As I mentioned in the first post in this series, I wanted to paint the overall picture first, and then flesh out the details as time and interest permits. For this post, I want to discuss an interesting lander concept that could work well with the mission model I discussed in Part I. I may [...]
Read Full Post »
I just saw two interesting SpaceX documents linked to on NASASpaceflight.com. The first is a paper that was presented at the Fourth Asian Space Conference back in October, and the second is a presentation from the von Braun Symposium, also back in October They’re both fairly interesting, and provide some extra insight into the direction [...]
Read Full Post »
Posted in NASA, Space Policy, Technology on Nov 28th, 2008
When I was a teenager, my dad had me read a small book called “The Richest Man in Babylon”. It was a good and simple read about personal financial management, set in a fictional background of ancient Babylon. I think the concepts in the book are just as timely today as when it was first [...]
Read Full Post »
Posted in Family on Nov 26th, 2008
We’ll let you know what flavor we got when we get back… …And it looks like the flavor de jour is another Blueberry.
Read Full Post »
I don’t know for sure what it is, but I just don’t have a lot of mental bandwidth anymore these days. I’ve realized that I don’t have as much time or energy to pour over all the details of an idea before posting. Especially when a lot of these ideas may be a lot farther [...]
Read Full Post »
Posted in Uncategorized on Nov 23rd, 2008
guest blogger john hare Once in a while there is a reference to pulse detonation engines for spaceflight. There is usually some claim that they offer major performance advantages, which have yet to be demonstrated. They also eliminate the need for high pressure pumps or pressure tanks because the propellant is injected during the off [...]
Read Full Post »
Posted in Uncategorized on Nov 23rd, 2008
guest blogger john hare My reference on combustion stability goes into great detail on injectors controlling droplet sizes to get them to do what they supposed to. I really couldn’t follow the reasoning much beyond that it is crucial to get the droplet sizes consistent and properly mixed. Gas-gas mixtures seem to have far less problem. Why [...]
Read Full Post »
Space Journalist/Blogger Rob Coppinger wrote an article tonight attempting to debunk “The Fantasy of Propellant Depots“, which he makes out to be some sort of religious mantra in the New Space community. I will admit that depots are finally starting to get a tiny bit of the attention they deserve, but that has only been [...]
Read Full Post »
Posted in Uncategorized on Nov 17th, 2008
Conference. by guest blogger Ken Howdy All! I’m back from a long roadtrip to the Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG)/International Lunar Exploration Working Group (ILEWG) Conference on Exploration and Utilization of the Moon (ICEUM) / Space Resources Roundtable (SRR) conference in Cape Canaveral, Florida, and boy is my rear-end tired. [Note: I was busy and [...]
Read Full Post »
Posted in Uncategorized on Nov 14th, 2008
guest blogger john hare Earth launch for heavy vehicles currently involves lifting a lot of propellant to lift a lot less vehicle to lift even less payload. One of the frequent criticisms of suborbital flight is that it only uses a small fraction of the energy required to reach orbit. While that argument has some [...]
Read Full Post »