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Canadian Company Developing New Space Shuttle

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the any-port-in-a-storm dept.

Archimboldo writes "CNN is carrying an article on the development of a new space shuttle design by Ontario's PlanetSpace called the Silver Dart, which is based on the U.S. Air Force's Flight Dynamics Laboratory-7 (FDL-7) program. Advantages over the aging Shuttle design include an all metal exterior for all-weather re-entry, twice the shuttle's lift coefficient at sub-sonic speeds, a lighter inner body, and newer electronics." The company has high hopes of snagging some of the space tourism market along with grabbing some of the resupply missions to the ISS.

6 of 44 comments (clear)

  1. Won't it be hard to launch that far north? by aapold · · Score: 3, Informative

    I mean there's a reason most space agencies launch from closer to the tropics... to gain additional velocity from the rotation of the earth...

    I guess they'd have to launch from somewhere else...

    That is unless their reviving the Gerald Bull Space Cannon program...

    --
    "Waste not one watt!" - CZ
    1. Re:Won't it be hard to launch that far north? by lashi · · Score: 3, Informative

      They are building it to sell to NASA or space tourism agencies. They are not launching it. Someone else is.

  2. Avro Arrow et al by pettau · · Score: 5, Informative
    Some of Canada's aerospace history ...


    sorted in some kinda order --please fill in the gaps.
  3. Re:All metal? by WindBourne · · Score: 3, Informative

    Well, reentry is ~3000F, so Titanium would work. But I sure would prefer something that was higher than that.

    --
    I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
  4. Re:All metal? by Profane+MuthaFucka · · Score: 4, Informative

    It's called a hot airframe. The space shuttle is a cold airframe. If it gets hot, it fails, therefore it requires an additional heat protection system. On the shuttle, this is a very fragile ceramic/silica tile.

    This spaceship uses a hot airframe. The metal parts of the vehicle are designed to get hot during reentry, and all the parts that are delicate are protected behind the very strong metal exterior.

    --
    Fascism trolls keeping me up every night. When I starts a preachin', he HITS ME WITH HIS REICH!
  5. Re:Ten rockets? by bryantthesmith · · Score: 3, Informative

    The Delta II can use up to 9 strap on rocket boosters in addition to the main main motor. This configuration has flown successfully for many years. If they try to make all 10 boosters controllable I could see them having problems (like the Soviet Moon rocket). If they just have a few motors for control and use the rest for boost it will probably be an easier task.