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Romanian Team Entering X-Prize competition
cripkd writes "Although two days passed already I am proud to announce that a Romanian team launched a sub-orbital unmanned flight. Demonstrator 2 is a prototype to the actual shuttle they will enter in the X-Prize competition, build with 30,000 USD, pocket money, as they say, compared to the other projects. The project's home site is here and an article about the launch can be found here.
PS. And it's all ecological as they produce oxygen and water vapours :)"
My friend in the army in south korea says in response to the mushroom cloud, "heh."
For those who don't want to go there:
Dupa doua zile de asteptari si nesigurante, micuta "Demonstrator 2" - modelul la scara redusa al rachetei "Orizont" - cu care Asociatia Romana pentru Cosmonautica si Aeronautica (ARCA) va participa la concursul X Prize Cup a fost lansata cu succes din greseala. In poligonul de la Capul Midia, furtunul de presurizare al motorului le-a jucat studentilor de la ARCA o festa norocoasa: s-a desprins cu de la sine putere cu doua minute inaintea lansarii, atingind in cadere contactele care au declansat-o.
Cu doua minute inaintea lansarii, Dumitru Popescu, presedintele ARCA, s-a apropiat de racheta ca sa scoata furtunul de presurizare. Putin deasupra capului sau, racheta a inceput sa se invaluie in aburi si si-a vazut de drum, fara sa-i mai pese de planurile nimanui.
"Demonstrator 2", usor aplecata de vintul puternic, s-a pierdut intre nori pina la 1.200 de metri, cu o viteza de 13 m/s si s-a infipt in mare foarte aproape de tarm. Desi nu au atins doi kilometri, cit isi propusesera, acum studentii de la ARCA sint aproape siguri ca au cistigat atentia si increderea sponsorilor si vor obtine cei 200.000 de dolari necesari construirii rachetei "Orizont".
Ca sa atraga atentia juriului X Prize, romanii de la ARCA au dezgropat o tehnologie folosita la torpilele din al doilea razboi mondial sau la cele de pe submarinul rusesc Kursk, propulsate prin descompunerea apei oxigenate, pe care au imbunatatit-o cu un catalizator misterios. Acestea ii vor ajuta, cred ei, sa bata cu racheta in poarta cosmosului. Nu-i nici platina, nici argintul care dadeau apei oxigenate puterea sa trimita torpila interbelica in curtea dusmanului. "Sint niste tablete", smulgem de la presedintele ARCA, Dumitru Popescu. Dupa ce au batut toba cu descoperirea formulei minune care o sa-i propulseze pe romani printre stele, membrii ARCA n-au reusit din prima s-o ridice pe micuta Demonstrator 2 nici cu un cap de om deasupra rampei de lansare. Patru ore de suspans au precedat numaratoarea inversa, care a inceput, miercuri, cu 20 de minute inaintea orei 18.00, cind le expira timpul acordat de armata pentru folosirea poligonului si spatiului aerian de la Capul Midia. Membri ARCA, Simona Popescu si Florin Benchea dadeau vina pe briza blinda ca le zadarniceste planurile. Cind doar 30 de secunde mai desparteau racheta de cer, lansarea a fost aminata pentru a doua zi din cauza unor defectiuni tehnice.
Formula 1 a rachetelor
Pentru X Prize, concursul international la care au participat si membri ARCA, alaturi de alte 23 de echipe din 6 tari, nu trebuie neaparat sa-ti ridici racheta de la pamint. E suficient sa ai niste planuri care arata ca o poti face. X Prize a fost conceput sa le dea cercetatorilor independenti sansa sa sparga monopolul agentiilor guvernamentale pe zborul in spatiu. In X Prize Cup insa, faza superioara a concursului international aerospatial, "un fel de Formula 1 a rachetelor", cum ii spune Dumitru Popescu, trebuie sa ajungi cu racheta in doua rinduri la 100 de km de Pamint si sa ai trei pasageri la bord sau macar unul si greutatea a inca doi. Echipa romaneasca e una dintre cele 12 selectate sa gaseasca metode sa scurteze viata monopolului agentiilor guvernamentale. "Echipa americana Mojave, a atins deja 100 de kilometri. Ei vor cistiga probabil si concursul, al carui premie este de 10 milioane de dolari", spune Dumitru Popescu, care stie cit de greu ii va fi rachetei "Orizont" sa bata pina acolo. "Mojave au avut o multime de bani. Fata de ei noi am construit "Demonstrator 2" cu banii de buzunar, 30.000 de dolari. Ca sa-i prindem din urma, avem nevoie de 200.000 de dolari pentru Orizont". Daca racheta Orizont isi va face bine treaba, va fi prima productie romaneasca comercializata la scara globala: "Am primit deja oferte si miniatura ei va fi vinduta in toate magazinele de jucarii din America", ne anunta Dumitru Popescu.
It could be worse, it could be Monday.
I'm going to try magic mushrooms for the first time tomorrow. This must be a good omen.
Even with Scaled Composites minor mishap, they still look to be so far in the lead that a lot of people wouldn't even bother.
Cheers to this new attempt by the Romanian team.
That was just... incredible.
+5 Insightful
Gnaa, Nigeria
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With only 4 months to go before the deadline, and Scaled inevitably winning before then, how does someone just entering now have any chance?
They built a model rocket for a measely 30,000 bucks.
I'm going to wait for somebody to get in one to be impressed, if that's okay.
We'll be launching a shuttle of which parts we bought online using stolen credit card numbers.
Water vapour is not environmentally safe! H2O is 5 times as effective as CO2 as a green house case. It's about time some one took resposibility and educated the population.
U of Omaha cognitive dissonance research regarding X-Prize (free ipod) must mention fujifilm9
402 416 7110
Gas not case. It's early sunday morning here in the UK.
Thank you.
He replied that most of them were just made up. Many were filed by a reporter living in Austria, and he thought it sounded close enough to be believable but obscure enough that no-one could ever check any references. "In Romania..." stuff just happens. Allegedly. Certainly in some circles, it's just press shorthand for a fluff story that may be completely made up.
Not saying that's the case here - I still need to read it. Just a general warning regarding stories about Romania - crank up the scepticism level just a bit.
Cheers,
Ian
How come its not ANSARI X PRIZE anymore ? Arent you forgetting something ? He is a BIG contributor to the prize pool, be nice and dont forget about him.
Go grab those torrents.
Hmm, must be that it's really late, but I could have sworn the title was "Romulan Team Entering X-Prize competition" when I first looked at it. I was imagining some Trekkies in Romulan costumes milling around the SpaceShipOne compound. :)
I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.
Talk about being late to the party *and* under funded!
The rocket launched itself, two minutes before the planned launch. It was on the news, two days ago...
I'll do the stupid thing first and then you shy people follow...
I especially liked the part right under that where "[...]an explosion caused by an ignition system malfunction destroyed most of the installation."
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Yes, because I really want to send myself into a frozen vacuum inside a craft that cost less than most boats...
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
-Arthur C. Clarke
even if they don't win, 30k $ per launch it's a very interesting price point.
in term of business potential I won't disrespect them at all
BSD machines, standpoint, I don't progress. In 1992, You need to succeed
>They built a model rocket for a measely 30,000 bucks.
:)
Actually the rocket was just $500. The rest of it is money for bribing the authorities so the can launch it - or if you will "schpaga"
>I'm going to wait for somebody to get in one to be impressed,
> if that's okay.
They'll need a couple of year's worth of elastic-strip national production to pull that one.
Yeah, yeah... I'll get me coat now.
I guess they must have captured the head bastard in the Beslan school massacre. This guy is truly a pioneer - he'll be the first son-of-a-bitch to fly into orbit without life support.
I hope they have the rocket targeted at the sun.
Stuff that matters.
Hey, they need it. I don't think anyone except Burt Rutan's outfit have a snowballs chance in hell.
/. fare)
But,it isn't about *winning* this prize. Even Burt doesn't really care about that. If in the 70 or so years you get on this planet you get to fulfil your dream (and create many others in younger minds) then
consider yourself a worthy citizen (of the world)
Losing isn't fun, but unless you try you'll never win.
(Had to post this as an antidote to all the crass
stupidity that claims to be typical
So mod me down ok?
Mushroom Could reported over North Korea
:-(
Sorry Kim, but you are not good enough
Successful launch by Romanian rocket scientists -- Mushroom cloud a mere 5,000 miles away on the N. Korean/Chinese border...
Coincidence, I think NOT!
tichie de margaritar..
These chal-l3nges
... all ecological as they produce oxygen and water vapours ...
Its not: first you need nuclear power plants to produce all the oxygen and hydrogen from water, and than you burn it not perfecly producing lot's of ozon.
was Hermann Oberth, from Sigishoara in Romania (birthplace of Vlad the Impaler). I visited Sigishoara last year and found that the town museum had a room devoted to Oberth. The first Romanian in space (in Soviet times) was awarded the "Hermann Oberth Gold Medal".
(So, I will use my mad language skillz, namely skillz at having friends who are Romanian, to translate said article)
Demonstrator 2, a Romanian small-scale model of the Orizont (Horizon) Rocket couldn't restrain itself anymore and burst into space two minutes before official launch at Midia Cap. The presurizing hose of the engine came off by surprise and triggered the tiny rocket by touching the contact and leaving Dumitru Popescu, president of ARCA ( Romanian Astronautics and Aeronautics Association) motionless.
Wrapped up in steam, Demonstrator 2 went its own way and, influenced by the gusty wind vanished into the clouds after reaching 1,200 m at 13 m/s before eventually sinking into the Black Sea, just off the to shore.
Even though the rocket didn't get to 2,000 m as planned, the ARCA students are now very confident they will find support and get the $200,000 they need to beat the American team Space Composites in the X Prize Cup competition, a team which already reached 100 km.
Apparently, Romanians are using a secret formula based on World War II technology for torpidoes, also used on the Kursk Russian submarine. It's all about decomposing oxygenated water with the touch of a mysterious catalyzer. And if it's not silver nor platinum, then what is it, we ask? "Just some tablets", Dumitru Popescu responds and that's the only thing we can wring from him.
Having spent only $30,000 to build Demonstrator 2, ARCA has already got offers to sell a miniature rocket in all the toy stores in the Unites States.
www.eissq.com/BandP.html Ball and Plate System. Amuse your friends. Crush your enemies.
This is another proof that mintrubbing can produce amazing results.
To anyone interested in the subject, Romania (pre- fing WW2 and fing communism) has had potential for a strong position in the aeronautic industry. Henri Marie Coanda, known for the Coanda-effect and the first jet aircraft, was Romanian. More info about Coanda can be found here
It turns out that "Orizont" is just Romanian for "Big Bertha".
The goal of x-prize is to reach a height of 100,000 m - about 100 times higher than what the Romanians achieved in their test flight. The flight has to be manned as well. They have a long way to go.
These guys did not study chemistry very well. On the "tests" page, they describe their "monopropellant fuel" as a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and ethylic alcohol (another name for ethanol). When this mixture burns, you will get CO2 and traces of CO in the exhaust in addition to the H2O and some O2, O, and O3 (depending on the flame temperature). They will also, depending on the flame temperature at the exit of the engine, produce some NOx from oxidizing some of the nitrogen from the air.
This type of fuel has been around for a while and I would not consider this ecological. I also hope they have put some additives into the mixture to help stabalize the hydrogen peroxide to keep it from decomposing into water and oxygen.
Traian Vuia (August 17, 1872 - September 3, 1950) was a Romanian inventor, designed and built the world's first self-propelling heavier-than-air aircraft.
Hermann Oberth
"considered the foremost authority on rocketry outside the United States."
and
" one of the founding fathers of rocketry and astronautics."
Henri Coanda ... he designed, built and piloted the first jet-aircraft"
"In 1910
Aurel Vlaicu
Romanian engineer and aviation pioneer.
"...his first airplane, the Vlaicu I
Gogu Constantinescu
"Gogu Constantinescu founded the theory of the sonicity and made the sonic engine. Using an invention of Gogu Constantinescu on a sonicity application, the British military aviation held supremacy during World War First."
"Buzu" Cantacuzeno ... ww2 air war ace
"Romania's leading ace, "Buzu" Cantacuzeno, added three German He-111s to the more than 50 Soviet and American aircraft he had shot down."
good luck to the romanian team ... and to all other teams
"There is nothing more frightful than ignorance in action." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Gotta love the quote they got from their president.
"Congratulations. This is a nice surprise."
BAHHAHAAHAH
Now what worries me about this is Romania is such a poor and desperate country, but full of very talented computer programmers, etc.... How easily they could sell such technology for use as weapons.......
My friend who translated the story pointed out that this was her original submission title. My apologies as hers was far better, and less self-serving, than mine.
www.eissq.com/BandP.html Ball and Plate System. Amuse your friends. Crush your enemies.
Dracula
The Cheeky Girls.
Michael Howard, leader of the Official Evil Party in the UK.
O-zone... Mai ya hi, mai ya ho, mai ya hu, mai ya ha ha (ok they were originally moldovan, but the song is in romanian).
Yup, nothing scary at all. Nothing to be worried about.
Doesn't mean the didn't intend for anyone to spend more than that. It's just all they could come up with.
The X-Prize is modelled after the $25,000 Orteig prize captured in 1927 by Charles Lindbergh crossing the Atlantic. You don't think $25K covered Lindbergh's expenses, do you?
Nu ma nu ma nu ma iei!
~D
since when is 1000 meters sub-orbital? give me a break.