3D Printed Rocket
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFFeqmMprV4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uZHUkeIkpk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFXIN3ZvJYw
Sciaky Additive Manufacturing...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A10XEZvkgbY
19 ft long, 4 ft wide, 4 ft high... off the shelf,
38 ft long, 8 ft wide, 8 ft high... available through special order.
Trumpf Additive Manufacturing...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLndYWw5_y8
5-axis CNC machining center
http://www.paragondie.com/worlds_largest_fidia.shtml
60 ft long, 12 ft wide, 12 ft high... off the shelf (can be combined with Trumpf additive manufacturing system)
Multiple feeds through special order with increases in length to 120 ft.
A 120 ft long, 24 ft wide, 24 ft high... available through special order.
* * *
The space shuttle external tank was 153.8 ft long and 27.6 ft in diameter. It carried 1.385 million pounds of LOX and 0.235 million pounds of LH2 and massed 1.672 million pounds at lift off.
A small version only 47.5% the mass and 78.0% the size of the larger tank would be 120 ft long and 21.6 ft in diameter. It would mass 0.794 million pounds at lift off and carry 0.658 million pounds of LOX and 0.112 million pounds of LH2.
With an array of small engines feeding an aerospike nozzle at the base of the vehicle it would be capable of 455 sec Isp from sea level to vacuum which translates to an exhaust speed of 14,650 ft/sec. The system produces 1.111 at million pounds of thrust at 111% rated value and may be throttled back to 1% full thrust. Thus it can produce up to 1.40 gees at lift off.
With a take-off weight of 0.794 million pounds and a combined propellant weight of 0.769 million pounds the self-propelled tank is capable of
14,650 * ln( 0.794 / (0.794 - 0.769) ) = 50,378 ft/sec = Vf
This is with zero payload. A speed of 34,380 mph. Greater than escape speed.
A payload of 86,851 pounds may be accelerated through a speed of 30,171 ft/sec. That's a speed of 20,571 mph. Sufficient to achieve the same orbits as the space shuttle! Gee forces at lift off is 1.26 gees. Similar again to the old space shuttle.
Three tanks operating in parallel, with the two outboard tanks equipped with cross-feeding, similar to the space shuttle external tank, to feed propellant to the central tank engine during lift off and first stage operation.
This creates in effect a two-stage system with the outboard tanks forming the first stage and the central tank forming the second stage.
Assuming the tanks are identical, we can know that take-off-weight is
3 * 0.794 million pounds
and that the propellant in the first stage is
2 * 0.769 million pounds
so we can calculate that the ideal delta vee of the first stage is;
14,650 * ln((3 * 0.794)/(3 * 0.794 - 2 * 0.769)) = 15,200 ft/sec
That's 10,363 mph - less air drag and gravity losses.
we can also calculate that the ideal delta vee of the second stage is the same as before namely 50,378 ft/sec or 34,380 mph.
Adding these two velocities together obtains 44,743 mph!!
This launcher is capable of carrying 302,500 lbs through a delta vee of 20,570 mph thus achieving the same orbits as the old space shuttle with this load. The first stage separates at 8,500 mph less air drag and gravity losses, and the second stage adds 12,070 mph less air drag and gravity losses.
A 55 ft long 21.6 ft diameter section is added above the aerospike nozzle and below the aft bulkhead on the tank. This payload bay lengthens the central tank from 120 ft to 175 ft. It carries a 302,500 lb 'interplanetary' stage. This stage consists of two parts. One that does trans-lunar injection adding 9,675 ft/sec to the orbiting mass. (6,600 mph). This takes both stages around the moon in a lunar free-return trajectory. When oriented toward interplanetary use, the stages have an apogee of 170,000 miles, and return to Earth.
On a lunar trip the booster stage loops around the Moon and returns to Earth, where it re-enters the atmosphere and is recovered near the launch centre.
The lunar stage executes a 7,480 ft/sec (5,100 mph) burn to come safely to rest on the lunar surface. It then executes another 7,480 ft/sec burn to travel from the Moon to the Earth. At Earth is re-enters the atmosphere and is recovered near the launch centre.
u = 1 - 1/exp(9,675/14,650) = 0.48336
and
0.48336 * 302,500 = 146,217 lbs.
Allowing 0.05000 for the structure fraction obtains
0.05000 * 302,500 = 15,125 lbs
for the inert weight of this stage.
Subtracting these figures from the total obtains a stage weight for the lunar lander stage of;
302,500 - 146,217 - 15,125 = 141,158 lbs
and for the lunar lander and return stage we have a propellant fraction of;
u = 1 - 1/exp(14,960/14,650) = 0.63983
so we have a propellant weight of;
0.63983 * 141,158 = 90,317 lbs
allowing the same 0.05000 for the structure fraction obtains this stage's inert weight budget;
0.05000 * 141,158 = 7,057 lbs
This leaves for the net payload on the moon (and back);
141,158 - 90,317 - 7,057 = 43,784 lbs
Allowing 350 lbs per person this is sufficient to carry 125 persons to the moon and back! With a crew of 5, 120 paying passengers may be carried to the moon and back aboard this ship.
With a diameter of 21.6 ft the stage and a 32 inch aisle down the center, seat width of 18 inches and seat pitch 36 inches this is sufficient for 74 seats and a central aisle
There are two rows of 7 seats on either side of the aisle, two rows of 6 seats on either side of the aisle, two rows of 4 seats on either side of the aisle and two rows of 3 seats at either end of the aisle.
This is economy seating.
First-class seating on the same plan provides 46 seats. Five crew members are located on the control deck and lounge, located between the economy and first class decks.
A total length of 22.5 ft for the cabins with a diameter of 21.6 ft as already stated.
There are up to 18 propellant tanks each 7.2 ft in diameter arrayed in three rings of 6 tanks each. 16 of these are typically used per mission. Two may be replaced with payload containers.
Each tank carries up to 15,060 lbs of propellant and has an inert mass of only 300 lbs each. The rings are arrayed around a central engine that these tanks feed. A fold away landing gear and inflatable aeroshell for atmospheric re-entry is also present.
http://www.space.com/16615-nasa-infl...-saturday.html
The trans-lunar insertion burn involves emptying 10 of the 16 tanks, leaving a single ring of tanks attached to the lunar lander. The 10 tanks, forming a ring of 6 atop a ring of 4. These detach prior to the lunar burn, and return to Earth for a landing at the launch centre.
The lander slows around the far-side of the moon, and slows to a descent trajectory. There it lands at the desired location on the moon. This burns through four of the six tanks. The empties may be left on the moon, along with the excess payload destined on a one way journey. The two remaining tanks possess sufficient propellants to carry the ship and its payload back to Earth.
* * *
302,500 lbs at Low Earth Orbit (LEO) is sufficient to place a sizable power satellite in space.
Using a 0.5 mil thick biaxially oriented PET film coated transparent on one side and coated with aluminium on the other, a total of 381.7 square feet of film may be covered per pound. And 2.35 million cubic feet may be filled per pound of hydrogen gas at low pressure.
http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/RT/RT199...490tolbert.jpg
280,000 lb thin film optical system is 8,428 ft in diameter with an 8,000 ft diameter active area. It concentrates the sun to an image 80 ft in diameter where 6.25 GW of solar energy are concentrated. 17,983 hexagons cut from 200 mm diameter wafers form an active thin disk laser element all of which operate together to create a solar pumped laser array. Each element produces 275,000 watts of laser output with a slope efficiency approaching 80% - producing 4.97 GW of laser power beamed to Earth.
http://www.opticsinfobase.org/ao/abs...=ao-51-26-6382
Some wafers are MEMS based ion engines that are equipped to receive laser energy attached to the inflated optical system. These use the hydrogen gas as a propellant in a laser based ion engine - so that the satellite may maintain orientation and boost from Low Earth Orbit to Geosynchronous Equatorial Orbit. Sufficient hydrogen is maintained on board with solar powered cyrogenic MEMS based refrigeration, to last 30 years allowing for leakage in the optical system and for attitude control using the ion engines. All following the initial boost.
http://web.mit.edu/aeroastro/labs/spl/research_ieps.htm
http://iopscience.iop.org/0960-1317/...1E0ABD3A48C.c2
60 MW ground stations using a compact receiver of band-gap match photocells, produces hydrogen and oxygen from water when the satellite is visible in the sky. The hydrogen is then used in a fuel cell to produce electricity on demand at power levels up to 100 MW. Efficiency of throughput is 72%. Capital utilization of the receiver ranges from 65% to 95%. Average continuous output ranges from 28.08 MW to 41.04 MW for each station on the ground, generating 43.2 MW when illuminated.
Each satellite supports 100 ground stations of this type. It charges $0.04 per kWh and produces 42 billion kWh per year generating $1.68 billion per year in revenue per satellite.
With 100 MW peak and charging $1.25 per peak watt along with $0.11 per kWh of electricity used, each station has a $125 million capital cost and annual operating costs ranging from $27.1 million per year to $39.6 million per year. This translates to $500 million per ground station valuation for this revenue. Buyers obtain pollution free power at a fixed rate for 30 years, anywhere in sight of the satellite.
So, 100 ground stations and one satellite is worth at start-up $12.5 billion in capital payments and $50.0 billion in revenue capitalization. A combined valuation of EACH SATELLITE of $72.5 billion!!
A six year program to develop the supply chain for the launcher and satellite will cost $21 billion.
Paying 41.42% interest per year, compounded, against a convertible debenture will result in the sale of this asset along the following lines (flowing first to the early-adopters who pay for their ground stations)
In Millions of USD$ (2013AD) -
Total: $21,000.00 Project Cost:
FIRST SATELLITE:
At Risk Return Pct Total
Year 1: $ 807.69 $ 5,435.31 7.50%
Year 2: $1,615.38 $ 7,686.22 10.60%
Year 3: $3,230.77 $10,869.29 14.99%
Year 4: $6,461.54 $15,370.56 21.20%
Year 5: $4,846.15 $ 8,150.97 11.24%
Year 6: $4,038.46 $ 4,802.71 6.62%
Totals:$21,000.00 $52,315.08 72.16%
Present Value: $72,500.00 at start up - FIRST SATELLITE.
To replace all the the coal fired power plants in the world with these ground stations requires the deployment of 385 satellites. The recurring cost of each deployment is more than covered by the CAPEX. A small fleet launches 3 satellites per week. In 30 months all satellites are deployed and $1.27 trillion per year in power sales are received.
This is sufficient to support industrial development of the Moon, Mars, and the Main Belt Asteroids.
As well as the development of advanced laser propulsion systems, including personal ballistic transport on Earth.
Options on the FIRST satellite of $8.08 million per ground station, times 100 ground stations, completes the first round of production and testing to demonstrate all the elements described here, providing venture capital rates of return. We then sell over the next two years, the rights to the ground station to utilities. The final two years we finance through a variety of instruments against the off-take contracts.