[Spaceships] Martian “Gas” Station

[TGLS]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

Generally not. Even if you can net gain a little more Delta-V from decelrating, refuelling and then accelerating again it won't be worth the time and/or the wear and tear.

Well, it depends on how you set up the case. For example, say we have rocket with a dry mass of 1 ton and ISP of 1 km/s. It can travel from A to B for a ΔV of 4 km/s, or from A to M for 3 km/s then M to B for another 3 km/s. While the A to B via M route appears less efficient (taking 2 more km/s), if you can refill propellant tanks at M, it would save 15 tons of propellant compared to the A-B route.