Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Masten and Armadillo Perform First VTVL Restarts

Posted by kdawson on from the warp-oh-point-oh-one-mister-sulu dept.

FleaPlus writes "Recently Masten Aerospace, winner of NASA's 2009 Lunar Lander Challenge, demonstrated using its Xombie vehicle the first-ever mid-flight restart of a VTVL (vertical-takeoff vertical-landing) rocket, a critical capability for the emerging suborbital/microgravity science and passenger markets (video from ground). Not to be outdone, John Carmack's Armadillo Aerospace (winner of the 2008 Lunar Lander Challenge) flew its Mod rocket to 2,000 feet (610m), deployed a drogue parachute, and then restarted the engine to land (multi-view video showing John Carmack at the controls)."

6 of 94 comments (clear)

  1. Just a step... by Bruce+Perens · · Score: 2, Informative

    Very impressive, but these are just jump-jets for now - sort of rocket helicopters. Going from what we saw to something that can get to orbit, deposit a payload, and return to earth undamaged is going to take a lot more work. Good luck to both teams.

    --
    Bruce Perens.
    1. Re:Just a step... by nofx_3 · · Score: 2, Informative

      These aren't designed to be orbital designs. The VTVL ships are indented for sub-orbital flight.

      --
      Visualize Whirled Peas
    2. Re:Just a step... by Bruce+Perens · · Score: 2, Informative

      I saw it a few days ago. It must have been a DNS spoof or a redirect spoof. I can't think of anything else. I'm just waiting for Google to re-scan me.

      --
      Bruce Perens.
  2. Re:"First VTVL Restarts" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    Nope, first with the same engine (hence "restart"). LM landings used two different engines and stages for landing and taking off.

  3. Re:"First VTVL Restarts" by FleaPlus · · Score: 2, Informative

    Nope, first with the same engine (hence "restart"). LM landings used two different engines and stages for landing and taking off.

    Thanks for the reminder about the separate ascent and descent stages on the Apollo LM. It's also worth noting that the Apollo LM used a hydrazine mix for fuel, which is quite handy if you want easy and reliable propellant (it spontaneously ignites when you mix it with the oxidizer), but is nasty and toxic, so you don't want to use it for an Earth-based launch where you have people nearby (or are planning on carrying people).

  4. Re:Orbital Factories? by Khyber · · Score: 3, Informative

    "Things tend to do that pesky burn up on re-entry thing."

    Aerogels are ungodly insulating and resistant to heat. I've seen a piece just a few millimeters thick keep a crayon from melting with a blowtorch heating up the aerogel.

    It's a type of glass, just like the ceramic heat shielding tiles used on space shuttles.

    --
    Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.