I like this six years + thread about my Challenge for obvious reasons. The Challenge is simple - just calculate the fuel required to go to the Moon, Mars or an assteroid and explain how you use it and I pay you €1M. So far nobody has managed to do the calculations.
Plenty of people have already, you just welch on the bet. But here it is again. Let me know what you need to wire me the €1M you don't have.
To the Moon and back:
Saturn VPhase 1The heaviest of the stages, S-IC is only designed to travel 42 miles of the 240,000 miles needed to get to the moon. Its fuel is RP-1, a special type of kerosene used in aviation and liquid oxygen.
For 2 minutes and 39 seconds, stage S-IC accelerated the crew to a maximum of 4G and traveling 6,340 mph. With the fuel all but gone and achieving a rather remarkable 33cm per gallon, its job was done, and it was now just dead weight. It was jettisoned and fell safely back to earth and landed in the Atlantic Ocean.
Phase 2
At 3 minutes, 12 seconds after launch, S-II ignited and for over 6 minutes it carried the crew on its way into orbit.
After reaching 15,000 mph, S-11 was jettisoned back to earth and fell into the Atlantic.
Phase 3
After nearly 9 minutes of space flight S-IVB ignited and burned for 2 minutes 27 seconds until the astronauts were in an orbit 100 nautical miles above the earth.
After one and a half orbits, a second ignition of S-IVB pushed the spacecraft onto its trajectory toward the Moon. The second burn lasted 5 minutes, 48 seconds and placed Apollo 11 into a translunar orbit at an initial speed of 24,200 mph.
Service module:
Service propulsion systemused Aerozine 50 as fuel and nitrogen tetroxide (N2O4) as oxidizer to produce 20,500 lbf (91 kN) of thrust.
Sector 2 (70°) contained the service propulsion system (SPS) oxidizer sump tank, so called because it directly fed the engine and was kept continuously filled by a separate storage tank, until the latter was empty. The sump tank was a cylinder with hemispherical ends, 153.8 inches (3.91 m) high, 51 inches (1.3 m) in diameter, and contained 13,923 pounds (6,315 kg) of oxidizer. Its total volume was 161.48 cu ft (4.573 m3)
Sector 3 (60°) contained the SPS oxidizer storage tank, which was the same shape as the sump tank but slightly smaller at 154.47 inches (3.924 m) high and 44 inches (1.1 m) in diameter, and held 11,284 pounds (5,118 kg) of oxidizer. Its total volume was 128.52 cu ft (3.639 m3)
Sector 4 (50°) contained the electrical power system (EPS) fuel cells with their hydrogen and oxygen reactants.
Sector 5 (70°) contained the SPS fuel sump tank. This was the same size as the oxidizer sump tank and held 8,708 pounds (3,950 kg) of fuel.
Sector 6 (60°) contained the SPS fuel storage tank, also the same size as the oxidizer storage tank. It held 7,058 pounds (3,201 kg) of fuel.
Reaction control systemused monomethylhydrazine (MMH) as fuel and nitrogen tetroxide (NTO) as oxidizer.
Each cluster of thrusters had its own independent primary fuel (MMH) tank containing 69.1 pounds (31.3 kg), secondary fuel tank containing 45.2 pounds (20.5 kg), primary oxidizer tank containing 137.0 pounds (62.1 kg), and secondary oxidizer tank containing 89.2 pounds (40.5 kg). The fuel and oxidizer tanks were pressurised by a single liquid helium tank containing 1.35 pounds (0.61 kg).
Lunar Lander Ascent Stage:
Ascent Propulsion System (APS) engine and two hypergolic propellant tanks for return to lunar orbit and rendezvous with the Apollo command and service module.
It also contained a Reaction Control System (RCS) for attitude and translation control,
RCS propellant mass: 633 lb (287 kg)
RCS propellants: Aerozine 50 fuel / Dinitrogen tetroxide (N2O4) oxidizer
APS propellant mass: 5,187 lb (2,353 kg) stored in two 36-cubic-foot (1.02 m3) propellant tanks
APS propellants: Aerozine 50 fuel / Dinitrogen Tetroxide oxidizer
APS pressurant: two 6.4 lb (2.9 kg) helium tanks at 3,000 pounds per square inch (21 MPa)
Descent Stage:
DPS propellants: Aerozine 50 fuel / nitrogen tetroxide oxidizer
DPS pressurant: one 49-pound (22 kg) supercritical helium tank at 1,555 psi (10.72 MPa)
DPS propellant mass: 18,000 lb (8,200 kg) stored in four 67.3-cubic-foot (1.906 m3) propellant tanks
DPS pressurant: one 49-pound (22 kg) supercritical helium tank at 1,555 psi (10.72 MPa)