>>13500772>>13500839>>13500850Thinking on it critically, a depot would be vital
If refuels are direct, all starship launches get forced through the bottleneck of not only available tankers, but available launch platforms to send them
by contrast, having a depot lets tankers launch around the clock with no regard for starships, and starships can likewise ignore the existence of tankers because their fuel is already present and guaranteed
disconnecting the two systems by having a buffer between averts a huge bottleneck that would absolutely fucking cripple the mars colonial fleet's dozens of ships at once plan
even better, by having tankers launch around the clock, they can more easily grind down the launch cadence, but with enough breathing room that they don't fuck anything up in a rush
