Leading space companies are increasingly developing methane-powered rockets, as methane unlocks the potential for reusability. This article explores why methane is particularly relevant today.
Hi Markus! Thank you for your interest in the topic.
To our understanding, paraffin engines are really good to cut the cost of an expendable rocket launch. As to the reusable implementation, this is still questionable as the refueling needs to be demonstrated at scale.
In terms of soot, paraffin is more like kerosene than methane in this regard. However, the paraffin engine itself has a much simpler design, which may make this problem less important.
Met a guy from a space startup who builds paraffin engines and claims they cut costs by half. Any insights on that?
Hi Markus! Thank you for your interest in the topic.
To our understanding, paraffin engines are really good to cut the cost of an expendable rocket launch. As to the reusable implementation, this is still questionable as the refueling needs to be demonstrated at scale.
In terms of soot, paraffin is more like kerosene than methane in this regard. However, the paraffin engine itself has a much simpler design, which may make this problem less important.