Very Cool.
by
JabberWokky
·
· Score: 4, Informative
It was only a handful of feet off the ground, and it was in a frame cage with the rocket nozzles around them, but it had a person in the chair, and it went up, then down, and didn't go off "thataway". Good initial flight, and it took guts to do that.
I question if the work they are doing there will scale up to a full sized rocket, but that's an armchair question, and they are the ones doing the work, so I'll assume they know what they are doing until I have a rocket scientist say otherwise.:)
Congrats to the Armadillo team. Ad Astra Per Aspera.
--
Evan (no SF reference, kinda)
-- "$30 for the One True Ring. $10 each additional ring!" -- JRR "Bob" Tolkien
This is just a small rocket to test out the control system and get experience building and controlling rocket engines; this launch vehicle uses only hydrogen peroxide.
The final system they are working on will achieve 100km altitudes (i.e. space) and return to earth with fare-paying passengers. The final launcher will also use a 'bipropellent' such as peroxide and kerosene; that gives almost twice the delta-v per kg of fuel. They've done tests with such motors, and they've achieved good results- good enough performance to achieve their goals I would think.
They're making good progress- though they thought they'd get to this point last year, but they had catalyst issues which I think are a bit better understood now; but they are ahead on other fronts.
Not enough radiation to worry at 100 km. The ISS is higher and doesn't have any radiation shielding AFAIK. It gets worse the higher you go, 300 km is starting to get more interesting from there the Van Allen belt goes beyond Clarke orbit (>37000 km).
No radiation hardening is needed at 100km, I don't think the Space Shuttle worries unduly over it either, and that goes higher.
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I question if the work they are doing there will scale up to a full sized rocket, but that's an armchair question, and they are the ones doing the work, so I'll assume they know what they are doing until I have a rocket scientist say otherwise. :)
Congrats to the Armadillo team. Ad Astra Per Aspera.
--
Evan (no SF reference, kinda)
"$30 for the One True Ring. $10 each additional ring!" -- JRR "Bob" Tolkien
No radiation hardening is needed at 100km, I don't think the Space Shuttle worries unduly over it either, and that goes higher.
-WolfWithoutAClause
"Gravity is only a theory, not a fact!"