NASA Building a Better Solid Rocket Booster for Space Launch System Rocket The largest and most powerful solid rocket booster ever built for flight is being assembled for NASA’s Space Launch System at ATK Space Systems in Brigham City, Utah, incorporating new cost-savings measures. The SLS will launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft and other payloads beyond low Earth orbit, and provide an entirely new capability for human exploration. Although similar to the solid rocket boosters that helped power the space shuttle to orbit, the five-segment SLS boosters include several upgrades and improvements implemented by NASA and ATK engineers. ATK moves a segment of the solid rocket booster for assembly at the company's facility in Promontory, Utah. “America’s next steps in deep space exploration build on the lessons learned from our nation’s rich human spaceflight history. ATK employees at the company's Promontory, Utah facility prepare a segment of a qualification motor for NASA's Space Launch System for transport.
Orbital Begins Antares Rocket Operations - Commercial Space Watch Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB), one of the world's leading space technology companies, today announced that has it has commenced Antares launch vehicle operations at the liquid-fuel launch complex at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS). Following a four-year design, development, construction, test and inspection process, the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority (VCSFA), which oversees MARS, has authorized Orbital to begin on-pad operations leading up to flight demonstrations of its Antares medium-class launch vehicle and Cygnus cargo logistics spacecraft, the vehicles Orbital will use to fulfill a $1.9 billion NASA contract to deliver essential cargo to the International Space Station (ISS). The MARS launch complex is located at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in eastern Virginia and is owned and operated by MARS, under the auspices of the VCSFA, which receives its funding from the Commonwealth of Virginia. About Orbital
X-43A : l'avion le plus rapide du monde n'emporte pas de comburant ! X-43A : l'avion le plus rapide du monde n'emporte pas de comburant ! - 2 Photos Samedi 27 mars 2004. Les conditions météo sont parfaites. De forts vents en altitude ont failli reporter cet essai qui est en fait la deuxième tentative de vol du X-43A. En juin 2001, il avait été détruit en raison d'un mauvais fonctionnement de la fusée qui le propulsait. Le X-43A ne décolle pas En effet, ce prototype ne décolle pas depuis le sol. En images, voici ces étapes que le second prototype a brillament passées : Crédits Futura-sciences / Nasa 7.700 km/h ! Une fois libéré de sa fusée, la NASA a vraiment pu tester son prototype. Rappelons encore une fois que l'avion (sans pilote) a puisé son comburant directement dans l'atmosphère ! A voir aussi sur Internet Sur le même sujet
Hypersonic X-43A Takes Flight Pegasus booster rocket ignites to send the X-43A on its record setting flight on Nov. 16, 2004. NASA photo It's Official. X-43A Raises the Bar to Mach 9.6 Guinness World Records recognized NASA's X-43A scramjet with a new world speed record for a jet-powered aircraft - Mach 9.6, or nearly 7,000 mph. The X-43A set the new mark and broke its own world record on its third and final flight on Nov. 16, 2004. In March 2004, the X-43A set the previous record of Mach 6.8 (nearly 5,000 mph). + View Press Release View QuickTime Movies: X-43A/Pegasus Launch: 2.6 Mb | 5 Mb | 7.3 Mb | 12 Mb B-52B Takeoff: 1.6 Mb | 3.1 Mb | 4.6 Mb | 7.5 Mb Getting Ready for Mach 10: 3.2 Mb | 6 Mb | 8.9 Mb | 14.5 Mb
Firestar Selected for SBIR Contract for Green Propulsion System On Thursday, NASA announced the selection of 39 proposals for Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II awards. Parabolic Arc will be looking at several of the proposals being undertaken by companies we have been following. This post looks at Firestar Engineering, a company based in Mojave, Calif., that is developing non-toxic propellant that will be tested at the International Space Station next year. Firestar Engineering, LLC Mojave, CA PROPOSAL TITLE: Low Energy Electronic Ignition System for NOFBX ThrustersSUBTOPIC TITLE: Propulsion Technologies Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract: Begin: 3 End: 5 The proposed igniter development is specific to NOFBX™ propellant-based systems. NOFBX technology is currently being developed under a NASA BAA for flight on the International Space Station as a commercial flight experiment. Share
The Prometheus Gas Turbine Project Introduces A New Electric Gas Turbine Warp drive looks more promising than ever in recent NASA studies "Interstellar travel may still be in its infancy, but adulthood is fast approaching, and our descendants will someday see childhood's end." The Starflight Handbook The first steps towards interstellar travel have been taken, but the stars are very far away. The warp drive broke away from being a wholly fictional concept in 1994, when physicist Miguel Alcubierre suggested that faster-than-light (FTL) travel was possible if you remained still on a flat piece of spacetime inside a warp bubble that was made to move at superluminal velocity. An Alcubierre warp drive bubble, showing spatial compression ahead of the bubble, and spatial expansion behind (Image: NASA) The warp effect uses gravitational effects to compress the spacetime in front of a spacecraft, then expand the spacetime behind it. Such a warp bubble could in principle be used to enable subluminal travel (travel slower than light) as well as superluminal travel (travel faster than light). Source: NASA Eagleworks
"PROPULSION" Calling All Rocketeers! Calling All Rocketeers! "PROPULSION" is On the Air! EPISODE 02 “Pasadena” In this Episode… Meet young Jack Parsons and his pal Ed Forman: two dreamers and model rocket enthusiasts with a passion for blowing things up. After more than 70 years, the story of Frank Malina, Jack Parsons and Caltech’s infamous “Suicide Squad” is brought to life in “PROPULSION” a 30 min. documentary produced by the fine team at BLLR Entertainment. Set against the backdrop of 1930s Pasadena, through WWII and into the Cold War, “PROPULSION” is the heartwarming, inspirational, and sometimes controversial tale of a group of misfits, dreamers, and mavericks, the founding of NASA’s JPL, and the Birth of Modern Rocketry. It’s 1936. twitter.com/thesuicidesquad Filed under jpl von karman jules verne hg welles rocketry dreams science fiction pasadena jack parsons jet propulsion chemistry engineering history california aeronautics aviation nasa space "PROPULSION" is on the Air!
Robert Bussard on Fusion Power Dr. Robert Bussard shares his vision for clean, affordable fusion power. The late Dr. Bussard was best known as the namesake for the legendary “Bussard Ramjet”. Bussard describes his disenchantment with big-science Tokamak research that led him to return to the roots of fusion power with the “Polywell” project that he initiated in 1986. The Polywell design is a modified Farnsworth-Hirsch style fusor which traps electrons in a magnetic confinement inside its hollow center. Polywell was designed for high-efficiency fusion power and also for portability, which was required to satisfy the Navy’s needs for ocean vessels and submarines.
Dennis Bushnell on Space Exploration Dr. Dennis Bushnell, Chief Scientist at NASA Langley Research Center, joins us to discuss the scientific and technical challenges faced by NASA in planning future manned missions to Mars and beyond. He describes the National Space Exploration Vision, which cites human expeditions to Mars, and indicates that cost and safety are the two major obstacles faced by NASA in realizing this vision. According to Bushnell, hexavalent chromium in martian dust, interstellar radiation, and lengthy trips in a microgravity environment damage the immune system of astronauts and increase their risk for cancer, which is caused by both radiation and chromium VI. He indicates that the best probability for minimizing these risks comes from dust-filtration research currently being undertaken at NASA as well as in finding new methods of propulsion that should shorten trip times and therefore reduce radiation & microgravity exposure by astronauts.
Interstellar chemistry makes use of quantum shortcut | Atom & Cosmos Molecules floating in the dark, cold vacuum of interstellar space can exploit quantum mechanics to react and produce more complex chemicals, a new study suggests. Researchers explain the reactions using a quirky property of quantum physics, which may be a key cog in the cosmic assembly line that churns out intricate organic molecules, including those necessary for life. Astronomers have long known that stars manufacture chemical elements, but it’s only recently that researchers have discovered complex organic molecules floating around in clouds of gas and dust in space (SN 1/30/10, p. 26). Last year astronomers discovered a molecule called methoxy, or CH3O, in a gas cloud. While not specifically pursuing this mysterious reaction, Dwayne Heard and his team at the University of Leeds in England were exploring the reactivity of hydroxyl with other molecules, including methanol. In an upcoming Nature Chemistry, Heard’s team explains its finding with a phenomenon called quantum tunneling.
Cubesats explained and why you should build one Ever wanted to make your own satellite? Now you can. Building a Cubesat is affordable and you may even qualify for a free ride from NASA. What are Cubesats? A CubeSat is a small satellite in the shape of a 10 centimeter cube and weighs just 1 kilogram. CubeSats are carried into space on a Poly-PicoSatellite Orbital Deployer or P-POD for short. Why Are They Popular? Cubesats are popular with schools and governments because they are cheap and relatively easy to build. NASA is offering free rides for science missions through their Cubesat Launch Initiative. They might be small but you can do a lot with them. Cubesats have become THE standard microsatellite thanks to their Open Source Hardware design and will become even more popular as we find new uses for them. Only a few years ago you needed a degree in Engineering or millions of dollars to build a satellite. Launching it…is another story. Would you want your own personal satellite?
SABRE (rocket engine) The design comprises a single combined cycle rocket engine with two modes of operation.[4] The air breathing mode combines a turbo-compressor with a lightweight air precooler positioned just behind the inlet cone. At high speeds this precooler cools the hot, ram-compressed air leading to an unusually high pressure ratio within the engine. The compressed air is subsequently fed into the rocket combustion chamber where it is ignited with stored liquid hydrogen. The high pressure ratio allows the engine to continue to provide high thrust at very high speeds and altitudes. An engine derived from the SABRE concept called Scimitar has been designed for the company’s A2 hypersonic passenger jet proposal for the European Union-funded LAPCAT study.[7] In November 2012, Reaction Engines announced it had successfully concluded a series of tests that prove the cooling technology of the engine, one of the main obstacles towards the completion of the project. Simplified flow diagram of SABRE engine