Minimum Orbital Vehicle

BD-5J masses 161 kg empty 299 kg filled is 4.2 m long and has a fuselage 1.3 m in diameter. Adding a stage that adds 3.2 km per sec with an exhaust speed of 4.5 km per sec requires a propellant fraction of 50.9% and with a 4..35% structure fraction requires 309 kg propellant. And a stage weight of 668 kg. With two strap on boosters each 746 kg in weight adding another 3.2 km per second. Four more similar elements complete the requirements for orbit.

"William Mook" wrote in message
...

BD-5J masses 161 kg empty 299 kg filled is 4.2 m long and has a fuselage
1.3 m in diameter. Adding a stage that adds 3.2 km per sec with an exhaust
speed of 4.5 km per sec requires a propellant fraction of 50.9% and with a
4.35% structure fraction requires 309 kg propellant. And a stage weight of
668 kg. With two strap on boosters each 746 kg in weight adding another 3.2
km per second. Four more similar elements complete the requirements for
orbit.


And so? Now you've got an airplane in orbit that can't do anything and can't
carry anyone (since their ability to breath will be greatly hindered by the
vacuum.


--
Greg D. Moore http://greenmountainsoftware.wordpress.com/
CEO QuiCR: Quick, Crowdsourced Responses. http://www.quicr.net

I'm travelling over the holidays and reduced to typing on my iPhone while the jet gets refuelled between the massive legs over the pacific. Lol. So I am more concise. So I would only ask that you not be so literal in your interpretation.

The BD5j is representative of the size and mass of a minimum manned orbital vehicle. 1.3 m diam 4.2 m long 300 kg. A personal sized dynasoar with advanced avionics MEMS based life support and power. Breathing and everything else for several days is included.


830 kg of LOX/LH2 propellant fits into a 1.3 m diam 4.2 m long pill tank with spherical end caps massing 20 kg. A vehicle such as this attains 5.75 km per sec. Two stretched tanks of similar diameter strapped to the sides of comparable size massing 150 kg each including propulsion add anothe 3.45 km per sec.

Total structure 500 kg. Total takeoff weight 3,110 kg. 120 kg payload. At $2,000 per kg $1,000,000 cost per article. At 4,500 Kgf thrust and 150:1 thrust to weight engine mass is 30 kg. Entire program on order of $5,000,000. 18 months fleet of three. 900 flights across the fleet over 3 years. Charge per flight cost +$125,000.

On Friday, March 25, 2016 at 9:50:33 AM UTC+13, William Mook wrote:
I'm travelling over the holidays and reduced to typing on my iPhone while the jet gets refuelled between the massive legs over the pacific. Lol. So I am more concise. So I would only ask that you not be so literal in your interpretation.

The BD5j is representative of the size and mass of a minimum manned orbital vehicle. 1.3 m diam 4.2 m long 300 kg. A personal sized dynasoar with advanced avionics MEMS based life support and power. Breathing and everything else for several days is included.


830 kg of LOX/LH2 propellant fits into a 1.3 m diam 4.2 m long pill tank with spherical end caps massing 20 kg. A vehicle such as this attains 5.75 km per sec. Two stretched tanks of similar diameter strapped to the sides of comparable size massing 150 kg each including propulsion add anothe 3.45 km per sec.

Total structure 500 kg. Total takeoff weight 3,110 kg. 120 kg payload. At $2,000 per kg $1,000,000 cost per article. At 4,500 Kgf thrust and 150:1 thrust to weight engine mass is 30 kg. Entire program on order of $5,000,000. 18 months fleet of three. 900 flights across the fleet over 3 years. Charge per flight cost +$125,000.

The X-15 program involved three aircraft operated from 1959 through 1968 and cost $300 million 1959 dollars. ($2,440 million 2016 dollars) with 199 flights over the interval.

http://history.nasa.gov/x15conf/log.html

Scaled Composites Spaceship One, funded completely by Paul Allen began operation in 2004, at a cost of $25 million. About 1% the cost of the X-15 programme. Of course, it had the X-15 programme to draw from.

The Mercury programme ran from 1959 through 1965 and cost $277 million 1965 dollars according to Congressional records. This is $2,085 million 2016 dollars. Six Mercury missions were flown.

DynaSoar ran from 1957 through 1963 at a cost of $660 million 1957 dollars. $5,569 million today. No DynaSoar flights were acknowledged though declassified literature in 2014 following the death of bill Dana, shows that seven astronauts were chosen secretly to fly the X-20 at the same time the Mercury Seven were chosen. No one of the astronauts is still alive to ask about the declassified programme.

Neil Armstrong (1930-2012; NASA) 1960-62
Bill Dana (1930-2014; NASA) 1960-62
Henry C. Gordon (1925-96; Air Force) 1960-63
Pete Knight (1929-2004; Air Force) 1960-63
Russell L. Rogers (1928-67; Air Force) 1960-63
Milt Thompson (1926-93; NASA) 1960-63
James W. Wood (1924-90; Air Force) 1960-63

According to SpaceX accounting records, it took $300 million and three years to develop the Seven Passenger, highly reusable, land with rocket with a precision of a helicopter, Dragon from a blank sheet of paper to an operating vehicle. That would be $35.5 million 1957 dollars. That's 5.4% of the cost of X-20 one passenger reusable land with wing at an airport vehicle.

The mass of the Dragon is 3,000 kg empty, and this is a development cost of $100,000 per kg.

General characteristics DYNA-SOAR

Crew: one pilot
Length: 35 ft 4 in (10.77 m)
Wingspan: 20 ft 10 in (6.34 m)
Height: 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m)
Wing area: 345 ft² (32 m²)
Empty weight: 10,395 lb (4,715 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 11,387 lb (5,165 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Transtage rocket engine, 72,000 lbf (323 kN)


A BD-5J type airframe is 38.4% the size of the Dynasoar and 5.66% the mass. 300 kg x $100,000 = $30 million program cost. A more detailed analysis says a small fleet should be possible (with launchers) for $5 million.

Length:............... 10.77 4.14 m
Wingspan:.......... 6.34 2.44 m
Height:................ 2.59 1.00 m
Wing area:........... 32 4.72 m2
Empty Weight:..... 4715 266.98 kg
Max TOW:............ 5165 292.46 kg
Powerplant thrust: 323 18.29 kN

At $125,000 per flight profit, and 360 flights per year, revenue of $45 million per year and over three years $135 million is earned - pre tax, pre depreciation. Discounted at 8.5% per annum over three years, this is $116.5 million the day the the flights start. To obtain double your money over 24 months, persons putting in $10 million (double the estimated costs) stand first in line for the first $20 million or 17.2% of the total value. The extra $5 million covers cost over-runs (if any) and is split 50:50 with the vendors as incentive for achieving costing goals. Money investors get 100% of the profits until $20 million is returned, and failing that within 24 months, have right to take over the entire project and liquidate it. Within 24 months all flights are likely booked and the future earnings monetised. Earnings over $20 million is split 50:50 with the organisers. Early investors have right of first refusal to invest in similar projects going forward.

Launched from New Zealand, into a Polar Orbit, the vehicle can land anywhere on Earth over a 12 hour period, or return to the launch center.

A small highly reusable booster putting up *any* payload up to 300 kg into LEO for $125,000 profit, on a daily basis, will see a lot of demand.

Thousands of people spend $125,000 to gain a few minutes experience with a wingsuit, in extreme proximity flying;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-C_jPcUkVrM

Hundreds of people per year will pay $200,000 for a 12, 24, 36, or 48 hour polar orbit.

3,000,000 skydive - $ 25,000 annually, (140 flights/yr) - 1 death per 100,000
35,000 wingsuit - $125,000 annually, (20 flights/yr) - 1 death per 1,600
365 orbital - $600,000 annually, (3 flights/yr) - 1 death per 25 (based on shuttle experience)

If we replace the Dynasoar junior and stage with a stretched central stage, a half filled stage can be lifted to orbit. Do that twice, transfer propellant, and a filled stage is on orbit. Then bring up a Dynasoar junior, and bam! you have the ability to boost another 5.75 km/sec from LEO. This is 7.8 km/sec hyperbolic excess velocity. (sqrt((5.75+7.90)^2-11.2^2) = 7.8 Vinf)

Charging $2,000 per hour on orbit after the first 12 hours, as opportunity cost for use of the vehicle, a long-duration flight, in preparation for a lunar free return is possible for someone who wanted to do that. A 9 day journey to the moon and back would cost $432,000 extra, and another $568,000 for the two propellant launches.

So, we're talking about $650,000 for a test flight lasting 9 days, and another $1,000,000 to place propellant reserves on orbit. This is $2.3 million for an Apollo 8 style trip to lunar orbit and back.

http://www.wired.com/2013/07/lunar-flying-units-1969/

Two-man pogo

http://rocketbelts.americanrocketman.com/pogo.html

With the thrust-to-weight possible with MEMS based rocket arrays, an 85 kg suited astronaut in lunar orbit could make his or her way down to the lunar surface and back. A 100 kg payload carries 272.2 kg of propellant. 148.95 kg is burned descending to the lunar surface. 123.25 kg is burned returning to lunar orbit.

A lunar landing would cost $3.3 million for an Apollo 11 style trip to the lunar surface.

On Friday, March 25, 2016 at 12:17:10 PM UTC+13, William Mook wrote:
On Friday, March 25, 2016 at 9:50:33 AM UTC+13, William Mook wrote:
I'm travelling over the holidays and reduced to typing on my iPhone while the jet gets refuelled between the massive legs over the pacific. Lol. So I am more concise. So I would only ask that you not be so literal in your interpretation.

The BD5j is representative of the size and mass of a minimum manned orbital vehicle. 1.3 m diam 4.2 m long 300 kg. A personal sized dynasoar with advanced avionics MEMS based life support and power. Breathing and everything else for several days is included.


830 kg of LOX/LH2 propellant fits into a 1.3 m diam 4.2 m long pill tank with spherical end caps massing 20 kg. A vehicle such as this attains 5.75 km per sec. Two stretched tanks of similar diameter strapped to the sides of comparable size massing 150 kg each including propulsion add anothe 3.45 km per sec.

Total structure 500 kg. Total takeoff weight 3,110 kg. 120 kg payload. At $2,000 per kg $1,000,000 cost per article. At 4,500 Kgf thrust and 150:1 thrust to weight engine mass is 30 kg. Entire program on order of $5,000,000. 18 months fleet of three. 900 flights across the fleet over 3 years. Charge per flight cost +$125,000.

The X-15 program involved three aircraft operated from 1959 through 1968 and cost $300 million 1959 dollars. ($2,440 million 2016 dollars) with 199 flights over the interval.

http://history.nasa.gov/x15conf/log.html

Scaled Composites Spaceship One, funded completely by Paul Allen began operation in 2004, at a cost of $25 million. About 1% the cost of the X-15 programme. Of course, it had the X-15 programme to draw from.

The Mercury programme ran from 1959 through 1965 and cost $277 million 1965 dollars according to Congressional records. This is $2,085 million 2016 dollars. Six Mercury missions were flown.

DynaSoar ran from 1957 through 1963 at a cost of $660 million 1957 dollars. $5,569 million today. No DynaSoar flights were acknowledged though declassified literature in 2014 following the death of bill Dana, shows that seven astronauts were chosen secretly to fly the X-20 at the same time the Mercury Seven were chosen. No one of the astronauts is still alive to ask about the declassified programme.

Neil Armstrong (1930-2012; NASA) 1960-62
Bill Dana (1930-2014; NASA) 1960-62
Henry C. Gordon (1925-96; Air Force) 1960-63
Pete Knight (1929-2004; Air Force) 1960-63
Russell L. Rogers (1928-67; Air Force) 1960-63
Milt Thompson (1926-93; NASA) 1960-63
James W. Wood (1924-90; Air Force) 1960-63

According to SpaceX accounting records, it took $300 million and three years to develop the Seven Passenger, highly reusable, land with rocket with a precision of a helicopter, Dragon from a blank sheet of paper to an operating vehicle. That would be $35.5 million 1957 dollars. That's 5.4% of the cost of X-20 one passenger reusable land with wing at an airport vehicle.

The mass of the Dragon is 3,000 kg empty, and this is a development cost of $100,000 per kg.

General characteristics DYNA-SOAR

Crew: one pilot
Length: 35 ft 4 in (10.77 m)
Wingspan: 20 ft 10 in (6.34 m)
Height: 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m)
Wing area: 345 ft² (32 m²)
Empty weight: 10,395 lb (4,715 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 11,387 lb (5,165 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Transtage rocket engine, 72,000 lbf (323 kN)


A BD-5J type airframe is 38.4% the size of the Dynasoar and 5.66% the mass. 300 kg x $100,000 = $30 million program cost. A more detailed analysis says a small fleet should be possible (with launchers) for $5 million.

Length:............... 10.77 4.14 m
Wingspan:.......... 6.34 2.44 m
Height:................ 2.59 1.00 m
Wing area:........... 32 4.72 m2
Empty Weight:..... 4715 266.98 kg
Max TOW:............ 5165 292.46 kg
Powerplant thrust: 323 18.29 kN

At $125,000 per flight profit, and 360 flights per year, revenue of $45 million per year and over three years $135 million is earned - pre tax, pre depreciation. Discounted at 8.5% per annum over three years, this is $116..5 million the day the the flights start. To obtain double your money over 24 months, persons putting in $10 million (double the estimated costs) stand first in line for the first $20 million or 17.2% of the total value. The extra $5 million covers cost over-runs (if any) and is split 50:50 with the vendors as incentive for achieving costing goals. Money investors get 100% of the profits until $20 million is returned, and failing that within 24 months, have right to take over the entire project and liquidate it. Within 24 months all flights are likely booked and the future earnings monetised. Earnings over $20 million is split 50:50 with the organisers. Early investors have right of first refusal to invest in similar projects going forward.

Launched from New Zealand, into a Polar Orbit, the vehicle can land anywhere on Earth over a 12 hour period, or return to the launch center.

A small highly reusable booster putting up *any* payload up to 300 kg into LEO for $125,000 profit, on a daily basis, will see a lot of demand.

Thousands of people spend $125,000 to gain a few minutes experience with a wingsuit, in extreme proximity flying;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-C_jPcUkVrM

Hundreds of people per year will pay $200,000 for a 12, 24, 36, or 48 hour polar orbit.

3,000,000 skydive - $ 25,000 annually, (140 flights/yr) - 1 death per 100,000
35,000 wingsuit - $125,000 annually, (20 flights/yr) - 1 death per 1,600
365 orbital - $600,000 annually, (3 flights/yr) - 1 death per 25 (based on shuttle experience)

If we replace the Dynasoar junior and stage with a stretched central stage, a half filled stage can be lifted to orbit. Do that twice, transfer propellant, and a filled stage is on orbit. Then bring up a Dynasoar junior, and bam! you have the ability to boost another 5.75 km/sec from LEO. This is 7.8 km/sec hyperbolic excess velocity. (sqrt((5.75+7.90)^2-11.2^2) = 7.8 Vinf)

Charging $2,000 per hour on orbit after the first 12 hours, as opportunity cost for use of the vehicle, a long-duration flight, in preparation for a lunar free return is possible for someone who wanted to do that. A 9 day journey to the moon and back would cost $432,000 extra, and another $568,000 for the two propellant launches.

So, we're talking about $650,000 for a test flight lasting 9 days, and another $1,000,000 to place propellant reserves on orbit. This is $2.3 million for an Apollo 8 style trip to lunar orbit and back.

http://www.wired.com/2013/07/lunar-flying-units-1969/

Two-man pogo

http://rocketbelts.americanrocketman.com/pogo.html

With the thrust-to-weight possible with MEMS based rocket arrays, an 85 kg suited astronaut in lunar orbit could make his or her way down to the lunar surface and back. A 100 kg payload carries 272.2 kg of propellant. 148..95 kg is burned descending to the lunar surface. 123.25 kg is burned returning to lunar orbit.

A lunar landing would cost $3.3 million for an Apollo 11 style trip to the lunar surface.

http://blog.modernmechanix.com/mags/...ing_down_0.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...ar_diagram.png

http://cdn0.lostateminor.com/wp-cont...2/airforce.jpg

A single stage vehicle would be capable of flying around the Earth in the manner described by Sanger in 1933 using the Silbervogel. A two stage vehicle, consisting of the vehicle plus two liquid strapon boosters, would be capable of orbit. Two launches one piloted one drone, would be capable of boosting a vehicle to trans lunar injection. Four launches, one piloted three drone, would be capable of boosting a piloted and drone vehicle to translunar injection.

Two vehicles - one manned, the other drone - fly to the lunar free return trajectory. The drone carries an extra propellant store pf 553 kg - and transfers it to the manned vehicle following the trans-lunar burn. The empty drone loops around the lunar backside, and returns to Earth for reuse. The manned vehicle enters lunar orbit and lands, then returns to Earth.

HL-10 Replica

Item HL-10 Miniature

Length:.... 6.45 2.99 m
Wingspan 4.15 1.93 m
Height..... 2.92 1.36 m
Wing area 14.90 3.21 m2
Empty..... 2,397 249 kg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...10_diagram.png

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northr...hrup_HL-10.jpg

http://s17.photobucket.com/user/fend...a/DR4.jpg.html

http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4220/pxii.htm

http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Gallery/Pho...L/E-20464.html

A 320 kg inert weight with 830 kg propellant, provides 5.75 km/sec ideal delta vee.