Will a new tourism project be launched into space soon? How will the launch be carried out? To what destination? And is this a springboard for cheap commercial launches? The answers are in the article
Tal Amber - Galileo
In December 2011, a new initiative was added to the multitude of private initiatives related to the development of commercial spacecraft and launch vehicles for satellites, under the leadership of the American billionaire Paul Allen (Allen), who was a partner of Bill Gates in the founding of Microsoft. Alan was a supporter and partial financier of the first commercial space venture to fly a man into space, under which the spacecraft Spaceship One was developed. This venture won a ten million dollar prize as part of the X prize competition in October 2004.
Alan Croy's new venture "StratoLaunch" (StratoLaunch) and it includes the collaboration of two successful commercial space initiatives - the company Scaled Composites (Scaled Composites) of the unique aircraft designer Brett Rutan (Rutan) who designed the spacecraft Space ship One and its successor Spaceship Two, which will be The heart of the activity of the space tourism company Virgin Galactic, as well as Space X of the entrepreneur Elon Musk, which developed space launchers from the "Falcon" family as well as a spacecraft of the "Dragon" type that can launch seven astronauts into space.
From the technical side, the project will make use of a rocket launch system carried into the air by a dedicated carrier plane. In addition to satellite launches, the system will allow the launch of humans as part of space tourism projects. The first flight of the system is expected - according to the developers - in 2016. At this stage, data on the expected number of launches each year after the development of the system is completed, and also the target, the market share, that the new company intends to capture has not been published. The price for launching a kilogram into space is also unknown.
the perception
The launch system is a heavy "air launch" type. A unique carrier plane designed for the launch system will carry the launcher (the launch missile) to a high altitude, and launch into the air during a special maneuver. The launcher will activate its rocket engines to accelerate the payload (its designated payload) into space, when the payload can be a satellite or a manned spacecraft.
According to Alan, the new system will allow a more flexible launch into space - in terms of the availability of the launcher, optimal choice of routes, and reducing the cost of launching into space. According to Michael Griffin, from the board of directors of the Strato Launch company, who was the head of NASA, the new launch system will open a new era in launches into space.
The portable satellite launcher
The launcher planned for the Stratolaunch system is developed by the SpaceX company, and is based on the "Falcon 9" launcher. An upper wing will be added to the launcher, in a configuration reminiscent of the American Pegasus aerial launcher, although on a much larger scale. The expected weight of the launcher is up to 220 tons. The new launcher, which has not yet been given a name to distinguish it from the original version of Falcon 9, will be able to launch its cargo into low orbits (LEO). The launcher will be released from the carrier plane at an altitude of about ten km. Telemetry from the launcher will be transmitted to the carrier plane and from there to the ground control center.
the carrier plane
To lift the heavy satellite launcher into the air, a special and large carrier plane is required. The plane designed by Rotan and his team will indeed be the largest plane ever. The plane has a similar configuration to other planes designed by Rotten - two separate bodies connected by the wing (see illustration). The plane, which carries six jet engines, and whose weight at takeoff will be about 540 tons, has a wingspan of about 120 meters. The jet engines that will be used are of the type used by the large Boeing 747 ("jumbo") passenger planes. The huge plane will need a runway four kilometers long, and will be able to carry the launcher to a distance of about 2,400 km to reach the optimal launch area.
In the world of aviation, the concept of a giant carrier plane used to carry space launchers is not new. The largest aircraft in existence today, the Antonov-225 aircraft, was built as a huge transport aircraft designed to fly - on its back - the Soviet space shuttle "Buran". Later, the possibility of using it as part of an operational launch system into space, with a scaled-down space shuttle, was considered. In the United States, a special version of a giant plane was designed that was supposed to consist of two bodies of the giant American transport plane "Galaxy". This huge plane was originally designed to carry the United States space shuttle, and even serve as an airborne platform for launching satellites into space. In the end this unique plane was not built. Space launch from an airplane has been tested in many countries, but currently does not exist.
The new launch system was received by the world's space expert community with mixed feelings - on the one hand, the figures associated with it (Rotan, Allen, Musk) guarantee financial stability and proven entrepreneurial-technological ability. However, some critics claim, the project does not stand on the solid ground of a proven air launch market, and according to some, the commercial space market is already saturated, at least in relation to satellite launchers, and it is not at all clear whether the project will take off and materialize.
The full article was published in Galileo magazine, February 2012
6 תגובות
to discourage
The height and speed are only part of the story, the part
More important is the launch location. It's not for nothing that the plane has
Long range and launches are almost always carried out
East (Israel launches west to avoid
from the possibility that a satellite will fall in an Arab country) in the direction of rotation
Earth, this is how momentum for launch is achieved and it is
increases as you get closer to the equator.
There is reason to assume that a plane that can carry a missile directly
from the factory and launch it at the optimal launch location
Without intermediate stations, will be able to save the cost of the launch.
How much savings are we talking about?
A height of 10 km and a speed of 800 km is roughly the boost of the plane.
A satellite in low orbit is 400 km and a speed of 25000 km.
Can someone explain to me the statement - "the commercial space market is saturated"?
After all, all the talk is about the opening of a new era in the methods of launching into space.
It's a new field, and even the oldest companies in it haven't started a commercial run yet. (VIRGIN GALACTIC)
There is so much room for new breakthroughs,
So how do you say the market is already saturated?
point:
This is amazing! And think that being in 0 gravity, and seeing the ball from above is a dream.
The day it's reasonably priced I'll go for it
What's the deal with flying high?
Look at the night sky. And understand that we are in space. 100 km down or up, what does it matter compared to billions of light years around us.
True, the commercial space market is saturated, but since the private industry entered the field, what will ultimately determine is the cost of launching 1 kg into space.
If launching from an airplane will be cheaper, I guess the field will gain momentum. It is hard to believe that calibers like Paul Allen would turn to a field where the risk is higher than the chance