RapidCycle v1.0: A Ground-Testable, 100-Day Mars Surface Cycle Using Orbital ISRU, Robotic Assembly, and Earth--Sun L4 Comms Relay

RapidCycle v1.0 is a ground-testable, 100-day Mars surface logistics cycle designed as a minimal, near-term enhancement to SpaceX’s Starship architecture. It enables 450 tonnes down / 150 tonnes up annually using only 6 Starship launches, $190M total, and a 16-month robotic bootstrap in Low Mars Orbit (LMO). Core Innovation The system closes the logistics loop via orbital ISRU refuelling, eliminating the need for surface propellant production during early missions. A reusable Mars Hopper v1.0 (45 t dry, 105 t payload) performs SSTO round-trips from LMO to surface in 100 days (94 days surface ops + 6 days transit/refuel), supported by a Mars Gateway v1.2 (127.1 t, 25 t/day methalox polishing) and two OrbFerry v1.1 tankers (1,000 t methalox delivery from LEO). Key Enablers - Earth–Sun L4 relay (20 t, 10 Gbit/s laser): 100% comms uptime, no conjunction blackouts - Robotic assembly: OSAM-1 SPIDER arms (TRL 7), 180-day bootstrap - Power: 5 MW Kilopower + 2 MW solar (TRL 6–8) - Cryo management: <0.08%/day boil-off via active cooling Ground Validation Plan A 12-month, $20M program at NASA centers (KSC, LaRC, GRC) will validate: - Robotic drydock operations (OSAM-1 hardware) - Kilopower integration (KRUSTY heritage) - MOXIE-scale ISRU polishing → Delivering TRL 6 by 2026 Deliverables This preprint includes: - Full technical specifications (mass ledgers, Δv budgets, FEM margins) - Original vector diagrams (Gateway, Hopper, OrbFerry, architecture) - Rocket equation closure, aerocapture models (POST2), boil-off (CRYOCOMP) - Open-source intent: All design files to be released via Zenodo upon validation --- Preprint Status: This is a pre-peer-review technical concept study. Future versions will include ground test results and trajectory optimization. Contact: [davidhall058@gmail.com]