Economic Analysis of NewSpace Small Launch Vehicles and Small Reusable Launch Vehicles

In this study, we analyzed the structure of the NewSpace small launch vehicles, SpaceX's Falcon 1, Rocket Lab's Electron, Firefly Aerospace's Alpha, and Relativity Space's Terran 1, and identified the weight and mass ratio of each stage of the small launch vehicles.In addition, through the structure analysis of the Falcon 9, we were able to identify the additional weight of the grid fins and landing legs for first stage reuse, and calculated the additional weight when reusing other small launch vehicles.Based on the previously analyzed reusable launch vehicle with 35-tonf methane staged-combustion cycle engines, the mission of the Korean small reusable launch vehicle was analyzed, and the economic feasibility of the Falcon 9 small reusable launch vehicle was analyzed.

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Publication Details

Journal
Journal of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers
Published
2025-10-31
DOI
https://doi.org/10.6108/kspe.2025.29.5.047
Primary Topic
Spacecraft and Cryogenic Technologies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

Economic Analysis of NewSpace Small Launch Vehicles and Small Reusable Launch Vehicles

Daeban Seo, Keum‐Oh Lee, Byoungjik Lim, Hyeon-Jun Kim
Journal of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers
Spacecraft and Cryogenic Technologies
article

Economic Analysis of NewSpace Small Launch Vehicles and Small Reusable Launch Vehicles

Daeban Seo, Keum‐Oh Lee, Byoungjik Lim, Hyeon-Jun Kim
article en

Abstract

In this study, we analyzed the structure of the NewSpace small launch vehicles, SpaceX's Falcon 1, Rocket Lab's Electron, Firefly Aerospace's Alpha, and Relativity Space's Terran 1, and identified the weight and mass ratio of each stage of the small launch vehicles.In addition, through the structure analysis of the Falcon 9, we were able to identify the additional weight of the grid fins and landing legs for first stage reuse, and calculated the additional weight when reusing other small launch vehicles.Based on the previously analyzed reusable launch vehicle with 35-tonf methane staged-combustion cycle engines, the mission of the Korean small reusable launch vehicle was analyzed, and the economic feasibility of the Falcon 9 small reusable launch vehicle was analyzed.

Journal of the Korean Society of Propulsion EngineersVol. 29(5)
Changwon National University (KR), Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KR)
Openalex Percentile: Top 55%
Spacecraft and Cryogenic Technologies
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