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ESA to launch suborbital test spaceplane in 2013
On 28/02/2014 1:56 AM, Robert Clark wrote:
"Robert Clark" wrote in message ... On Jun 22, 11:45 am, wrote: "The European* Space Agency (ESA) has announced that it will launch an unmanned suborbital mission in 2013 designed to test various technologies which could be used in future on vehicles able to re-enter Earth's atmosphere from orbit and make a landing carrying cargo or personnel." See: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/06..._announcement/ I like this because it would provide an easy means of converting an expendable rocket stage into a reusable one without having to add the extra weight of wings. Bristol Spaceplanes is starting a crowdfunding campaign to fund a suborbital spaceplane. They are one of the few people along with SpaceX who realizes we have to cut the cost to space by reusability: UK company crowdfunds 'low-cost' space tourism. SCIENCE 12 FEBRUARY 14 by LIAT CLARK Quote:
Bristol firm enters commercial space race David Ashford, a 74-year-old entrepreneur, is hoping to bring down the cost of commercial space flight 1000-fold with an innovative spaceplane design. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/n...pace-race.html The crowdfunding site: Bristol Spaceplanes. http://www.crowdcube.com/investment/...ceplanes-13141 Bob Clark Their path to orbit involves a carrier aircraft and a mach-4 separation of two airborne vehicles, the latter not exactly being proven technology. The picture of the combined craft doesn't look plausible. There's no way the smaller craft could be carrying enough fuel to accelerate itself from mach-4 to orbital speed. This is nothing more than a way to get people to fund yet another suborbital joy-rider. Sylvia. |
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ESA to launch suborbital test spaceplane in 2013
In article ,
ess says... Their path to orbit involves a carrier aircraft and a mach-4 separation of two airborne vehicles, the latter not exactly being proven technology. The picture of the combined craft doesn't look plausible. There's no way the smaller craft could be carrying enough fuel to accelerate itself from mach-4 to orbital speed. Cite for this picture? On their website, I don't know which picture you might be talking about. Are you talking about Spacecab? If so, I don't see a picture of its carrier aircraft. http://bristolspaceplanes.com/projects/ Ascender is suborbital only. Spacecab is a 2nd stage: "Spacecab is an enlarged and refined Ascender air-launched from a supersonic carrier aeroplane." And finally, from the description, it's not clear to me if Spacebus is a two or three stage to orbit system. This is nothing more than a way to get people to fund yet another suborbital joy-rider. Possibly, but in my mind, their notional orbital spacecraft is as "real" as Skylon, with the exception that one little piece of Skylon's engine (Sabre) has been tested on the ground. Both "designs" are rather notional at this point and appear to depend greatly on supersonic air breathing engine technologies which have yet to be developed. Jeff -- "the perennial claim that hypersonic airbreathing propulsion would magically make space launch cheaper is nonsense -- LOX is much cheaper than advanced airbreathing engines, and so are the tanks to put it in and the extra thrust to carry it." - Henry Spencer |
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ESA to launch suborbital test spaceplane in 2013
On 1/03/2014 2:32 AM, Jeff Findley wrote:
In article , ess says... Their path to orbit involves a carrier aircraft and a mach-4 separation of two airborne vehicles, the latter not exactly being proven technology. The picture of the combined craft doesn't look plausible. There's no way the smaller craft could be carrying enough fuel to accelerate itself from mach-4 to orbital speed. Cite for this picture? On their website, I don't know which picture you might be talking about. Are you talking about Spacecab? If so, I don't see a picture of its carrier aircraft. http://bristolspaceplanes.com/projects/ http://bristolspaceplanes.com/projects/spacecab/ Ascender is suborbital only. Spacecab is a 2nd stage: "Spacecab is an enlarged and refined Ascender air-launched from a supersonic carrier aeroplane." And finally, from the description, it's not clear to me if Spacebus is a two or three stage to orbit system. This is nothing more than a way to get people to fund yet another suborbital joy-rider. Possibly, but in my mind, their notional orbital spacecraft is as "real" as Skylon, with the exception that one little piece of Skylon's engine (Sabre) has been tested on the ground. Both "designs" are rather notional at this point and appear to depend greatly on supersonic air breathing engine technologies which have yet to be developed. Jeff All I can see of Spacecab is an artist's impression. With Skylon there is a design with numbers, and, as you say, a piece, and it's an important piece, of the engine, has been tested on the ground. The supersonic part of the Sabre engine is the inlet. The bulk of the engine, including the heat exchanger, operates in the subsonic regime. Sylvia. |
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ESA to launch suborbital test spaceplane in 2013
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