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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 |
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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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