It has finally happened. The Aerospace crowd has formed a NASCAR-like racing league to promote an amped-up form of air racing. It is called the Rocket Racing League. Velocity Aircraft, now a subsidiary of Rocket Racing Composites Corporation, will supply the airframes. The rocket motors are simple, one piece, throttled, stainless steel motors down-rated from 5000 lbs to 1500-2000 lbs of thrust. The motors will burn LOX and ethanol.
The first exhibition race will occur at the upcoming EAA Oshkosh AirVenture show in Wisconsin this summer.
One important result of this is that, if it is successful, it will demonstrate that entities smaller than governments can safely and profitably do rocketry. If this field is to go anywhere, it must show that rocket propulsion can be conducted with less-than-NASA resources.
Check out the new amphibian from Sukhoi- the Be 103. This twin engine airplane has a useful load of 385 kg. What caught my eye was the low position of the wing. It is said to be a midwing design, but from the way it sits in the water, the wing tips look quite close to the surface of the water, even as the plane rolls out of the water in the photo.
If a wing tip digs into the water on takeoff or landing, the airplane could cartwheel to a disastrous ending. On landing, a gust or floating object could cause a wingtip to drop. Seems like a poor design choice.
According to news sources, Cessna is preparing to produce a new primary training aircraft- the Cessna 162 Skycatcher. The target price of this “affordable” light aircraft is US$111,500 per copy. Cruise speed is reportedly 118 kts with a range of 470 nautical miles behind a 100 hp Continental O-200 engine. The prototype recently completed its maiden flight. Production is schedule for later this spring.
I am really glad to see this. The existing Cessna trainer fleet is getting quite old. While the fleet of Experimental category aircraft has grown tremendously, it is difficult for a flight school to offer training in a home built airplane.
There has been considerable buzz lately that the launch and deployment of USA 193 has somehow gone terribly wrong. Reports say that the package failed to deploy properly and it is presently in a rapidly decaying orbit that will bring it back into the atmosphere for an uncontrolled re-entry.
A credible source from our base in Shangrila tells Th’ Gaussling that something will re-enter the atmosphere soon, but it won’t be USA 193. A decaying satellite of some sort is coming down and certain parties are anxious to blast it to pieces. This episode may be just a bit of sleight of hand to confuse intelligence gathering organizations as to what is really up there. A three card Monte, but with rockets.
There may be some real worry about tell-tale bits of apparatus landing in an unfriendly state. There may be worry about fuel vessels landing intact and providing a toxic hazard at the impact site. The (methyl)hydrazine in the fuel cell may be frozen and consequently the fuel cell may not absorb heat fast enough in short re-entry time to flash off and disperse the fuel. Re-entry doesn’t char everything to cinders.
A missile intercept with the satellite may be a preventative measure, an exercise for missileers, a counterintelligence exercise, or it may be a signal to a few frisky states out there who doubt our capability and resolve. Let’s hope we’re spared the embarrassment of a miss.
JAXA, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, is progressing very well in their exploration of the solar system. The agency maintains a website that displays the earth’s global rainfall picture in “near real time”.
JAXA has recently placed an orbiter into a peripolar orbit around the moon along with relay satellites. The spacecraft SELENE has recently begun a year long survey mission of the moon. Among the instruments on board is an HDTV camera which has sent back some spectaular images.
There is nothing trivial at all about putting a probe in lunar orbit. The Japanese space program seems very impressive and they are justifiably proud of their achievements.
Apparently, the Chinese have decided to shelve plans for a manned moon landing by 2020. According to XinhuaNet, there are no plans for activity beyond the landing of a rover and the return of samples by 2017. Officials state that the technology for a manned program is still out of reach and that the risk and expense are too high for a 2020 landing.
This is an interesting development. I think there was some real interst in China for putting taikonauts on the moon. No doubt, the infrastructure and development needed for such an effort became apparent. There is considerable prestige for any nation that manages to return the crew safely from a moon landing. But the pragmatic characters in the governing party surely recognize that the Giant Leap for Mankind has already been done and that resources are better spent on other “firsts”.
Other than operating a kind of Lunar Ice Station Zebra where a few lonely scientists would bivouac in metal pressure cans out in the hard vacuum and cosmic rays, I can’t think of a compelling reason for anyone to reside there for too long. For the value proposition, it’s hard to come up with any known mineral wealth up (over?) there that would justify the cost of transport. Generally, only pharmaceuticals have the extreme $/kg that might cover the expenses. Mumbai, Newark, and Shanghai are much closer. But who knows, maybe they’ll find a big vein of rhodium (US$6375/toz) on the surface.
Planetary scientists and atronomers would make good use of a lunar research station. But funding it would almost certainly require the shutdown of many other kinds of research here on the Good Earth. But what else would we do there? Take pictures? Wave the flag?
Going to a moon station would be like going to jail. You would be confined to a cramped pressure vessel for the duration and Death could visit in new ways and old. What if you get a toothache? Would NASA have to mobilize a rescue?
What real military leverage would any country get from a moon base other than defending the moon? If you could afford a military moon base, you could also afford a fleet of nuclear submarines that could hammer any patch of real estate on earth you desire, and maybe bounce the rubble a few times.
I suppose there is planetary tourism. A couple of weeks in the ISS will cost the plutocrat down the street a cool US$20 million. Imagine what One Small Step on the moon would cost. Maybe Richard Branson is working on a package deal- rountrip space fare (coach seats, Virgin Galactic) and a week in the fabulous Sheraton Green Cheese resort for US$50 million. Some restrictions apply.
Lamentations on Chemistry 