Posted on 01/24/2005 2:01:06 PM PST by vannrox
| POSTAL | RSS - Ring Segment System | LTH - Launcher Transport Head | EFO - Experimental Flying Object | RSC - Rotational Slingshot Catapult |
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Cosmos I, the first solar sail mission to come
project updates / launch planning - launch date March 01/ 2005??
Union pour la Promotion de la Propulsion Photonique (U3P)
ISAS deployed solar sail film in space at Aug. 9/2004
Enumeration of mission studies until dec. 2000.
" Large families of new, non-Keplerian orbits for solar sails were discovered at the University of Glasgow between 1988-1991 and have since been developed for mission applications."
www.spacesailing.net
Papers and presentations by Dr. Dipl._Ing. Bernd Dachwald, mainly on Low Thrust Trajectory Optimization (for solar sails and SEP-systems) and "Interplanetary Mission Analysis Using Evolutionary Neurocontrol". Take a look onto his PhD-thesis. On chapter 7 he compares SEP and solar sail propulsion for "Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous and Sample Return Missions".
Solar Sailing Breaks Laws Of Physics?
"Thomas Gold from Cornell University in New York says the proponents of solar sailing have forgotten about thermodynamics "
Thomas Gold´s thesis at his own website at arxis.org
"It seems that the failure to apply the thermodynamic limitations to radiation physics has shown up in many experiments involving radiation pressure."
Louis Friedman´s refute of Thomas Gold´s thesis.
Benjamin Diedrich´s letter on Thomas Gold´s thesis
"Light pressure does work. It is derived directly from Maxwell's equations of electromagnetism. It has been measured in laboratories since 1900, and has played a major role in space missions since the beginning of spaceflight."
"JPL Accomplishes Laser Sail First" (article of 3/2000)
"Engineers have used a laser beam to move a sample of extremely lightweight material using nothing more than the pressure of light."
"We're convinced -- and I think the paper we're writing will be convincing -- that we actually showed photon-momentum propulsion,"
"Last year we were talking about hundreds of degrees centigrade. This year we realized, with this new material we can go to as much as 2,500 degrees centigrade, ..."
Solar Sail Mission Analysis by Colin Mc Innes
"As a result of the internal NASA interest in solar sailing, proponents of solar-electric propulsion re-evaluated their performance estimates and in the end were competing directly with solar sailing. After an evaluation of these two advanced propulsion concepts NASA selected the solar electric system in September 1977, upon its merits of being a less, but still considerable risk for a comet Halley rendezvous. A short time later a rendezvous mission using solar electric propulsion was also dropped due to escalating costs."
This shouldn´t happen aigain. With the Solar Thruster Sailor (STS) solar electric propulsion and solar sail propulsion will complement each other in an optimal way, where solar electric thrusters are used to steer the sail, land on and start of asteroids and in mission critical steering phases while the solar sail adds it´s strength in providing free, fuel-less propulsion for long range transportation.
| Scalable Solar Sail Subsystem Design Considerations | NASA on Solar Sailing | |
| Team Encounter Solar Sail | ||
| "Mit Sonnensegeln zur großen galaktischen Symphonie" Heise Verlag |
Carbon Sailmaterial Breakthrough | |
| Russians May Hoyst Europe´s Solar Sail | Jet Propulsion Laboratory Solar Sail Site | |
| Breakthrough Sail Material at space.com | Solar Sail Network | |
| Spacecityone.com solar sails page | Commercial Solar Sailing by Interworld Transport "organized to work on projects that will lead to the construction, testing, and flying of real solar sails in space" - Good Luck |
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| Interstellar Probe - Mike Suess proposing a solar sail for an Interstellar Probe going fast from 0,25 AU to 250 AU. |
The Microlight Solar Sail An UK-SEDS project for a small solar sail or even a solar kite. |
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| Solar and Microwave Sails for Spacecraft Propulsion - by Josef Frisch | Solar Sails at Asteroids: Close Proximity Operations for Scientific Missions " It has been found that both hovering and orbiting trajectories are feasible for sustained solar sail spacecraft operations in close proximity to an asteroid." |
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| High Performance Solar Sails and Related Reflecting Devices "High performance solar sails are light tension structures bearing space-manufactured, thin-film reflecting elements. They offer thrust-to-mass ratios 20 to 80 times those of proposed deployable sails." |
howstuffworks on solar sails and cosmos 1 | |
| Sailing Into Space: Steering Towards Mars Research on the properties of solar sails with a Q-Basic computer model simulating steering to Mars. |
Using a solar sail for a plasma storm early warning system U3P/CESR paper on the the VIGIWIND plasma storm warning system. |
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| Pioneer Astronautics - on Solar Sail Microspacecraft (SSM) "The Solar Sail Microspacecraft (SSM) is a low-cost concept for implementing solar sail propulsion on a practical spacecraft with present-day technology." |
Robert van de Walle and his "Spin-stabilized Ring Solar Sail." How do you wrap a sail around a spacecraft bus?Bob applies the Miura-Ori folding technique to solar sails. |
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| Solar Sailing by Eric Drexler Reprinted from the August '76 National Space Institute Newsletter |
Racing Solar Sails Around the Moon Artemis Society members brainstorming on the idea to have a solar sail race around the moon. |
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| Sailing to Mars/Moon on wings of light MIT Tech Talk of Sept. 1990 - on a Heliogyro sail design to enter the international space-sailing competition, which until now never took place. |
Setting sail on a solar mission "The European Space Agency is investigating the use of large solar sails to propel spacecraft on its future missions to the outer planets." |
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| UK-Seds on the microlight solar Sail in 1994 - a low cost, yet highly educational project This project is on hold since 1994 ever but "Nevertheless, much of the design work has been done - the documentation and calculations are waiting to be used!" |
UROP developing a Solar Sail Simulator "Project Aria is currently developing a new solar-sail based interplanetary space probe. One of the critical steps is to create a software package to simulate a continous thrust space probe. This simulator will be used for evaluating possible missions and trajectories. The simulator will involve n-body gravitational calculations, solar sail forces, solar system modeling, and a graphical user interface." |
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| Simple control strategy derived for solar-sail spacecraft "The pressure of sunlight can indeed be used to gradually accelerate the spacecraft until escape velocity is attained," |
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NASA - Revolutionary Propulsion Research - Text Only
SPL- the Swiss Propulsion Laboratory
featuring informations and product data on different electric thruster models.
"During the 25 years of EPTs use in space, they proved to be highly reliable and compatible with different satellite systems. In addition, EPTs ground test results have not been much different from operational characteristics. EPTs are a priority and basis of Russian Space Agency’s program in the field of rocket engines development."
"We are a leading developer of advanced electric propulsion thrusters for use on military, government and commercial satellites."
"On such a 4 tonne spacecraft, 600 kg less propellant would be needed"..."Missions using electric propulsion offer greater flexibility in space navigation, more opportunities for planetary gravity-assisted fly-bys, wider launch windows and less powerful launchers."
"Japan's Hayabusa spacecraft is on its way to intercept and collect samples from asteroid 25143 Itokawa."
"asteroid 1998 SF36 - was selected. Current estimates measure its size at 490 by 180 meters. A near-Earth asteroid, its orbit around the Sun brings it to within 1.8 million kilometers of Earth's orbit."
The craft uses 4 ion drive electric propulsion engines and will try to land with them on the asteroid 3 times for taking samples. This should be possible, because the expected gravitation of the asteroid is only one 750.000th of earth gravitation. If this works, it will show that the thruster ring crafts proposed at this site will be able to land on asteroids also!
"A Japanese rocket lifted off Friday on the world's first mission to collect samples from the surface of an asteroid, part of a four-year journey covering nearly 400 million miles. " Muses-C space probe scheduled to visit the 1998 SF36 asteroid in Nov. 2005.
"The MUSES-C spacecraft is equipped with solar powerd electrical propulsion system, and autonomous navigation and guidance system."
The importance of this thruster technology is that applying electricity replaces the fuel which is needed in conventional rockets.
Electricity can be generated for free and in abundance with solar cells in the vicinity of our sun. That would mean, a fuel-less space infrastructure with space crafts using solar sails and some kind of force field propulsion thrusters would be a viable option for space transportation and space exploration around the sun to the inner planets (Merkur, Venus, Earth and Mars).
When do we stop burning billions of dollars to bring mission spacecrafts again and again from earth into space and start using this money to build up a space infra structure with a fleet of spacecrafts staying there, which is reuseable, can do numerous and different tasks and doesn´t need fuel at all?
The Solar Thruster Sailor (STS), a spacecraft combining solar sail propulsion with thrusters and payload area has ample room for solar cells and payload on it´s whole disk area (unlike nowadays first solar sails to come with their already overcrowed payload/function bus). This craft is Low Tech with High Tech materials and uses only a few parts.
Lifters in this case are levitating devices using a high voltage power source instead of fuel for propulsion. 150 successful devices have been registered until Febr. 2003. There are different designs in development pushed forward through a growing base of enthusiastic hobby builders.
The lifter doesn´t seem to use magnetic repulsion, it doesn´t need a separate counter base of opposite charge. The origine of the lifting force is not yet fully understood; but the lifter seems to accelerate ions which produce the lifting thrust.
How to build a levitating craft? Jean-Louis Naudin shows just that using a high voltage power source from an old monitor and some light weight materials. "The purpose of the Smart-LifterCraft project is to build an electrokinetic propulsion flying craft." On his site you can see pictures of several amateur builders with their working crafts. For the latest additions take a look on the The Worldwide Lifters builders LogBook.
Lifter Theory - by Evgenij Barsoukov
Mark A. Tecson engineered an improved kind of vortex lifter
t-spark, German lifter site in English and in German language
I do consider Magnetism of our sun and some planets like earth, mars, jupiter as a source of propulsion and steering - eventualy enabling electromagnetic thrusters or steering devices. With respect to my "Solar Thruster Sailor" this could enable a "No Fuel Space Craft" using magnetic repulsion from sun and planets magnetic fields to steer the solar sail. Exchange some of the ion thusters at the thruster ring of my STS-design against magnetic coil thrusters and this would be just such a craft using suns photon pressure as main propulsion and the magnetic field as means of steering the device.
As those thrusters would sit on the rim of the solar sail they move a large lever and weak forces could be sufficient for steering. Another concept for lever-usage to steer the solar sail are the steering vanes on the square solar sail shown at island.org.
Magnetic Phenomena - Original by Philip Gibbs and Andre Geim
Magnetism
Learning paper written by Dr. David Harrison
Building a Levitator with Bismut plates at www.scitoys.com
Experiments with magnetic levitation - Superconductor - by Rick Hoadley
superconductors.org - Superconductor Information for the beginner
Using the RSS (Ring Segment System) mainly a huge pipe ring with thruster mountings (see picture) you´ll get a spacecraft which is also like the spinning part of a gyroscope having the most of it´s mass in/on the rim of the wheel. Could this device also produce linear thrust?
"Gyroscopic precession & tapping aether"
Harold Aspden describing the late Eric Laithwaites experiment.
How a gyroscope works
"I have searched through many texts. but I have never found an explanation of why a gyroscope should resist being turned in any direction perpendicular to it's axis."
Gyroscopes Experiments at armageddon.org
"Alien Technology Back Engeneered" by Paul E. Potter
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Alex Frolov from Russia about Gyroscopic Propulsion
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Theory for Gravitic Propulsion
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NASA Aerospace Flywheel Development
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Antigravitations Experimente - German bulletin
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alternative science on Prof. Eric Laithwaite The Inventor of the magnetic train and his troubles when demonstrating a gyroscopic device |
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producing artificial gravitation by rotation in space International Highschool Space Settlement Design Competition |
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Ring Segment System - (RSS)
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american antigravity.com |
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"Gravity and enhanced propulsion" - Yahoo Search
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Describing the catapult-concepts of rail gun, mass driver (coil gun) and magnetic levitation to propell a payload through space.
"Unlike the chemical catapult systems, these systems can be used for launching vehicles from the Earth, Moon, Mars, asteroids, etc. because they use electromagnetic forces to accelerate the vehicle."
I would object this statement through my concept of the Rotational Slingshot Catapult (RSC).
My momentum transfer machine using conventional chemical thrusters and speed and force lever to gain a shooting speed, orders of magnitude higher as in direct thrust mode - the speed lever would enable a catapult with conventional chemical propulsion using the possible higher thrust of this propulsion method.
Space Tethers and MEMS Research
vectorsite.net on Space Tethers
Andrew Nowicki on
Tapered Slings and
"Creating A City In Space" "based on the use of the Shuttle's External Fuel Tanks. These huge tanks (consisting of slightly over 100,000 cubic feet of interior space) once retrofitted are called Geodes" Those geode tanks will be used to create huge rotating ring stations in space. 12 to 16 modified Geodes could be joined together to form a rigid wheel, rotating at 1 RPM, providing 1/3 of earth´ gravitation. - Good luck to you, may your vision become reality.
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Russian Space Research Institute
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Japanese Space Agency (EOC/NASDA)
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NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
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aerospaceguide.net - space projects and infos
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advanced spacepropulsion workshop
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Space Design Links (University of Maryland)
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NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts - A wealth of studies and concepts!
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Basics of Space Flight ( NASA, JPL )
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Internet Aerospacelinks by Philippe H. Adam
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Affordable to the Individual Space Flight "Yet here we are, 30 years after the first manned landing on the Moon, struggling to launch the Space Shuttle 6 times a year at $500 million per flight, and no one talks about making the development of Affordable to the Private Individual Space Flight a primary goal of NASA. "
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not an UFO site but investigating flight characteristics of frisbee´s
IFO-site (Identified Flying Objects)
- means disced shaped, vertical takeoff and landing
Nanotube Cable Can Connect The Earth And The Moon
The scientists from Russian Academy of Sciences at Chernogolovka have designed a device that allows to produce pretty large amounts of high quality nanotubes.
The Space Elevator - at amazon.com
"Based on three years of NASA-funded studies and written for the technically literate layperson, Edwards and Westling discuss the recent technological advances that now make the space elevator feasible."
This book also gives a good description on status of Carbon Nanotubes production in 2002 and design and production of Carbon Nanotube fibers for the proposed 100 000 km ribbon.
nanoledge.com
"With its unique PCS©(Particle Coagulating Spinning) process, Nanoledge can produce fibers loaded with up to 100% nanotubes" In 2002 Nanoledge was planning to have fibers of 5 GPa tensile strength and producing kilometer length.
spectrafiber.com - N E W
According to their product datasheet they claim to be able to deliver Spectra©2000 fibers 10 times stronger than steel (for instance for space tethers) with a low specific weight of 1 g/ccm.
- patentholder, claiming "Lightest of All structural tubes and beams, IsoTruss products are up to 75%
lighter and 50% lower cost compared equally to ordinary carbon composites tubes and beams."
article about BYU technology licensed to the above Utah firm.
yahoo search on materials stronger and lighter than steel
Carbon Sailmaterial Breakthrough
"Although most of the technological capability exists now to build DL4, we would hope that the economic and political will power could be in place by around 2020, allowing, after rigorous research and development phases, construction to be complete by 2050. Our settlement consists of a torus, of major radius 1,066m, with simulated gravity of 1g in the human habitats and a spin rate of 0.97rpm."
"Creating A City In Space" "based on the use of the Shuttle's External Fuel Tanks. These huge tanks (consisting of slightly over 100,000 cubic feet of interior space) once retrofitted are called Geodes" Those geode tanks will be used to create huge rotating ring stations in space. 12 to 16 modified Geodes could be joined together to form a rigid wheel, rotating at 1 RPM, providing 1/3 of earth´ gravitation. - Good luck to you, may your vision become reality.
This craft could land on near sun asteroids taking a probe and getting back to earth with a head start through the enhanced solar pressure at the asteroids perihelion. The solar pressure relation to it´s distance to sun is 1 / r^2. A solar sail taking off at the asteroids perihelion with it´s load get´s the most off the solar pressure acceleration possible there. At 0.25 AU the solar pressure is about 16 times as strong as near earth. In this region you could use a 16 times smaller solar sail having the same power as near earth. But since this craft is also lighter, it can gain higher acceleration or use the saved weight for payload! It could be brought to the asteroid using a " solar sail mother ship " (see Fig.5) or the Rotational Slingshot Catapult (RSC) AND it could get back to earth delivering the payload through using the sail as a parachute when landing.
Why settle on an asteroid or moon for Space Mining? This System would enable a space platform providing room and artificial gravity for ore separation. How does it get to the asteroid? Since this platform is convertible to a solar sail, it could be assembled at LEO, stuffed with a sail and reaching it´s destination using it´s own propulsion. When the destination is reached, the sail can be skipped again for the main application.
Atens are the most promising targets for Mini solar sails since they are nearest to sun and not far away from earth. Apollos are also promising if they have a close near sun approach.
"Near Earth asteroids constitute the most accessible source of pristine extraterrestrial material in the solar system, apart from the Moon, These bodies hold, in their chemical makeup, fundamental information about the conditions under which the planets formed and evolved. For a modest cost, inexpensive missions can be mounted to rendezvous with or return samples from a selection of these objects. Human missions to NEAs are also seen as a logical first step to the utilization and settlement of the solar system."
"The 1992 discovery of a water-ice, near-Earth object (NEO) in the space near Earth is evaluated as a source of rocket fuel and life support materials for Earth orbit use."
"This August 14, 1992 an active comet named (4015) 1979 VA = Wilson Harrington, has been reported in the swarm of asteroidal, near Earth objects (NEO's), whose orbits cross or come close to that of Earth. It would provide massive quantities of water to be used either as rocket fuel ore or directly as rocket propellant. Engineering analysis discovered that even the simplest nuclear heated steam rockets would enable the return of massive quantities of the comet's water to earth orbits. Calculations estimate that the cost to users could lie somewhere between $5 and $100 per pound. The first uses would be as rocket propellant or fuel to take commercial satellites from low orbit to their operational high orbit. "
Asteroids - at inprosys.bizland.com
The Challenge of Space Mining at spacedaily.com
Extraction Techniques for Minerals in Space
Asteroid-Mining at howstuffworks.com
Drilling Technology for Mars - article at space.com
Asteroids & Kuiper Belt Objects at Space.com
Also pictures and vrml-files of Lunar 16, 20 and 24 sample return capsules.
"The drill was deployed and penetrated to a depth of 35 cm before encountering hard rock or large fragments of rock. The column of regolith in the drill tube was then transferred to the soil sample container. After 26 hours and 25 minutes on the lunar surface, the ascent stage, with the hermetically sealed soil sample container, lifted off from the Moon carrying 101 grams of collected material...".
"an expert team of astronauts and space scientists has blueprinted a safety strategy for Earth: an asteroid tugboat." Considerations to employ a deflection strategy of earth threating asteroids using a spacecraft with Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR) engines. The tug would gently push the asteroid into the desired direction "the tug must use onboard engines for months to accelerate the asteroid in the desired direction."
A space craft which would serve as a space tug. It´s light weight outer ring is driven by electric thrusters ( ion or hall for instance ). Inside a thruster ring is a net placed which serves as a device to "catch" space debris for cleaning orbital space from hubris or to enhance the orbit of satellites. It is also thought to catch materials throwed through a mass driver for instance from the moon to moon orbit. Even catching or deflecting asteroids and comets for planetary asteroide defence seems possible when a huge space tug is used.
"Up until recently, the conventional wisdom on this issue has been that one would use nuclear explosives for this purpose. But according to a paper published in the June 4th, 1998 issue of Nature, this may not be as easy as previously thought. It points out that many asteroids are multi-lobed. A nuclear detonation might be largely absorbed by one lobe, with little course deflection resulting in the whole."
A space craft which would serve as a space tug. It´s light weight outer ring is driven by electric thrusters ( ion or hall for instance ). Inside a thruster ring is a net placed which serves as a device to "catch" space debris for cleaning orbital space from hubris or to enhance the orbit of satellites. It is also thought to catch materials throwed through a mass driver for instance from the moon to moon orbit. Even catching or deflecting asteroids and comets for planetary asteroide defence seems possible when a huge space tug is used.
Sun-Earth Days 2003
ESA and NASA working together "to explain the newest theories about the way in which the Sun connects to and affects life on Earth".
"SOHO is a cooperative mission between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). SOHO studies the sun from deep down in its core out to 32 solar radii. The spacecraft orbits the L1 Lagrangian point"
STEP/S-RAMP Solar Optical Data On-Line
"aiming at the understanding of the solar influences upon the earth's environment in terms of energy flow from the sun."
"This electric model explains not only the deep origin, the form and the ions of these beautiful filaments but also the matter transport in them, their missing sections and their missing infrared emission. This very new model has no corona problem and does not need any "dynamo"."
Magnetism - the Key to Understanding the Sun by NASA
Snap-1 - A Low Cost Modular Nano Satellite with Cold Gas Propulsion System
Snap 1 was successfully lofted into orbit on June 28th 2000 from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome on-board a russian Cosmos Launch Vehicle. In this paper D. M. Gibbon discusses the university of Surrey´s design philosophy for COTS-based nano-satellites and reviews the initial results of the SNAP-1 mission.
NANOSPACE-1 - The First Swedish Nanosatellite due to be launched in late 2003 or early 2004
using miniaturization and Multifunctional Microsystems (MMS). It will weight about seven kg and test highly advanced Micro Systems Technology (MST). "This new class of high performing small sattellites will provide the ground for a better and less expensive exploration of space."
Solid Propellant Micro Thruster - an alternative propulsion device for nanosatellites.
This LAAS-CNRS-paper comes along with an overview of micropropulsion developments. The concept of the Micro Solid Propellant Thruster is based on the high rate combustion of one sigle propellant or explosive stored in a combustion chamber. The lack of restart ability is compensated by the fabrication of arrays of microrockets.
A Micro Pulsed Plasma Thruster (PPT) for the "Dawgstar" Spacecraft
"The AFOSR/DARPA sponsored University Nanosat program aims to produce a small fleet of nano- satellites in the 10 kg class. This challenging project has resulted in a variety of concepts from the student design teams. Among the most ambitious is the "Dawgstar" from the University of Washington. It proposes to use micro-PPT thrusters to formation fly with two other student built satellites in a constellation known as ION-F. At 10 to 20 kg, it will be the smallest spacecraft ever to fly with a propulsion system."
The meteorite-list a meteorite discussion forum
Astronews.com - German Space and Astro-News site
The Space Log at hobbyspace.com
de.sci.raumfahrt - German Language Space Newsgroup
| Search WWW solar-thruster-sailor.info solar-thruster-sailor.de hobby-boatbuilding-index.de boatbuilding-links.de segeljolle-selbstgebaut.de |
| Alta Vista Search: size=-2> Web Pages Images News Video Audio |
Yahoo Query on solar sail calculations
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) - Good Search Source for Space Technologie
Max Planck Gesellschaft eDoc Server
amazon.com Search and buy books online
Barnes and Noble Search and buy books online at Barnes and Noble
Search - Solar Sailing - Propulsion Systems - Thruster - Lifters - Magnetism, Diamagnetism - Gravity, Antigravity, Gyroscope, Rotation - Space Tethers and Catapults - Space - UFO - Materials - Space Settlement - Space Mining - Space Tugboats - deflection - Sun - micro-/ nano spacecraft - Billboards, Message Lists - News - Newsgroups - Search -
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POST & AUTHOR & Vision |
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RSS - Ring Segment System |
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LTH - Launcher Transport Head |
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EFO - Experimental Flying Object |
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RSC - Rotational Slingshot Catapult |
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Bookmark bump!
Any way that you can add this to the Space Ping list?
Bookmarked, thanks!
Wow! Impressive list.
Nice list!
bumped and bookmarked
DETAILS ON SEA DRAGON
Sea Dragon was a two-stage design of 1962 capable of putting 1.2 million pounds (550 tonnes) into low Earth orbit. The concept was to achieve minimum launch costs through lower development and production costs. This meant accepting a larger booster with a lower performance propulsion system and higher stage dead weight then traditional NASA and USAF designs. The first stage had a single pressure fed, thrust chamber of 36 million kgf thrust, burning LOX/Kerosene. The second stage was ‘considerably smaller’ (thrust only 6.35 million kgf!) and burned LOX/LH2. The complete vehicle was 23 m in diameter and 150 m long. The all-up weight was 18,000 tonnes. The launch vehicle would be fuelled with RP-1 kerosene in port, then towed horizontally to a launch point in the open ocean. It would then be filled with cryogenic liquid oxygen and hydrogen from tankers or produced by electrolysis of sea water by a nuclear aircraft carrier (such as the CVN Enterprise in the painting). After fuelling, the tanks at the launcher base would be flooded, and the vehicle would reach a vertical position in the open ocean. Launch would follow. The concept was proven with tests of the earlier Sea Bee and Sea Horse vehicles. Aside from the baseline two stage expendable version, a single-stage-to-orbit reusable vehicle with a plug nozzle was designed. Costs to low earth orbit were estimated to be between $60/kg and $600/kg - eg one fourth that of the Saturn V or less.
Stage one used liquid nitrogen to force the propellants into the engine. At ignition, combustion chamber pressure was 20 atmospheres, and kerosene was forced into the chamber at a pressure of 32 atmospheres and liquid oxygen at 17 atmospheres. By burnout 81 seconds later combustion chamber pressure had declined to 14 atmospheres, kerosene feed pressure to 20 atmospheres, and liquid oxygen pressure to 8.5 atmospheres. At burnout the stage had reached a velocity of 1.8 km/second at an altitude of 40 km and a range of 33 km. After separation the stage would impact the ocean 290 km downrange (one alternate was recovery and reuse of the stage). Losses due to gravity and drag were minimised by the high 2:1 thrust-to-weight ratio and low drag losses (deceleration at max q was about 0.2 G’s ) resulting from the large size of the booster.
Stage two had a burn time of 260 seconds and a low constant combustion chamber pressure of 7 atmospheres. The stage achieved a total delta V of 5.8 km/second, shutting down at orbital velocity at an altitude of 230 km and 940 km downrange from the launch point. A significant feature of the concept was the use of an expandable nozzle exit cone. This increased the area ratio of the nozzle from 7:1 to 27:1 when deployed. Initial tests showed considerable promise, but development ceased because of lack of in-house funding. This concept was later fully developed under the solid rocket Peacekeeper program.
The design was reviewed with Todd Shipyards, who concluded that it was well within their capabilities, and not too unlike making a submarine hull. 8 mm thick maraging steel was used, similar to the Aerojet 260 inch solid motor of the time. NASA Marshall gave the Aerojet designs to TRW for evaluation. TRW fully confirmed Aerojet's costs and engineering, a great surprise to both TRW and NASA. Aerojet was considering purchasing Sudden Ranch as a launch site for Sea Dragon. This property included several kilometres of coastline between Santa Barbara and Vandenberg AFB. This was the only site on the continental United States that could launch directly into a polar orbit without overflying populated areas (and was later incorporated into Vandenberg).
But this came just as Apollo was being cut back and the Viet Nam war was eating an ever greater amount of the US budget. NASA dissolved their Future Projects Branch (dropping almost all the manned Mars landing work). Prospects for Sea Dragon essentially disappeared, and Aerojet could no longer fund it on IR&D.
Some more links
FUTURE LAUNCH VEHICLE PLANS [1963-2001]
SEA DRAGON / ORION Craft
Project Orion: Its Life, Death, and Possible Rebirth
Excerpt from article .....
In other words, one can produce a continuous controlled nuclear explosion in the region just behind the nuclear rocket. At this point the water of the fuel liquid flashes to very high temperature steam, expelling reaction mass with an estimated exhaust velocity of 66,000 meters per second (as compared with perhaps 4,500 m/s for a chemical rocket). The NSWR engine is calculated to produce a thrust of almost 3 million pounds (1.3 x 107 N) and to have a power output of 427 gigawatts. With this kind of performance, the mission to Titan could be launched from low earth orbit with an acceleration of almost 4 g's and could, in principle, be carried out with low launch mass, low cost and high efficiency.
Hope someone gets use from this. Put all this together and we ould have a VERY viable interplanetary craft in a hurry.
Most excellent post vannrox. Bumped and saved for later.
Thank vannrox.
[snip] Steven Soter, an astronomer at the Hayden Planetarium in New York, is open to Gold’s idea. He says applying conservation of momentum to photons could be a mistake. “Light is very different from matter, and one may wonder if the momentum rules are also different.” There may also be evidence to support Gold’s theory, in the form of a quirky device called a Crookes radiometer. It consists of four paddles attached to the arms of a rotor, inside a vacuum jar. Each paddle is silvered on one side and coated with a black absorber on the other. When placed in sunlight, the rotor spins. If the theory of solar sailing is right, the rotor should spin with the reflecting silver surfaces moving away from the light. But it actually spins the other way, just as Gold predicts. The dispute could be settled in September, when the Pasadena-based Planetary Society hopes to launch Cosmos 1... [/snip]
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/rocketscience-03zg.html
(turns out, Cosmos I was put aboard a rocket and blasted off, but failed to make orbit, so the jury’s still out. Gold was one of the smartest people of the 20th century, it would be foolhardy to let wishful thinking get in the way.)
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