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Off Shelf Components



 
 
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  #1  
Old October 31st 03, 12:28 AM
David Findlay
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Default Off Shelf Components

We often hear mention of off-shelf-components, supposedly that can be bought
easily instead of specially developed. I realise that computer equipment
and electronics would be relatively easy to obtain, but what about more
specialised gear, such as turbopumps, thrusters, engines and other more
"rocket science" type gear? Would it be feasible for an amateur with a lot
of resources(like the John Carmack type) to purchase such items? I just
think it would be a whole lot easier to buy a catalyst pack or injectors or
such from a company that's got years of experience and knowledge of the
subject rather than developing it oneself. Any comments? Thanks,

David

  #2  
Old October 31st 03, 07:25 AM
Jim Kingdon
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Default Off Shelf Components

turbopumps, thrusters, engines and other more "rocket science" type
gear? Would it be feasible for an amateur with a lot of resources(like
the John Carmack type) to purchase such items?


Carmack has looked into it. For example, he looked into purchasing
entire engines, for example - and decided they were too expensive.

I did get a price quote from XCOR early on, and it just didn't make
sense for us. Four or five engines from XCOR would have cost more than
our entire first year of development. I think hard about all large $$$
purchases, because it is a slippery slope to get on, where you just
throw money at a problem.
- Carmack, as quoted in
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,60492,00.html

There's actually quite a bit of detail at
http://www.armadilloaerospace.com/ (under the news section). He's not
shy about discussing technical details, decisions they are making,
what is working and what is not, etc.

A quick look (e.g.
http://www.armadilloaerospace.com/n....ws?news_id=138
) finds him buying valves, solenoids, hoses, fittings, etc. I'm not
sure he's bought a lot of larger subsystems than that.

As for the more general question, the short answer is sure, you can
buy that kind of thing. Biggest obstacle is going to be whether the
price is right (both in terms of production and setup costs - you'll
typically pay the latter unless the item is currently in production).
For most amateurs (even the relatively well off ones), the price of
existing space-qualified gear is often too much. Things like export
control paperwork and the like might sometimes come up.

 




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