Titan ascent vehicle (V5)
Cargo and crew from the Kraken Shore pad to Titan orbit
Cargo and crew from the Kraken Shore pad to Titan orbit. Methane from the sea, oxygen from electrolysed ice, power from the reactors, then fire. The ascent vehicle carries cargo and crew from the Kraken Shore pad to orbit, with shock diamonds in the thick air fading to blue-violet as it climbs out of the haze.
Propulsion: Methalox, propellant made on Titan. Envelope: 26 m long by 4.5 m maximum diameter design
All input and derived values below are read from assets/data/vehicles.json, generated by scripts/analysis/vehicle_budget.py. Values marked “verify” are not established facts.
Open the 3D model See it in the tour How the propulsion works
Inputs
| Input | Value | Basis and notes |
|---|---|---|
| Isp average, s | 345 | physics Raptor-class methalox engines: ~330 s sea level, ~360-380 s vacuum (published figures) between sea-level and vacuum values |
| Dry mass with payload, t | 45 | design |
| Oxidiser fuel ratio | 3.6 | physics |
| Drag and gravity losses, km/s | 0.5 | design Verify before treating as established |
| Design Δv, km/s | 3 | design |
| Lift off thrust to weight | 1.5 | design |
| Engines | 1 | design one pump-fed engine; four small methalox thrusters for attitude |
| Chamber pressure mpa | 10 | design |
| Characteristic velocity, m/s | 1,800 | physics methalox c* about 1,800-1,850 m/s |
| Isp sea level, s | 330 | physics Raptor-class methalox engines: ~330 s sea level, ~360-380 s vacuum (published figures) |
| Ambient pressure bar | 1.467 | physics Fulchignoni et al. 2005, Nature 438, 785 (HASI surface pressure and temperature) |
| Tank diameter, m | 4.3 | design |
Derived performance
| Quantity | Value |
|---|---|
| Ideal Δv to 1500km orbit, km/s | 2.25 |
| Titan escape speed, km/s | 2.64 |
| Mass ratio | 2.427 |
| Lift off mass, t | 109.2 |
| Methane, t | 14 |
| Oxygen, t | 50.3 |
| Methane volume, m³ | 35 |
| Oxygen volume, m³ | 46 |
| Lift off thrust, kN | 221 |
| Mass flow kg, s | 68.4 |
| Nozzle expansion ratio | 8.9 |
| Throat diameter, m | 0.125 |
| Nozzle exit diameter, m | 0.37 |
| Oxygen tank barrel, m | 1.75 |
| Methane tank barrel, m | 0.96 |