So e of pi's Dawn of the Dragon TL got me thinking about the maximum possible space program possible when limited to launches of 25 tonnes to LEO or less (or to put it another way, what could the US or the Soviets do if their largest rockets were the Titan IV and the Proton).
How far could NASA, say, get if they had decided against developing any sort of heavy lift capacity and focused instead on EOR, modular space stations, gemini style capsules, mini shuttles and orbital LOX depots?
What I've managed to find on the subject of orbital LOX depots (as well as orbital N2O4/Aerozine depots and Ker-LOX depots) seems to indicate that the economics of such depots should be more favorable than the economics of HLLVs and offer similar capabilities for getting missions to Luna or Mars. I've also read that fuel transfer in microgravity poses problems.
fasquardon