"SpaceShipTwo could be single stage to SUBorbit"
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From: Robert Clark on 10 May 2010 14:47 Interesting article here: SpaceShipTwo could be single stage to suborbit says ESA firm. By Rob Coppinger on April 29, 2010 4:24 PM "Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo could be a single stage to suborbit vehicle using liquid chemical propulsion according to independent research carried out by a company that has been contracted by the European Space Agency for suborbital and hypersonic transport studies." "... the UK firm came to the conclusion that the volume within which SS2 carries its solid rocket motor and nitrous oxide supply could equally hold a liquid chemical propulsion system capable of providing enough thrust for long enough for a horizontal take-off and ascent to 50,000ft and above without the need for WK2." http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/hyperbola/2010/04/spaceshiptwo-could-be-single-s.html If you also filled up the passenger compartment with fuel leaving only a pilot's cabin could it even become orbital? Bob Clark
From: Bob Myers on 10 May 2010 15:24 On 5/10/2010 12:47 PM, Robert Clark wrote: > If you also filled up the passenger compartment with fuel leaving only > a pilot's cabin could it even become orbital? > Even if it could, the next question would be how you'd plan on DE-orbiting in a survivable manner... Bob M.
From: Jeff Findley on 10 May 2010 16:11 "Bob Myers" <nospamplease(a)address.invalid> wrote in message news:hs9lo7$jbo$2(a)usenet01.boi.hp.com... > On 5/10/2010 12:47 PM, Robert Clark wrote: >> If you also filled up the passenger compartment with fuel leaving only >> a pilot's cabin could it even become orbital? >> > > Even if it could, the next question would be how you'd plan on > DE-orbiting in a survivable manner... There is no way that "filling the cabin with fuel" would get it to orbit. Getting to orbital velocity requires far more energy than getting to altitude on the sort of suborbital trajectory that SpaceShipTwo will use. Jeff -- "Take heart amid the deepening gloom that your dog is finally getting enough cheese" - Deteriorata - National Lampoon
From: Marvin the Martian on 10 May 2010 17:59 On Mon, 10 May 2010 11:47:15 -0700, Robert Clark wrote: > Interesting article here: > > SpaceShipTwo could be single stage to suborbit says ESA firm. By Rob > Coppinger > on April 29, 2010 4:24 PM > "Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo could be a single stage to suborbit > vehicle using liquid chemical propulsion according to independent > research carried out by a company that has been contracted by the > European Space Agency for suborbital and hypersonic transport studies." > "... the UK firm came to the conclusion that the volume within which SS2 > carries its solid rocket motor and nitrous oxide supply could equally > hold a liquid chemical propulsion system capable of providing enough > thrust for long enough for a horizontal take-off and ascent to 50,000ft > and above without the need for WK2." > http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/hyperbola/2010/04/spaceshiptwo-could- be-single-s.html > > If you also filled up the passenger compartment with fuel leaving only a > pilot's cabin could it even become orbital? > > > Bob Clark The delta V for LEO is about 9 km/s. No fracken way in hell is that little plastic thing going to go to LEO. Maybe if you strapped a nuclear rocket engine to it, but those are illegal. It's simply the rocket equation. Basically, all this damned thing does is go up and come down. Orbit is a completely different matter. People who don't understand the rocket equation and the difference between LEO and a sounding rocket get a jazz out of "space ship two", but they're stupid putzes.
From: Jeff Findley on 11 May 2010 08:57
"Marvin the Martian" <marvin(a)ontomars.org> wrote in message news:usWdnd2hQtY7HHXWnZ2dnUVZ_g6dnZ2d(a)giganews.com... > The delta V for LEO is about 9 km/s. No fracken way in hell is that > little plastic thing going to go to LEO. Maybe if you strapped a nuclear > rocket engine to it, but those are illegal. > > It's simply the rocket equation. > > Basically, all this damned thing does is go up and come down. Orbit is a > completely different matter. People who don't understand the rocket > equation and the difference between LEO and a sounding rocket get a jazz > out of "space ship two", but they're stupid putzes. Actually, ignorant can be fixed. Stupid can't. In most cases, it's easy enough to explain that orbital velocity is so fast that you really do need a huge amount of fuel and oxidizer to get into orbit. The X-15 example helps somewhat too. The X-15 could fly high or fast, but could not do both on the same mission. And even the X-15's high speed flights only achieved a small fraction of orbital velocity. SpaceShipTwo is designed to fly high, not fast. You need both to make it into orbit. Jeff -- "Take heart amid the deepening gloom that your dog is finally getting enough cheese" - Deteriorata - National Lampoon |