withstand force from all directions. strength and elasticity.

III. Proposed Design B. Electric Propulsion

Solutions Electric propulsion is our second suggested
design solution, the idea of a spacecraft using
solely magnetism and electricity is amazing, the
electricity would be provided to the spaceship
either through travel or simply through efficient IV. Design Criteria
solar panels. Taking away the fuel requirements
The design criteria was based on four different
on a spaceship will not only provide for
logical comparisons, the first was the weight
longevity of the spacecraft through more
constraint, and how much weight the proposed
advanced motors that use the propulsion, but
design solution would add to the overall HLLV,
will also allow the HLLV to carry more cargo
the weight constraint fits under the weight of
since fuel is a very heavy aspect of the space
eight, under the design comparison table, the
exploration task.
carbon fiber and electric propulsion both fit
under the good category under this due to the
C. Reusable Structure weight they shave off a traditional HLLV.
The third proposed solution is a reusable Safety is the main priority in any type of design
structure, the idea of the reusable structure is the proposal for something as detailed as space
at least reuse certain components that could be exploration and it comes in as a favorite in the
properly reused without posing safety hazards to design comparison table, any type of design has
the people manning the HLLV. This would to take into account the safety it provides, and
definitely reduce cost of the manned missions as this fits under the weight of nine, and carbon
well as provide for the ability to constantly fiber taking the lead for safety as well because of
improve HLLV's if able to reuse the whole the immense strength carbon fiber provides in
structure and little by little they can have one any type of application. Cost reduction and
completely able vehicle rather than multiple research available are the next two clocking in at
vehicles per mission. weights of six for both of them, cost reduction
being very bad for carbon fiber because it is one
of the most expensive materials to produce, and
D. Multiple layers of Launch Pad
research available for electric propulsion being a
Our final solution proposed once again kind of
new concept has practically no trustworthy
falls into the same category as a reusable
research as opposed to the other three designs of
structure but this time it is a reusable launchpad.
the likings of carbon fiber, reusable structure,
Typically when HLV launch they obliterate the
and multiple layer launchpad.
launch pads they are on and this can run costs of
mission really high. So instead of constantly
having to create new launchpads maybe
multiple layered concrete that can push up
after each launch would allow for
reusable launch pads, which in the
beginning would be very costly but in the
long run if the launch pad idea works out,
then it will end up paying for itself
because one launchpad that is functional and Fig. 2: Design comparison table that visually explains
allows for multiple launches would be cheaper the score given to each design based on our predicted
than recreating a launch pad that will criteria.
disintegrate after each launch.
V. Conclusion vehicles,” Adv. Sp. Res., vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 104–
109, 1982.
From these various methods and our combined
grading system, we have decided that a carbon
fiber composite is the best pathway to choose
when deciding how to advance heavy-lift launch
vehicles. Based on our criteria, carbon fiber is
the most cost effective and useful for long term
projects. However, should a complete composite
be created, some future ideas may be to place
more research into our previous design
solutions. In conclusion, making the exterior of a
HLV lighter allows for more materials to be
placed on board and in the long term, become
cheaper in combination of a reusable structure.
This will help engineer the tools for scientific
discovery as providing a larger quantity of
research materials may allow astronomers to
conveniently conduct projects that could succeed
and aid mankind travel and explore more of
space.

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