Am I the only one....
... to notice the piccy shows a X40-A, not the X37??
Long-delayed plans by the US to deploy a small robot space shuttle appear now to be approaching fruition, according to reports. The US Air Force has now stated that the X-37 unmanned spaceplane will be launched into orbit on April 19. The X-40 unpowered test model, used to gather data for the design of the X-37. Credit: NASA …
And wondering why it says X-40 on the side, try a mouse over (or source code read):
title="The X-40 unpowered test model, used to gather data for the design of the X-37. Credit: NASA"
Anyway - quite a useful little device, although it's a small payload it's bound to be cheaper to launch a dozen of these rather than a shuttle, and less likely that a stray cloud will stop the launch either of course.
Staying up for 270 days seems rather a long time to me - though I guess a payload of spyware kit would be a useful substitute to a satelite or AWACs plane.
hmm
ttfn
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Oh, I don't know. I think I could cram myself and five other people into that amount of space if I knew that the space station I was residing on was about to come apart. Heck, if the other five were young ladies, I might even enjoy the experience! That could probably be marketed as an "E ticket" ride. ;-)
Dave
Quake II of course. Had a fantasic 3d engine with solid explosions (no overlays) and was a railgun frag fest online back in the late-90s...
Would have loved to see the super-nailgun from Q1 in all the other versions though! Mind you, the grapple-gun from QII was ace for sniping from ceilings.
From the late 1950s to 2010 that's 50+ years to get a missile launched hypersonic glider into orbit (Although with a mission duration of 270 days that a bit longer than the X20 Dynasoar was hoping for).
It has some interesting possible uses but they really need more than 1 flight vehicle (historically X programmes have had 3. I gathering data, 1 being modified with the results from the last test flights and 1backup/spare parts/revert to previous working configuration)
Its real benefit may be to get people thinking about the benefits of designing to a known payload bay layout and the advantages of having their satellite core hardware in a vehicle which can be recovered for further study.
Note that while refurbishing and refitting this thing *should* be fairly cheap (by USAF standards. Using the standard storeable propellants will jack up the price quite a bit given their safety precautions) the problem is the *huge* 2 stage expendable rocket it sits on.
Finding ways to eliminate *that* (and get them funded) would be a real achievement.
"How many iron bars can you pack in it?"
Doesn't matter. Steel will vaporize long before it gets to the earth.
OTOH Tungsten survives quite well (Like Carbon-Carbon it melting point may be >3000c but it starts reacting with air at *considerably* lower temps) and its mass is a positive benefit in this application. I suggest a search for the phrase "A rod from God."
Precision strike is one of *potentially* a lot of applications which a reusable space vehicle could support. Hence presumably the ongoing secrecy over planned payloads.
Assuming we're talking 7'x4'x4', I can't see any problems getting 6 people in there. It's not going to be comfy, sure. But given the alternative, which would variously be burning to death as the ISS deorbits into the atmosphere, asphyxiation as air seeps out of a small-but-unpluggable leak, or the full-on freezing/boiling extravaganza that is explosive decompression, I reckon I could deal with Bubba lying on top of me for the flight down.
I see that the X-37 uses essentially the same propellants for the on-board rocket motor as the British satellite launch used--hydrogen peroxide and kerosene.
Of course, 21st Century Americans will have different handling procedures for the hydrogen peroxide. I understand that British boffins (including Morris dancers in their number), regarded their cardigan catching fire as a routine event.
"I see that the X-37 uses essentially the same propellants for the on-board rocket motor as the British satellite launch used--hydrogen peroxide and kerosene."
If they are still going ahead with that plan the engines they are using were actually *built* in the 1950s, originally to act as either reusable rocket assisted takeoff packs or as high altitude boosters. Reliability was preferred over absolute performance since the low (by rocket standards) T/W of 40:1 (A state of the art 1950s jet was around 5:1)
BTW the Black arrow engines had a similar pedigree, cut down versions of the Blue Steel standoff missile. sadly it's a myth that Blue Streak was a peroxide launcher. *Half* of the velocity was imparted by the "Waxwing" 3rd stage solid rocket motor.
Mine's the one with the JBIS special edition in the pocket.