Monthly Archives: October 2008

Tetherocket

Posted on October 30, 2008 by johnhare

guest blogger john hare Once a vehicle is in orbit, a high thrust to weight engine becomes a convenience rather than a necessity. For orbital transfer, Isp becomes far more important due to the cost of delivering propellant to orbit. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 18 Comments

Building the Saucer

Posted on October 27, 2008 by johnhare

guest blogger john hare One of the problems with the toroid tank based vehicle is that it looks like a UFO. Let’s just call it a saucer and beat the comedians to the punch. Three main objections came up in … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 7 Comments

Rollerthroat Pump

Posted on October 25, 2008 by johnhare

guest blogger john hare [Saturday afternoon post change. Argh. While replying to Marcus, I realized that this post could be considered Monday Morning Quarterbacking at its’ worst considering the loss just experienced by Armadillos’ team. I respect that team and … Continue reading →

Posted in Space Policy, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Notchbell and the Boot compensators

Posted on October 22, 2008 by johnhare

guest blogger john hare Compensating nozzles would be useful if they can be done affordably. Affordable is not only the cost to fabricate a nozzle, but also the risk of pursuing things that don’t work, and the time and money … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 25 Comments

Rapid Orbital Propellant Transfer

Posted on October 20, 2008 by johnhare

guest blogger john hare The ability to refuel in space is one of the critical technologies for opening up the high frontier. Without the ability to refuel in microgravity, destinations will be restricted to either low DeltaV missions or planets with … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 14 Comments

Cagejet Turborocket

Posted on October 17, 2008 by johnhare

Air breathing engines are virtually useless for the acceleration  mission of a spacecraft. Fairly simple math demonstrates their lack of utility again and again. Any real air breathing engine (ABE) has a limited mach range and large weight compared to a … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 11 Comments

Surgery Tomorrow

Posted on October 16, 2008 by Jonathan Goff

Tiff goes in for a minor surgery tomorrow. It’s a routine procedure Tiff needs to have done each time we’re expecting, but I figured that there are enough people who read this blog who know Tiff, that I figured it … Continue reading →

Posted in Administrivia | 4 Comments

Toroid Tanks

Posted on October 14, 2008 by johnhare

guest blogger john hare The VTVL vs HTHL vs VTHL arguments will probably never end. Many people simply cannot admit that different methods fit different requirements. That I prefer HTHL myself is not a compelling argument for the method. It … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 23 Comments

Pumped Monoprop

Posted on October 10, 2008 by johnhare

Jon mentioned that I argue pumps over pressure fed. That is partially because the first thing I tried to do seriously in rocketry was build a pump for some friends for a project in Huntsville. I started with the base assumption that … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 25 Comments

RLV Markets Part I: The Importance of High Flight Rates

Posted on October 9, 2008 by Jonathan Goff

Now that I’ve wrapped up my Orbital Access Methodologies series, I wanted to share some thoughts about the business and market development side of reusable space transportation.  Some of this may be old-hat for many of you, but I figured … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Commercial Space, Launch Vehicles, RLV Markets, Space Development, Space Transportation | 14 Comments