>>12808863Starship is absolutely perfect as a truck to move mass from Earth surface to LEO
it's also perfect, with refueling, as an Earth Departure Stage (EDS) and once it has accomplished that, even for Lunar Orbit Insertion and Trans-Earth Injection into and out of LLO
so it goes like this:
you deliver ALPACA to LEO however you fucking want, IDGAF, ULA, BO, eat your heart out
Launch refueling missions to rendezvous with ALPACA
Launch crewed Starship to LEO, dock with refueling missions, dock with ALPACA
crewed Starship does TLI and LOI with ALPACA docked to the bow or however, ALPACA departs from LLO with astronauts, spends however long on the surface, and then rendezvous with Starship
At this point your options are limited: you can leave ALPACA in LLO unattended, dock it with a prepositioned space station, or crash it into the surface or otherwise dispose of it
Starship does TEI and aerobrakes down to the Earth's surface
