Yeah, for the second copy (ML2) the blast doors are on the other side where they won't get so much pressure.
I recall seeing some ultra slo-mo footage of a Saturn Five launch, several cameras strategically placed around the base of the tower....I saw a clam-shell type blast shield device swinging closed to protect an apperant vulnerable piece of equipment in a direct path of the engine blast.
Pad structures seem to have differing values of survivability...no, we can build everything out of Inconel X-750.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Rick...
Pad structures seem to have differing values of survivability...no, we can build everything out of Inconel X-750.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Rick...
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Looking beyond Artemis I, II and III, the Gateway lunar orbiting space station will be critical in the development of a sustained presence in cislunar space.
The fact that Gateway is an international project involving the US, 10 European countries, Canada and Japan demonstrates just how important mastery of cislunar space is deemed to be.
Gateway, as well as providing a temporary home for astronauts on the way to the Moon, will house instruments which will provide a greater understanding of 'space weather', namely the intensity of cosmic radiation and solar particle flux.
I was interested to read that Gateway's propulsion unit will use ion drive to correct instability in its halo orbit.
Full information here:
https://www.universetoday.com/142896/the-lunar-gateway-will-be-in-a-near-rectilinear-halo-orbit/#:~:text=The permanent Lunar Gateway in this orbit around,a visiting spacecraft to rendezvous with the Gateway.
“We’ll know we are close when Elon Musk starts taking credit for it.”
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/space-elevators-are-less-sci-fi-than-you-think/
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They say that smaller rockets can be used to go from earth to moon - I don’t see why that’s possible but there was not enough information for me to understand that part properly ?
In Star Trek parlance, "breaking orbit" is by far much easier than an "all up" Earth to moon ride. Outgoing moon-bound vessels must be already in orbit, this is key to a sucessful endeavour.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Rick...
The first piece of Gateway to be launched will be its Power and Propulsion Element (PPE). The power comes from its solar cells and the propulsion comes courtesy of its ion drive. All being well, a crew habitat module, airlock and robotic arm will follow thereafter.
The illustration below shows these components in place on the left, being approached by an Orion spacecraft on the right.
In this configuration, the Gatewaywill support a maximum of four crewmembers at a time, probably living and working there for 90 day stints. Because of the expense of SLS-Orion launches, the Gateway will likely be uninhabited for most of the year, but NASA hopes that other nations or other companies will also be able to make use of the outpost. Occupied or not, data from scientific instruments aboard Gateway will be gathered autonomously.
P.S. I don't 'know' this stuff, it's just what I am gleaning from my googling!
The illustration below shows these components in place on the left, being approached by an Orion spacecraft on the right.
In this configuration, the Gatewaywill support a maximum of four crewmembers at a time, probably living and working there for 90 day stints. Because of the expense of SLS-Orion launches, the Gateway will likely be uninhabited for most of the year, but NASA hopes that other nations or other companies will also be able to make use of the outpost. Occupied or not, data from scientific instruments aboard Gateway will be gathered autonomously.
P.S. I don't 'know' this stuff, it's just what I am gleaning from my googling!
I presume the idea is to use small rockets to lift constituent parts bit by bit into Earth orbit where they can be assembled into a spacecraft that could then take payload to the moon.
For example, the UK's space launch centre, Spaceport Cornwall, will use a 'horizontal launch solution' that involves carrying a small rocket aloft on a modified Boeing 747. No expensive vertical launch facilities are required, just an existing runway, and the carrier aircraft can return to land to be reused foir the next launch while the small rocket carries its payload into low earth orbit.
Late 80s recycled. This plan was originally floated by BAe for the Hotol rocket plane with an air breathing rocket design schlepped on the back on an antinov AN-225. We had a model of it in reception in the offices. But there is a very good reason why this sort of idea hasn't taken off. Despite the seemingly logical idea to get past the thickest part of the atmosphere the delta-V added by the plane is pathetic compared to the velocity needed to reach a stable orbit. Whether there is a sustainable market for the virgin concept remains to be seen. I somehow doubt it but very happy to be proven wrong.
Yes, air launch to orbit (ALTO) is not a new concept and it has spawned a number of abandoned projects.
It's a follow-on development of the air launches of experimental aircraft such as the X-2 in the 1950s.
Elon Musk argues that ALTO introduces additional complexity and limitations.
Let's see if Beardie can prove him wrong! 🙂
It's a follow-on development of the air launches of experimental aircraft such as the X-2 in the 1950s.
Elon Musk argues that ALTO introduces additional complexity and limitations.
Let's see if Beardie can prove him wrong! 🙂
Thanks, rco3! The Stargazer is the mother ship for the Pegasus launch vehicle that has successfully sent many satellites into orbit.
Interestingly, the names pay homage to spaceships mentioned in Star Trek: The Next Generation. 😎
Interestingly, the names pay homage to spaceships mentioned in Star Trek: The Next Generation. 😎
It's all very technical, but our best Beagles are on it...
https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/snoopy-hitches-ride-to-space-aboard-artemis-i
It's all a question of Delta-v:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta-v
Here being an understandable example. See the higher you go, the more Delta-v you need:
https://www.blueorigin.com/
I wonder if Blue Origin can use someone who is very good at calculating on the back of a beermat with a bookies pen? 🤔
https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/snoopy-hitches-ride-to-space-aboard-artemis-i
It's all a question of Delta-v:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta-v
Here being an understandable example. See the higher you go, the more Delta-v you need:
https://www.blueorigin.com/
I wonder if Blue Origin can use someone who is very good at calculating on the back of a beermat with a bookies pen? 🤔
In this context we mustn't forget that in comparison with the KSC in Florida the UK is further away from the equator, which means more powerful rockets would be required for the same task if launched off the ground.
Yes, the huge Antonov AN-225, the biggest plane ever built. Destroyed by the Putins just a few days after their invasion into the Ukraine. Anyway, there's rumour that it might be reconstructed, using a 2nd specimen that never has been finished till now.
Best regards!
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why not build a railway up a v high mountain, you can at least get above half the atmosphere before you leave the launch pad.
I once read a good article on choice of launch sites, considering such things as altitude and latitude. Ultimately it came down to the cost of the infrastructure - building and supplying a high altitude site (in probably a more remote place) was hugely costly compared to the ever so slight benefit in rocket size required, as most of the rocket energy is to generate the orbital velocity rather than gain the altitude.