Or what you are going to call it, an unrealized proposal from Aerojet around 1984. PDF Found on NTRS.
The idea was to have two turbopumps (like on SSME), but instead operate on the expander cycle. Two heat exchangers, two turbines, two pumps. One for each propellant.
This is a LOX-hydrogen engine. Also this means that since [...]
Archive for the ‘NASA’ Category
Jeff Greason
Posted in Architecture, Colonization, Depot, ESA, JAXA, Motivation, NASA, RLV:s, Spacecraft, industry, tagged Augustine, Depot, Greason, NASA on Thursday 2009.11.05 | Leave a Comment »
The Man. On Space Review. [EDIT: About a month ago, but I only just read it.] This is just excellent. So many things I agree with, that go against the stupid myths of spaceflight and space policy. If you read one space policy interview this year, this should be it!
“NASA is an organization that is [...]
Xombie NOW
Posted in Homebuilt, Lunar, Motivation, NASA, RLV:s, tagged LLC, Masten, RLV, VTVL on Wednesday 2009.10.07 | Leave a Comment »
Live stream just went up at http://qik.com/video/312581
they should be flying at 45 past whatever hour it is now in your time zone. Now on the pad loading propellants and helium.
EDIT:
And they did it! Congratulations! Also great accuracy.
The live cellphone video of the second flight was shot from quite close: http://qik.com/video/3126566
Asteroid Threats in Context
Posted in Journalism, Models, Motivation, NASA, tagged Apocalypse, Apophis, Asteroid, id Software, Impact, Rage on Friday 2009.09.18 | Leave a Comment »
id Software’s upcoming game Rage uses asteroid Apophis as the scene setter for a post apocalyptic world. (id is part of Zenimax now, which also owns Bethesda, who did Fallout, a similar scene but done with nuclear weapons…)
Is this even close to being realistic? No, because of multiple reasons.
You can check out the list of [...]
Good News Everyone
Posted in Architecture, Lunar, Motivation, NASA, tagged ares, Augustine, Death of Ares, NASA on Wednesday 2009.08.12 | Leave a Comment »
From Hobbyspace, highlighted by Transterrestrial Musings:
The program of record (i.e. Ares I/V/Orion/Altair), which exceeds the expected budget substantially, will no longer be in the options table but kept separately just as a reference.
Yes!
The historic words have been spoken. Now for a better future for NASA, for spacefaring and for humanity.
The Augustine panel has been good [...]
Reality and Future
Posted in Architecture, Demotivation, Depot, ESA, Global, ISRU, Lunar, Motivation, NASA, RLV:s, Spacecraft, industry, tagged NASA, Augustine, Depot, Jeff Greason, HSF on Tuesday 2009.08.11 | 4 Comments »
Jeff Greason is a rational person who simply gets it. It is mind boggling how completely opposite from someone like Mike Griffin he is.
See Jeff’s presentation with the Augustine Panel.
Paraphrasing, “we could go to Mars with Ares V but we shouldn’t – cause we couldn’t stay anyway”. Exactly. That’s the problem with NASA. (or the [...]
My Letter to the Augustine Panel
Posted in Demotivation, Depot, NASA, Navelgazing, RLV:s, Science, tagged heartburn on Tuesday 2009.08.11 | 2 Comments »
In the previous post.
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I’ve been very tired and felt completely unable to have any effect on my life or on any other things for the last five days or so. This doesn’t mean that I’ve felt lazy – rather that what ever reasonable I have ever done, it has had zero effect on the world.
There [...]
Heavy Lift Unnecessary
Posted in Architecture, Demotivation, Depot, ISRU, NASA, RLV:s, industry, tagged NASA, Augustine, Depot on Tuesday 2009.08.11 | 5 Comments »
There are a lot of implicit assumptions that heavy lifters of this or that throw weight must be used for future exploration beyond low Earth orbit.
These “needs” have never been logically derived from anything.
Yet space policy and exploration architectures must be based on rationality above all. There is no excuse whatsoever to do things on [...]
Hydrocarbon Scramjet Already Flown
Posted in NASA, RLV:s, Suborbital, airplane, engines, industry, tagged atk, hydrocarbon, hypersonic, scramjet on Tuesday 2009.08.11 | Leave a Comment »
By ATK in 2005. Shows how little I know.
EDIT: Spaceref had the details, Mach 5.5.
(Scramjets are still not a space application.)
