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U.S. Army eyeing 'nanomissile' launcher



 
 
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  #11  
Old August 16th 10, 03:25 AM posted to sci.space.policy
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Default U.S. Army eyeing 'nanomissile' launcher

On Aug 15, 2:46*pm, Jochem Huhmann wrote:
Pat Flannery writes:
I'll say this for them; if they can actually get something 12 feet tall
to put a usable payload weight into orbit, my hat's off to them -
particularly if it's surface launched.


Nature is betting against it. If you can get above most of the
atmosphere before launching (air launch) it may be doable. It even may
be useful.

* * * * Jochem


Well, the Pegasus rocket uses the Stargazer (a modified L-1011)
aircraft to
launch it:

http://www.orbital.com/NewsInfo/Publ...gasus_fact.pdf

Does the Army have any similar aircraft? Or would they have to
outsource
the "mothership" job?
  #12  
Old August 16th 10, 03:35 AM posted to sci.space.policy
Pat Flannery
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Default U.S. Army eyeing 'nanomissile' launcher

On 8/15/2010 1:46 PM, Jochem Huhmann wrote:
Pat writes:

I'll say this for them; if they can actually get something 12 feet tall
to put a usable payload weight into orbit, my hat's off to them -
particularly if it's surface launched.


Nature is betting against it. If you can get above most of the
atmosphere before launching (air launch) it may be doable. It even may
be useful.


Considering that they have gotten kinetic kill vehicles down to very
light weight, I'd like to know what altitude a vehicle that could put a
satellite into LEO could reach with a KKV fired vertically for ASAT work?
For some comparison, the Thor IRBM couldn't put anything into orbit
without a upper stage being added, but when used in a direct ascent ASAT
role could toss a W-49 nuclear warhead up to a max altitude of 700 km:
http://www.astronautix.com/craft/proam437.htm
This shows the warhead as weighing around 1,660 pounds:
http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/.../Allbombs.html
Given that info, the "nanomissile" might have pretty formidable direct
ascent ASAT capabilities in regards to altitude with a lightweight KKV
as its payload.


Pat
  #13  
Old August 16th 10, 10:32 AM posted to sci.space.policy
Pat Flannery
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Default U.S. Army eyeing 'nanomissile' launcher

On 8/15/2010 6:25 PM, wrote:

Well, the Pegasus rocket uses the Stargazer (a modified L-1011)
aircraft to
launch it:

http://www.orbital.com/NewsInfo/Publ...gasus_fact.pdf

Does the Army have any similar aircraft? Or would they have to
outsource
the "mothership" job?


The military has been doing tests on a C-17A Globemaster II as a booster
launch aircraft:
http://www.airlaunchllc.com/index.htm
There's also been interest shown in carrying a booster aloft under a
military derivative of Virgin Galactic's White Knight II.
Once it gets down to only 12 feet long, a lot of different aircraft
could theoretically carry it, including a F-15 going Mach 2 in a zoom
climb at over 60,000 feet...which would really help its total abilities
in regard to needed delta-V.
In fact, if it wasn't too heavy, a F-15 might be able to carry two aloft
at once for simultaneous launching (one from under either wing, or along
the lower outer fuselage sides where the bombs go in the F-15E Strike
Eagle); since only a light fuel load would need to be carried by the
Eagle to do this, more weight could be devoted to the nanomissiles.

Pat


  #14  
Old August 16th 10, 11:17 AM posted to sci.space.policy
Pat Flannery
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Default U.S. Army eyeing 'nanomissile' launcher

On 8/16/2010 1:32 AM, Pat Flannery wrote:
Scott Lowther has some new info on it on his blog:
http://up-ship.com/blog/?p=6835
Including artwork and a video simulation.

Pat
  #15  
Old August 17th 10, 01:10 AM posted to sci.space.policy
Damon Hill[_4_]
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Default U.S. Army eyeing 'nanomissile' launcher

Pat Flannery wrote in news:CKadndbz4JxPePXRnZ2dnUVZ_q-
hdakotatelephone:

On 8/16/2010 1:32 AM, Pat Flannery wrote:
Scott Lowther has some new info on it on his blog:
http://up-ship.com/blog/?p=6835
Including artwork and a video simulation.


Okay, the information in the video makes a lot more sense.

--Damon

  #16  
Old August 17th 10, 04:26 AM posted to sci.space.policy
Matt
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Default U.S. Army eyeing 'nanomissile' launcher

Has a lot in common with the multi-pod pressure-fed design of the
Microcosm Scorpius, and also with the F-15-launched satellite vehicle,
two concepts AFRL has played with but was never able to fund to
completion. See the papers from the Conference on Small Satellites on
both.
I worked a bit on the F-15, partially inspired by 1958's NOTSNIK,
before it morphed into the hopelessly impractical RASCAL (a program
which prompted a cost analyst I know to say, "They're smoking
crack.") I provided AFRL with the NOTSNIK data I accumulated in the
course of writing The First Space Race. There was a post-RASCAL AFRL
investigation into a version of the original idea, using an F-15 or
F-22, but I don't think it ever made it past the paper stage.
The air-launched, five-stage NOTSNIK, which would have worked with
some more testing and funding (rather than posting its actual record,
most likely getting one shaky orbit out of six launches), weighed
930kg and was the smallest satellite launcher to date.

Matt Bille
Author, The First Space Race: Launching the World's First Satellites
www.mattwriter.com
  #17  
Old August 17th 10, 08:18 AM posted to sci.space.policy
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Default U.S. Army eyeing 'nanomissile' launcher

On Aug 16, 3:32*am, Pat Flannery wrote:
On 8/15/2010 6:25 PM, wrote:

Well, the Pegasus rocket uses the Stargazer (a modified L-1011)
aircraft to
launch it:


http://www.orbital.com/NewsInfo/Publ...gasus_fact.pdf


Does the Army have any similar aircraft? *Or would they have to
outsource
the "mothership" job?


The military has been doing tests on a C-17A Globemaster II as a booster
launch aircraft:http://www.airlaunchllc.com/index.htm


AirLaunch LLC is, I believe, kaput.



Once it gets down to only 12 feet long, a lot of different aircraft
could theoretically carry it, including a F-15 going Mach 2 in a zoom
climb at over 60,000 feet...which would really help its total abilities
in regard to needed delta-V.
In fact, if it wasn't too heavy, a F-15 might be able to carry two aloft
at once for simultaneous launching (one from under either wing,...


Boeing has looked at an unmanned F-15 carrying a sizable solid rocket
space booster/global range strike missile on its back. The Israelies
have also looked at a similar-role but smaller multi-stage missile
carried underneath.
 




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