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European Shuttle Program Update
Rolo Tomasi writes "ESA's reusable launch vehicle demonstrator, Phoenix, was recently wind tunnel
tested to determine its low speed aerodynamics. A free flight for Phoenix is
planned for early summer 2004. In case you haven't heard of it yet,
here's an article from last year, describing the Phoenix/HOPPER concept.
Here's another page at ESA, but it seems to be available only in German. What's interesting is the first sentence of the DLR press release, stating that (my translation) 'Europe's future and
competitiveness in space substantially depend on an autonomous access to space and 'on a drastic decrease in the transport
costs of getting there.'"
It's entirely automatic, it has wings and looks a bit like a plane or the Space Shuttle, but unless I'm completely mistaken it's not meant to carry passengers.
If ESA intends to get cheap access to space they should be looking at cheaper alternatives than a reusable space-shuttle. Even if the NASA model is made more economical, it's only going to be a fraction of the savings compared to looking at other alternatives
I am the Barber of Seville.
If you read the acticles on the ESA shuttle you would know that it doesn't leave the atmosphere itself, so the problems of re-entry don't apply. Oh, and it is unmanned and autonomous.
I think you are forgetting the fact that the USSR/Russians have been landing capsules in the stepes this whole time. In fact, I seem to remember reading that they thought the US was very odd for intentionally landing at sea.
[and yes, i agree with you about the shuttle and control over landing point.]
krenshala
Space transporter of the future
11 March 2003
more?Der new one way in the universe? Space transporter of the next generation? if the topic of an high-informative exhibition of the German research council under co-operation of the European space travel organization is ESA, which on Thursday, which 13 March, 18,00 o'clock, open and by 26 April in Munich will have to be visited.
Central problem of space travel are the transport costs for a kilogram of pay load into space. For one-way rocket systems they are to kilogram at present about 11,000 to 25,000 dollar per. Too highly, in order to be able to exist on a long-term basis in the competition. Economical, flexible and environmentalcompatible, re-usable systems are in demand: Unorthodox recycling solutions, which let the costs sink on for instance a tenth.
The exhibition reflects this trend in descriptive way. In the center is located the development of a new generation of space transport systems, which can start and land like a normal airplane on an air haven. By the example of a fictitious mission the visitor learns first the elements of a flight? Start, flight, ascent, return, landing? as well as the respective problem areas know. Parallel for this the results of the three DFG promoted special research ranges become?Grundlagen the draft of aerospace planes? the RWTH Aachen?Transatmosphaerische flight systems? of DO Munich and the German Federal Armed Forces university Munich as well as?Hochtemperaturprobleme the returnable space transport systems? of the University of Stuttgart (heat protection tiles) presented. The German center for air and space travel (DLR) is involved with several projects in these special research ranges.
Flow investigations in the wind tunnel
Hopper - the euro-shuttle
The compiled bases found entrance into projects of several industrial enterprises, as for example the Astrium GmbH, Bremen and Ottobrunn, to the MAN technology AG, Augsburg, the resident of Munich enterprise Kayser Threde as well as OHB system in Bremen. One of these projects is hopper. Behind it an unmanned autonomous aircraft hides itself, of Europe re-usable space shuttle. The start effected horizontal on 4 km carriages of the European space port Kourou in French Guyana are enough. Hopper in 130 km already suspends and returns few minutes after height the satellite pay load with upper stage then automatically to the earth. The upper stage is ignited. It brings the satellites to the desired place in the low, middle or geostationary orbit (LEO, MEO, GEO). With the return compact hopper is optimized in such a way the acceptance angle into the atmosphere that the developing frictional heat is importantly lower than at the outer skin of the US shuttle. With it the susceptible and expensive heat protection tiles can be replaced by a economical and low-maintenance thermal protection system.
Due to its flight path hopper cannot return however again to the starting point. It lands in the territory of ESA member states on the Azores or another island in the Atlantic. The return motion of hopper takes place on the ship way. If the ESA should decide for the hopper concept, then the aircraft can be operational starting from 2015.
Orbital glider Phoenix
By aspera ad ASTRA
In order to be able to build hoppers finally, it requires an intermediate step: Phoenix. With the small demonstrator the innovative technologies at the material object are to be tested. Due to the multiplicity of physical influences in the atmosphere all details of the aircraft cannot be examined by computer simulations or windkanalversuchen.
Phoenix and hoppers are embedded into the development programs TETRA (technology program for future space transport systems) as well as ASTRA (selected systems and technologies for future applications of space transport systems). ASTRA again forms the German contribution for the development of re-usable transport systems on European level. In the context of ASTRA all necessary system abilities for an autonomous entrance to t
Bush is on fire and its not good for my lungs.
This thing is only a sophisticated first stage, an unmanned plane-like vehicule that boosts sats with additional stages to 130 km. After that it returns to earth. Above 130km there's a lot less atmospheric drag, so this makes sense. They plan to have it fling in 2015, but the guys from X-Prize are doing essentially the same thing...
No sexy PR means no funding from congress. Forget that the money might have been spent on a probe to detect gravity waves and thus discover the fundamental nature of the universe.
It's true that PR eats part of the funding but even if they would use 90% of the funding for PR stunts and total BS and only 10% for 'real' science, still the share that goes for real science is much larger than the funding it would otherwise get.
-- Reality checks don't bounce.
What metal could withstand 1,650 C?
Tungsten could. It has a melting point of 3300C.
On the other hand it is the heaviest stable(not radioactive) metal. Most probably not ideal for space usage, where every kg counts.
What metal could withstand 1,650 C?
Here is the melting point of few metals:
Scandium 1814 K (2805.8F), Titanium 1941 K (3034.4F), Vanadium 2183 K (3470F), Chromium 2180 K (3464.6F), Zirconium 2128 K (3371F), Niobium 2750 K (4490.6F), Molybdenum 2896 K (4753.4F), Technetium 2430 K (3914.6F), Ruthenium 2607 K (4233.2F), Rhodium 2237 K (3567.2F), Hafnium 2506 K (4051.4F), Tantalum 3290 K (5462.6F), Tungsten 3695 K (6191.6F), Rhenium 3459 K (5766.8F), Osmium 3306 K (5491.4F), Iridium 2719 K (4434.8F), Platinum 2041.4 K (3215.12F), etc
From the Periodic Table, not all, I might even have picked one or two that aren't actually metals. The question not wether is they exist, the question is weight, price, flexibility, strength, availability, etc.
I still have more faith in carbon 3823 K (6422F) though.
This article claims a space elevator could be had for as little as $10 B: http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/technology /space_elevator_020327-1.html
This sig is just as redundant as the rest of this posting
Perhaps, but these are the melting points.
Usually, metals are ductile at half their fusion points.
For example, at 1000K Titanium start to deform. Like rubber.
Also, fusion is not the only problem. Corrosion (in a wider sense chemic stability) is also a factor.
I will find later.
Sigh....
t p://www.nwpamed.com/Phoenix/birdhx.htm
... well let's just not go there....
Egyptian - it's an Egyption legend....
http://cindyart.com/Pages/PhoenixEgypt.html
ht
I'm never very sure whether these sorts of comments are meant to be funny or if it is the famous ignorance of
Well, first let me say IAAAE (I am an Aerospace Engineer) I work with hypersonic vechicles, so I know a thing or three about high temperature materials. As far as I know, there is no metal or metallic alloy that can withstand 1650C without yielding. According to NASA TPSX Inconel, the best commonly used alloy has a single use temperature limit of about 1030K, or 757C. It melts at ~1400C On the other hand, there have been significant advances in ceramics in the last 30 years. Current experimental ceramics can withstand temps up to 5000K. To demonstrate how important this is consider this: The temperature on the surface of the vehicle is directly proportional to the radius of curvature at that point. I.e a pointy vehicle has a hotter nose than a blunt one, which is why reentry capsule have a very blunt leading edge. Heres the kicker, the radius of the nose at a given temperature increases or decreases proportional to T^8. In other words if you double the amount of heat that your surface can take, you can decrease that radius of curvature by 256 times. So if your old heat tiles could withstand 1500K and you needed a nose radius of 10m to prevent damage, now if youve got a material that can take 3000K, your new nose radius can be ~4cm. Think MIT dome vs Baseball.