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> To start with, we've all heard the expression GIGO.
> From the start I
> was examining the question with a whole slew of
> assumptions and
> incomplete price data. What I wanted to see was
> whether a project
> that was massive in scope could yield a permanent
> and profitable
> infrastructure in orbit. Now onto your questions.
>
> At what altitude does
> atmospheric drag stop
> being an issue?
>
According to a textbook I have (Understanding Space by
Jerry Sellers, prolly one of the best books on orbital
dynamics for the average man), drag has effects upto
600 km (375 mi.).

I don't think knowing the exact amount is relevant at
this level of discussion, only that you factor this
into your plan launches needed to boost per year
during construction and then either develop an
on-board way of boosting itself or factor boosts into
the yearly costs of operations. I would think to be
conservative, you could say 3 flights per year for
boosts. For the ISS, generally the shuttle provides a
boost every time it visits and I believe some of the
progress ships do also.

[snip]
> That's a management issue. If you only have one VAB
> and one crew to
> assemble and test then you've got a problem. Have
> multiple
> assemblies going on simultaneously at various stages
> of completion
> and I don't see why it couldn't work. Now it becomes
> an optimization
> of facility amortiztion, time value of capital,
> versus large
> workforce confusion, redundancy, and extra capital
> to expand the
> facility.
>
Its not just the VAB you need to take into account
here, but also the time a rocket must stay on the
lanch pad to be fueled and prepped for launch (not to
mention scrubs due to weather, which almost always
seems to happen at korou due to its climate). In a
different post I go more into this issue.

While I agree this is a management issue, I do believe
you need to spend some time here adjusting your
schedule or add into your cost projections paying for
expanding these facilities.

Ryan Z