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NASA Provides Results Of Scramjet Test
Guinnessy writes "Last March, NASA carried out the world's first test flight of a scramjet-powered aircraft. The Industrial Physicist has the latest results from this test. According to the article scramjet-powered missiles and aircraft could be in mass production as early as 2010. This piece is also a good introduction for those unfamilar with scramjet technology."
I want a scramjet powered heatsink to OC my CPU (ok, it make it hotter, but anyway...)
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One thing that has often concerned me is the matter of lift from the wings/lifting body. Obviously this design should be able to go into orbit with a relatively minor assist from rocket engines. However, how much lift does it actually get? Is it possible to build a craft that can use wing lift all the way up to LEO? If so, could it then be possible to obtain a flight envelope on the way back down?
The primary reason why I've concerned myself with this, is that the Space Shuttle literally "falls" out of orbit in a very steep dive. The idea is to re-enter somewhere over the Pacific and shed enough speed to land just before the Atlantic. Obviously, it was important the normal flight operations didn't overfly the USSR. The problem with this sort of profile is that the Shuttle takes on a tremendous heat load from the aero-braking. Yet there's nothing really inherent in the atmosphere that says the the Shuttle MUST take on that load.
To get to the point, would it be possible to return in a glide or powered flight without the requirement of a heat shield? i.e. Could a vehicle obtain a thin-atmosphere flight envelope and reduce its speed at a more gradual rate? Perhaps even to the point where no shielding is required?
Any aerospace engineers in the know want to comment?
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Great. So now we'll have missiles that can do mach 15. It's being billed for aircraft as well, but nobody seems to have addressed issues of, gee, say, it only being useful at incredible altitudes. Nevermind that the airline industry is crumbling requiring massive bailouts from the Feds, and the only supersonic aircraft to date to do commercial passenger flights was never profitable in almost 40 years of operation.
The most influential of these efforts was NASA's National Aerospace Plane (NASP) program, established in 1986 to develop a vehicle with speed greater than Mach 15 and horizontal takeoff and landing capabilities. The program ended in 1993,
"The program ended"? What a polite way of saying "we failed. But along the way we spent almost 10 years and probably billions on some futuristic space plane with no real purpose."
I'm sick of NASA justifying themselves as an organization for exploration and science- when they're instead spending most of their time (and my money) on weapons platform research and lining defense contractor pockets. We haven't managed to do anything for millions of Americans with no health insurance , our kids are dumb as bricks because their schools are cutting programs and staff, and our police/fire/ems departments are laying off staff left and right from budget cuts...but hey, we've got a plane that can do mach 15 at 100,000 feet! Sweet!
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After reading the article and looking at the diagram i wonder how the vulnerability of scramjet engine compares with a turbojet or turbofan when it comes to impacting birds and or bats, though at this time i am sure these engines are only being used at very high altitudes and in controlled conditions but if they make it into production fighter aircraft they will be used at lower altitudes. the lack of anything blocking off the path of the air in the diagrams makes it look almost as if an object would pass completely through the engine without damaging it, though i'm sure the object would be burnt to a crisp.
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It is just what we need. Or rather, it's a good stepping stone on the way to orbit.
Mach 15 at 100,000 feet is 10,200 MPH, which is also roughly equivalent to the following critical hurdles to cheap space travel:
10% of the ~185-mile altitude required for a stable orbit.
59% of the ~7.7 km/sec required to achieve low-earth orbital velocity.
NASA's budget is a drop in the bucket, approximately $15B out of total discretionary spending exceeding $850B, with a total federal budget exceeding $2.2 trillion... hah.
Hypersonic aerospace research is a good idea simply on its own merits, regardless of present applications. I certainly look forward to 90-minute sub-orbital shuttles from London to Tokyo, and being able to put things in orbit for less than $10,000/pound.
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The affordability, more than anything else, will determine whether this technology is adopted. This engine might get you to your destination faster, but if it costs 10x as much the majority of fliers (and airlines) won't pay.
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There was no scramjet "test." The whole thing was done in a NASA basement, with simulated scramjets-powered aircraft which were made to look like they were being tested. The reality is the tests never happened. Wake up people!
Why do we need to go mach 15 anyway?
Because some people just aren't satisfied with the shave they get from their Mach 3?
Tang.
Not exactly, it was carried atop a regular airplay at several hundred miles per hour, then the rocket booster kicked it up to the cruising altitude and THEN the scramjet engine was engaged for the 10 second burn.
It's damned impressive but it's not like it accellerated to 5000 mph from a standstill.
LK
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"Commercially available infant formulas now contain a nutritional enrichment ingredient that traces its existence to NASA-sponsored research that explored the potential of algae as a recycling agent for long duration space travel." (ref)
Ski wear: "The NASA association began back in the 1970s, when Comfort Products adapted astronaut protective clothing technology to ski boot design. Specifically, the company borrowed heating element circuitry that kept Apollo astronauts warm or cool in the temperature extremes of the Moon, and used it to create built-in rechargeable footwarming devices that were supplied to leading ski boot manufacturers." (ref, emphasis added)
"In 1965, Johnson Space Center contracted with the University of Minnesota to explore the then-known but little-developed concept of impedance cardiography (ICG) as a means of astronaut monitoring. A five-year program led to the development of the Minnesota Impedance Cardiograph (MIC), an electronic system for measuring impedance changes across the thorax that would be reflective of cardiac function and blood flow from the heart's left ventricle into the aorta... the cost of the thermodilution technique [the old, invasive way] runs five to 17 times that of IQ monitoring [the new, NASA-developed way]"(ref)
"GROUND PROCESSING SCHEDULING SYSTEM - Computer-based scheduling system that uses artificial intelligence to manage thousands of overlapping activities involved in launch preparations of NASA's Space Shuttles. The NASA technology was licensed to a new company which developed commercial applications that provide real-time planning and optimization of manufacturing operations, integrated supply chains, and customer orders" (ref)
"STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS - This NASA program, originally created for spacecraft design, has been employed in a broad array of non-aerospace applications, such as the automobile industry, manufacture of machine tools, and hardware designs."(ref)
"SCRATCH-RESISTANT LENSES - A modified version of a dual ion beam bonding process developed by NASA involves coating the lenses with a film of diamond-like carbon that not only provides scratch resistance, but also decreases surface friction, reducing water spots." (ref)
"MICROSPHERES - The first commercial products manufactured in orbit are tiny microspheres whose precise dimensions permit their use as reference standards for extremely accurate calibration of instruments in research and industrial laboratories. They are sold for applications in environmental control, medical research, and manufacturing."(ref)
"SOLAR ENERGY - NASA-pioneered photovoltaic power system for spacecraft applications was applied to programs to expand terrestrial applications as a viable alternative energy source in areas where no conventional power source exists."(ref)
"DIGITAL IMAGING BREAST BIOPSY SYSTEM - The LORAD Stereo Guide Breast Biopsy system incorporates advanced Charge Coupled Devices (CCDs) as part of a digital camera system. The resulting device images breast tissue more clearly and efficiently. Known as stereotactic large-core needle biopsy, this nonsurgical system developed with Space Telescope Technology is less traumatic and greatly reduces the pain, scarring, radiation exposure, time, and money associated with surgical biopsies."(
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From the article:
The supersonic combustion ramjet, or scramjet, uses no rotating parts. In a conventional ramjet, the incoming supersonic airflow is slowed to subsonic speeds by multiple shock waves, created by back-pressuring the engine. Fuel is added to the subsonic airflow, the mixture combusts, and exhaust gases accelerate through a narrow throat, or mechanical choke, to supersonic speeds. By contrast, the airflow in a pure scramjet remains supersonic throughout the combustion process and does not require a choking mechanism, which provides optimal performance over a wider operating range of Mach numbers. Modern scramjet engines can function as both a ramjet and scramjet and seamlessly make the transition between the two.
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As cool as it would be to fly from New York to Tokyo in 90 minutes, I wonder if anyone has thought about the security concerns related to passenger jets that can travel 10,000 mph. Often during events like the Super Bowl or political oonventions, they'll put up a no-fly zone around a 5 or 10 mile radius so the military has time to shoot down any threatening aircraft. Problem is, at 10k mph, you can cover 1,000 miles in just 6 minutes. Does this mean all air travel in the entire Northeast would need to be shut down during the Republican convention in NYC? What kind of a no-fly zone would be needed around Washington, DC?
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for advancing technology, I just wonder how we would be able to handle a world where a terrorist flying a stolen or hijacked aircraft over Chicago could be less than 5 minutes from the White House.
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23Gs? That would really, really suck. A 150lb dude (average /.er, soaking wet) would be slammed into his seat with like three and a half TONS of force.
Anyone want to go take the tires off their car and then lay under it for 10 seconds? Let us know how you feel afterwards, ok? Thanks!
And even if you were in the center of a 6 foot ball of bubble wrap, I doubt your organs would survive the punishment. A three pound (2% of 150) brain? 70lbs in your skull. Would your heart even beat when it felt like 17lbs?
But I suppose we should look at the bright side. At least at 23Gs you could claim to have a 10lb penis!
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(Hmm, better post this AC...)
From article, the last paragraph:
Demonstrating these technologies, along with additional ground- and flight-test experiments, will pave the way for affordable and reusable air-breathing hypersonic engines for missiles, long-range aircraft, and space-access vehicles around 2010, 2015, and 2025, respectively.
Uhh? "demonstrating..reusable..engines for missiles" ?
Are we talking 'homing nuke' ?
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Sounds like you should cast your vote for Bush. He has repeatedly refused to bailout the airline and rail industries. The Republicans aren't into that corporate corruption and corporate welfare thing. Why do you think Enron, Anderson, and others are getting prosecuted now and not during the Clinton years, when they were at their heyday?
The Democrats talk a lot about how the Republicans are the party of the rich and how they are 100% behind the corporations. I have news for you. The richest senators are Democrats, not Republicans. Heck, John Kerry and co is worth more than ten times what Bush and co is worth! And the Republicans are all for letting wasteful, poorly managed companies take a dive to leave room for new, young, vibrant companies. The Democrats will do anything to keep their buddies' companies alive.
Where do the Republican's principle donations and loyalties lie? With homeowners and small business people. Why do you think that they are pursuing cutting the income tax for the highest wage earners? Because the highest wage
- earners
are those who are- becoming
rich, not who are already rich. These are the small business people who finally get their break and are expanding their business to meet the demand. And the Republicans are pursuing to cut the death tax because it hurts the small business owners who don't have a team of fifty lawyers and accountants on hand to setup trust funds to make sure their cash gets into their childrens hands.Democrats talk up a storm - but what have they done for the little guy? Look at their real record, and you'll see they're all about keeping the money in the hands of the rich, preventing others from getting rich, and keeping the poor man on the dole. This runs right along with their historic racist and tyrannical attitudes, which still persist with current members of the Senate. (The only member of the senate that is also a part of the KKK is Senator Robert Byrd, a democrat.)
Remember, the first and only man to strike another on the floor of the Senate was a democrat. And it was over slavery and the fact that the democrat didn't want to give it up, even though the overwhelming public opinion both north and south of the Mason-Dixie line was against the democrats. The democrats started the civil war by firing on federal soldiers. The democrats enforced segregation. It wasn't until the Republicans were able to regain some power in the senate and house that segregation was ended.
So if you are against corporate welfare and you think that corrupt corporate leaders should get jailtime, vote Bush and Republican.
Mark this flamebait. I know you guys hate hearing the truth. It drives the democrats nuts because they can't refute it, so instead they try to shut us up and prevent us from exercising our right to free speech.
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