Posted on 01/14/2017 9:12:16 PM PST by BenLurkin
Japan's attempt to launch one of the smallest-ever rockets into space has ended in failure.
The 9.5-meter (32-foot) rocket lifted off around 8:30 a.m. local time Sunday from the Uchinoura Space Center in southwestern Japan, according to state broadcaster NHK.
The rocket was carrying a micro-satellite that is 35 centimeters (13 inches) tall and weighs 3 kg (6.6 lbs.). However, according to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), communication systems malfunctioned after the rocket launched, causing the ignition of the second booster to be terminated. The rocket fell into the sea southeast of Uchinoura.
The launch, which was delayed from earlier this week because of weather, was supposed to be a proof of concept for Japan's micro-satellite and mini-rocket technology, which JAXA hopes to commercialize as private companies seek cheaper options that are easier to put into orbit.
"Several Japanese firms joined this rocket project," JAXA public relations officer Takayuki Tomobe told CNN prior to the launch, adding that the agency also hopes to share test results with other private entities in future.
(Excerpt) Read more at freerepublic.com ...
The base configuration is a two-stage sounding rocket, which uses S-520 as the first stage. Unlike the previous version in the S-Series family of rockets the SS-520 are not primarily designed for scientific use in Antarctica, but rather as a test vehicle to explore the minimum limits of orbital launch vehicle.
The rocket has a capability for launching a 140 kg payload to an altitude between 800 and 1000 km.[7] The first two sounding rockets were launched in 1998 and 2000 respectively and successfully carried their payload on sub-orbital missions.[8]
Gross mass: 2,600 kg (5,700 lb)
Height: 9.70 m (31.80 ft)
Diameter: 0.52 m (1.70 ft)
Apogee: 1,000 km (600 mi)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS-520#SS-520
Is there any other kind?
The rocket has a capability for launching a 140 kg payload to an altitude between 800 and 1000 km.[7] The first two sounding rockets were launched in 1998 and 2000 respectively and successfully carried their payload on sub-orbital missions.[8]
Gross mass: 2,600 kg (5,700 lb) Height: 9.70 m (31.80 ft) Diameter: 0.52 m (1.70 ft) Apogee: 1,000 km (600 mi)
With glide bomb reentry systems this puts intercontinental thermonuclear delivery in the hands of any nation state that has miniaturized thermonuclear weapons ability to deliver on the cheap.
Mockingbird: Orbit in one *small* stage
Designed in the early 1990’s at Lawrence Livermore National Labs by Jordin Kare, the “Mockingbird” was a conceptual design of a single stage rocket vehicle. It was to be relatively cheap, as befits a vehicle designed officially to serve as a target. Replicating the trajectory of ballistic missiles, it was to serve as the target for ballistic missile defense systems.
But it was found that, if design properly, the simple target vehicle could do some rather more interesting things than simply get blasted. With a very lightweight aluminum rocket engine burning a combination of hydrogen peroxide and JP-5, performance in terms of thrust and Isp would be fairly high, and bulk vehicle density would also be quite high. It would, in fact, be just barely possible that this modest target vehicle would be able to attain low Earth orbit with a payload of 10 kilograms… hence the nickname “bricklifter.” Empty weight would be 75 kilograms; light enough to be picked up be two men.Gross weight would be 1500 kilograms; light enough to be carried by a largish pickup truck. And small enough that it could potentially be launche from the back of a smallish pickup truck.
Included in that 75 kilograms was re-entry shielding to allow the Mockingbird to survive re-entry, landing gear and enough rocket propellant for a soft touchdown. It was, essentially, a minimum-size Delta Clipper.
Like just about everything in aerospace, it likely would have come in over budget and over weight. But as the likes of Xcor, Armadillo Aerospace and Masten Space Systems have shown, relatively small groups on shoestring budgets (by government standards) can, with time and effort, develop just the sort of technologies needed to make vehicles like the Mockingbird work. And if one of these companies can actually build a SSTO on the scale of the Mockingbird… boy howdy, the Air Force should be *desperately* interested. Sadly, so will the regulatory agencies. But private citizens building orbital vehicles they can launch from their trucks? Awesome.
We used to call Bottle Rockets mini-rockets.
I sure hope Trump puts some money into this stuff - my mind just fills up with ideas for using miniature (and hopefully cheap) rockets. There’s no reason that launching something to space has to bring society to a near-halt due to its complexity and especially size.
Interesting!
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