Analyze reusability of launch vehicles and spacecraft systems. Use this skill to size recovery hardware, estimate refurbishment costs, model reuse degradation, and calculate flight-rate economics. Trigger for "reusability," "landing propellant," "recovery system," "refurbishment," "turnaround time," "flight rate economics," "booster recovery," or "reuse degradation."
Read
CONVENTIONS.mdat the repo root before proceeding.
This skill evaluates whether reusing a vehicle element is economically and technically viable. Reusability is the single largest cost lever in spaceflight — but only if the recovery penalties and refurbishment costs don't erase the savings.
Ask the user (if not already known):
Components degrade with each flight cycle:
| System | Degradation Driver | Typical Limit | Inspection |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engines | Turbopump wear, chamber erosion, injector coking | 10-100+ flights (depends on engine) | Borescope, flow testing |
| Structures | Fatigue (launch + landing loads), thermal cycling | Fatigue life analysis per MIL-STD | NDT (UT, X-ray) |
| Thermal Protection | Ablation, tile damage, heat shield erosion | Per-flight mass loss tracking | Visual + thickness gauge |
| Avionics | Vibration fatigue, connector wear | Typically not the limiter | Functional test |
| Tanks | Pressure cycling, cryo-cycling fatigue | COPV cycle life (design dependent) | Proof test, acoustic emission |
The break-even calculation:
Key insight: Reuse only wins if $N_{flights}$ exceeds $N_{break}$ AND the flight rate is high enough to amortize fixed costs (facilities, recovery fleet, refurb workforce).
reusability_report.md): Expendable vs. reusable comparison with performance penalty, break-even analysis, and economic model./requirements/, /analysis/propulsion-assessment/ (engine specs, propellant), /analysis/structural-assessment/ (fatigue life), /analysis/cost-modeling/ (expendable baseline cost)/analysis/reusability-analysis/cost-modeling (reuse economics), trade-study-manager (reuse as architecture option), systems-engineering-assessment (mass/performance impact)