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ESA Complete Spaceplane Test Flight; IXV Safely Returns To Earth
hypnosec writes The European Space Agency has successfully completed the first test flight of its Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV), as planned, wherein it saw the wingless spaceplane land in one piece in the Pacific Ocean. A Vega VV04 rocket took the IXV to an altitude of 340 km, from which it separated and continued up to 412 km. Reentering from this suborbital path, it recorded a vast amount of data from more than 300 advanced and conventional sensors. According to ESA the spaceplane few east around the globe during its descent and finally landed safely in the the Pacific Ocean west of the Galapagos Islands at about 15:20 GMT.
perhaps a bit of competition will bode well for space exploration development.
It's probably not the incentive military superiority or corporate profit would be, but it's still promising.
Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.
Ernest Hemingway
This just seems to be a different shape for a re-entry capsule more so then a plane. It uses a parachute and splashes down in water.
This isn't manned spaceflight.
It will be once they're done testing it. And that will make several more countries with manned space flight capability--a growing club to which the U.S. no longer belongs.
Orbital isn't about how high the highest point of your trajectory is. It is about how high the lowest point of your trajectory is. In other words: at its lowest point, does it clear the planet or crash into it?
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
you can have the altitude and still not be orbital. Orbital means you have the lateral velocity to never fall back down. the ISS is moving around the earth at 7.66mm/s which makes it fall around the earth in an orbit. This craft's velocity was close (7.5 km/s) but the flight profile was designed to be non orbital, while achieving speeds close enough to orbital to accurately test the re-entry procedures. its all about how fast you are going, and in what direction.
I've decided to Diversify my Holdings. I've divided my cash between my left and right pockets, instead of all in one.
They went straight up instead of giving it an orbital velocity.
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
The US just decided it wasn't something that should belong to tbe government alone, so they privatized space travel to give everyone a shot at it. SpaceX and Boeing are both finishing up crew vehicles. Just because the government is done with space travel doesn't mean that it stops: it means the real progress is just beginning.
In a couple of years NASA will have access to 2 operational manned vehicles. I don't think any other space agency in history has had two different manned launch vehicles operational at once.
I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust
Somebody did not play Kerbal Space program.
I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust
Of course, Kerbal makes things waaaay easier on you than real life, in so many ways ;) The only advantage real life has is that MechJeb isn't considered cheating in RL ;) But real life makes you put up with unreliable hardware, dangerous heating, heavy life support requirements, electricity generation is several orders of magnitude less, costs several orders of magnitude more, your delta V requirements are half an order of magnitude worse, and you have to play with Ferram installed.
"That girl is a witch!" "Yeah, but she's our witch. So cut her the hell down!"
From the TFS:
"Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV)"
Its not model number. Its abbreviation.
The US has several manned programs in "testing". There is NASA's own Orion, which has flown unmanned, and should be ready to carry people in about 6 years. Boeing and Bigelow have the CST-100, which has not flown yet - but is scheduled to be crewed in late 2017. Furthest along is probably SpaceX, with their Dragon V2, scheduled to be crewed in early 2017. The last two options are particularly exciting, since they promise to cut the cost of getting an astronaut to the space station by up to 2/3 compared to a Soyuz launch.
We are still recovering from the lack of development that occurred when NASA was using every dime to fly the space shuttle and construct the space station.
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
And after a horrible crash in RL, you don't get to "revert to vehicle assembly" for a free retry.
Also, re-entry seems rather easy in KSP. NASA worries over loose tiles on a heat shield, whereas KSP lets me aerobrake insane contraptions on a hot trajectory without any problem.
If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
KSP lets me aerobrake insane contraptions on a hot trajectory without any problem.
There's a mod available to fix that...
(Deadly Reentry)
Well, that sorta works for Douglas Adams.
Look back up at my post, now look back down, you're on the Internet. Now look back up. I'm a signature.
No, it's absolutely the best way to explain what an orbit is.
Watch this Heartland Institute video
Boeing and Bigelow have the CST-100, which has not flown yet - but is scheduled to be crewed in late 2017. Furthest along is probably SpaceX, with their Dragon V2, scheduled to be crewed in early 2017. The last two options are particularly exciting, since they promise to cut the cost of getting an astronaut to the space station by up to 2/3 compared to a Soyuz launch.
Sorry, I have to correct you there. Unless Russia has been publishing their internal costs and markup of their launches, we only know the launch price of the Soyuz. Unless they are very foolish, the cost is a secret.
Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress at this period in history.
Well, that's true, right?
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
You are correct. I was referring to NASA's cost.
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
The US just decided it wasn't something that should belong to tbe government alone, so they privatized space travel to give everyone a shot at it. SpaceX and Boeing are both finishing up crew vehicles. Just because the government is done with space travel doesn't mean that it stops: it means the real progress is just beginning.
Nonsense. Certain people realized that NASA+government bureaucracy was failing the space program and the people, repeatedly, and that we sorely needed alternatives.
If that were not so, we would not have needed Russian boosters for our own rockets or Russian launches to supply ISS, while the private companies ramped up. But we did indeed need them, without which our manned space program would indeed have failed, pretty much completely.
In other words: at its lowest point, does it clear the planet or crash into it?
Almost.
I mean, that IS the basic idea. But it's just a bit too simplistic.
If your gravitational body has an atmosphere, the lowest point has to be high enough to not create significant drag. Or else sooner or later it very definitely WILL crash.
Typos prove that proof reading is important when posting early after waking up. Make that 7.66km/s.
I've decided to Diversify my Holdings. I've divided my cash between my left and right pockets, instead of all in one.
and finally landed safely in the the Pacific Ocean
Good thing there were no passengers, or they'd be in need of their IXV seat cushions which double as flotation devices just in the event of a water landing like this.
When the copyright term is "forever minus a day", live every day like it's the last.
It is just some demonstrator aircraft. The USAF has the X-37 to do the same kinds of tasks and it is operational. As for manned space flight SpaceX basically has the required capabilities if they really needed someone up.
NASA was failing hard by insisting on using the Shuttle to launch everything. The Russians had really good LOX/Kerosene staged combustion rocket engine technology so it was a good idea to get the engines. The problems started when the US contractors cheapened out and decided not to start US manufacturing of the engines as originally planned. The Russians transferred all the required technical documentation and provided a production license to do it.
The ISS probably wouldn't be orbiting right now if the Russians weren't part of the program due to the Shuttle being canned but the USA will have capabilities to fully resupply it once COTS is up.
In a couple of years NASA will have access to 2 operational manned vehicles. I don't think any other space agency in history has had two different manned launch vehicles operational at once.
Why would ESA not have access to SpaceX manned vehicles ?
European Linux user, living in Antwerp
NASA was failing hard by insisting on using the Shuttle to launch everything. The Russians had really good LOX/Kerosene staged combustion rocket engine technology so it was a good idea to get the engines. The problems started when the US contractors cheapened out and decided not to start US manufacturing of the engines as originally planned. The Russians transferred all the required technical documentation and provided a production license to do it.
I don't dispute any of this. My point was that lack of planning and foresight on the part of the existing NASA bureaucracy was what led to this whole situation.
Any idiot should know that for any strategically essential technology, you should have not just a robust, maintainable program, but also a ready backup. NASA had neither.
I'm not placing the blame on them solely. Short-sighted politicians were definitely a part of the problem too.
Well NASA is paying for the things, there is already a contract in place. I suppose nothing is stopping the ESA from buying SpaceX missions.
But I expect that any Europeans that fly to the ISS on Dragon would be doing so as a part of a NASA mission launched from Cape Canaveral. Just like everyone currently flying to the ISS on Soyuz is doing so as a part of a Roscosmos launch.
I highly doubt that the ESA would purchase Falcon/Dragon to fly from their own facility. This is the entire reason why IXV is a thing. Hopefully eventually there will be an ESA manned mission, and I think this is a great thing for everyone.
I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust