Category Archives: Orbital Access Methodologies

Summary of Some ULA Papers from AIAA SPACE 2015

Posted on September 5, 2015 by Jonathan Goff

ULA has often used the AIAA SPACE conferences as a venue for discussing technical ideas they were working on. In fact, I’ve written several blog posts over the years summarizing or commenting on previous versions of their papers. This year’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Commercial Space, Launch Vehicles, Lunar Exploration and Development, Orbital Access Methodologies, Propellant Depots, Space Transportation, SpaceX, ULA | 19 Comments

Boomerang Air-Launched TSTO RLV Concept Part III: Carrier Plane Support Subsystems

Posted on June 10, 2015 by Jonathan Goff

Before getting into my thoughts on potential options for the carrier plane itself, I wanted to mention a few nice-to-have options for the carrier plane itself. I don’t know that any of these is strictly required, but all potentially help: … Continue reading →

Posted in Boomerang TSTO RLV, Commercial Space, Launch Vehicles, Orbital Access Methodologies, Rocket Design Theory | 3 Comments

Boomerang Air-Launched TSTO RLV Concept Part II: Carrier Plane Gamma Maneuver Safety Considerations

Posted on June 10, 2015 by Jonathan Goff

In this post I would like to discuss some of the key considerations and options governing the carrier plane for my Boomerang TSTO RLV concept. Specifically I’ll be covering considerations relating to safely supporting the Gamma Maneuver, and useful support … Continue reading →

Posted in Boomerang TSTO RLV, Commercial Space, Launch Vehicles, Orbital Access Methodologies, Rocket Design Theory | 11 Comments

Boomerang Air-Launched TSTO RLV Concept (Part I)

Posted on May 26, 2015 by Jonathan Goff

Back when I left Masten to start Altius, I originally thought I was starting a launch vehicle company focused on reusable nanosat launchers. While we pivoted away from that to focus on space robotics, I’ve continued to dabble with a … Continue reading →

Posted in Boomerang TSTO RLV, Commercial Space, Launch Vehicles, Orbital Access Methodologies, Rocket Design Theory | 20 Comments

Random Thoughts/Orbital Access Methodologies VII: Air-Launched Glideforward TSTO with Exo-atmospheric Suborbital Refueling

Posted on November 18, 2009 by Jonathan Goff

Ok, I’ve been toying with another orbital access methodology, but I wasn’t sure whether to file it under Random Thoughts (which tend to be my more half-baked, far-out ideas) or with the rest of the Orbital Access Methodologies series (which … Continue reading →

Posted in Launch Vehicles, Orbital Access Methodologies, Technology | 34 Comments

Orbital Access Methodologies Part VI: Air-Launched Glideforward TSTO

Posted on September 6, 2008 by Jonathan Goff

Back when I first gave the guest-lecture at the University of North Dakota that kicked off this series, I had only introduced four actual technological approaches to making RLVs work. The balance of the time I spent talking about the … Continue reading →

Posted in Launch Vehicles, Orbital Access Methodologies, Space Transportation, Technology | 29 Comments

Orbital Access Methodologies Part V: Boostback TSTO

Posted on June 27, 2008 by Jonathan Goff

While I have the topic fresh in my mind, I decided to jump into the next part of my continuing series. Though it wasn’t a conscious choice on my part, I notice that the order I went with for this … Continue reading →

Posted in Launch Vehicles, Orbital Access Methodologies, Space Transportation, Technology | 21 Comments

Orbital Access Methodologies Part IV: Glideback TSTO

Posted on June 16, 2008 by Jonathan Goff

Some of the comments to my last post got me thinking about what I’m trying to accomplish with this series. The reality is that each of these approaches that I’m discussing could easily fill a full chapter in a textbook, … Continue reading →

Posted in Launch Vehicles, Orbital Access Methodologies, Space Transportation, Technology | 21 Comments

Orbital Access Methodologies Part III: Pop-up TSTO

Posted on June 14, 2008 by Jonathan Goff

This third installation in my Orbital Access Methodologies series (parts I can be found here, and part II here) has been a long time in the coming. It has taken so long, not because I’ve been spending months researching and … Continue reading →

Posted in Launch Vehicles, Orbital Access Methodologies, Space Transportation, Technology | 24 Comments

Orbital Access Methodologies Part II: The Key Challenge of TSTO RLVs

Posted on January 19, 2008 by Jonathan Goff

Before I go into detail on any of the two stage to orbit (TSTO for the uninitiated) approaches that I mentioned in my post last week, I’d like to briefly discuss what I think is the key issue that drives … Continue reading →

Posted in Launch Vehicles, Orbital Access Methodologies, Space Transportation, Technology | 22 Comments