Zoom to space

DARPA and various companies including Scaled Composites are
looking at a carrier aircraft that would fly to Mach 3.1
and 200,000 feet(!) to deploy a two-stage rocket which
would carry up to 50-130 kg into orbit.

The rocket itself is not unusual, it's the aircraft.
Four souped up F-100 engines being injected with water
and LOX, something that might almost embarrass a SR-71.

It's this weeks AW&ST cover story. Read it he

http://www.aviationnow.com/avnow/new...wst_story.jsp?
id=news/09223top.xml

--Damon

Damon Hill writes:

DARPA and various companies including Scaled Composites are
looking at a carrier aircraft that would fly to Mach 3.1
and 200,000 feet(!) to deploy a two-stage rocket which
would carry up to 50-130 kg into orbit.

The rocket itself is not unusual, it's the aircraft.

Not to be picky, but 200,000 feet is almost a spacecraft. Or at least an
air-breathing first stage of a launcher. Is this thing thought be at
Mach 3.1 at 200,000 feet? What it is speed at 50,000 feet?


Jochem

--
"A designer knows he has arrived at perfection not when there is no
longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away."
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Jochem Huhmann wrote in :

Damon Hill writes:

DARPA and various companies including Scaled Composites are
looking at a carrier aircraft that would fly to Mach 3.1
and 200,000 feet(!) to deploy a two-stage rocket which
would carry up to 50-130 kg into orbit.

The rocket itself is not unusual, it's the aircraft.

Not to be picky, but 200,000 feet is almost a spacecraft. Or at least an
air-breathing first stage of a launcher. Is this thing thought be at
Mach 3.1 at 200,000 feet? What it is speed at 50,000 feet?

Indeed, it is nearly a spacecraft by itself as it's essentially
out of the atmosphere at that altitude, hence the modifications
to the engines. The article says Mach 3.something at lower altitude
and still slightly Machish at peak altitude.

--Damon

Oh yeah, I have seen that one at RLV- news yesterday. Pretty impressive and
so simple, that it could actually work!
I really like the idea.
Lets see if it really happens until 2005 as predicted. If so, this is IMHO
much more impressive and perhaps much more of an advance than NASAs stupid
OSP and that with a comparably ridiculously low budget!
CU
Elmar

"Damon Hill" schrieb im Newsbeitrag
32...
DARPA and various companies including Scaled Composites are
looking at a carrier aircraft that would fly to Mach 3.1
and 200,000 feet(!) to deploy a two-stage rocket which
would carry up to 50-130 kg into orbit.

The rocket itself is not unusual, it's the aircraft.
Four souped up F-100 engines being injected with water
and LOX, something that might almost embarrass a SR-71.

It's this weeks AW&ST cover story. Read it he

http://www.aviationnow.com/avnow/new...wst_story.jsp?
id=news/09223top.xml

--Damon

"gmw" wrote in message . ..
Not to rain on anyone's parade but what does the modifications due to the
engine's maintained costs and lifespan?

According to the article:

"The engines are set to operate within its regular parameters, Carter
said, which should be adequate to meet Rascal's performance goals.
However, if the vehicle weight increases or other obstacles occur,
designers may yet choose to operate the engine at higher performance
levels even though that would degrade their durability."

Lou Scheffer