Author Topic: Orbital's Antares Development Update Thread  (Read 1065113 times)

Offline FinalFrontier

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Re: Taurus II Development News
« Reply #280 on: 03/03/2010 04:10 pm »
Huh. I they can keep the costs down. I aj26 a kerolox? or hydrolox? i thought nk33 was staged combustion cycle kerolox. hm.....aj26 could be used on an hlv too..........
Staged Combustion Cycle Kerolox, fuel-heavy. 

And I have been calculating, the Taurus II first stage would make an excellent booster design.
I meant use the aj 26 as a SECOND stage engine on another hlv you are intametly familiar with.
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Offline Freddie

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Re: Taurus II Development News
« Reply #281 on: 03/03/2010 06:52 pm »
Orbital Sciences Corporation Selects GS Yuasa to Power Cargo Transport Missions to International Space Station
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/orbital-sciences-corporation-selects-gs-yuasa-to-power-cargo-transport-missions-to-international-space-station-86202047.html

Offline Kitspacer

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Re: Taurus II Development News
« Reply #282 on: 03/05/2010 02:56 pm »
The following Taurus II update appeared as part of an article dated 18 February 2010 published by Spaceflight Now at http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1002/18orionlas/:

"Orbital's first mission of its Taurus 2 rocket and Cygnus spacecraft is scheduled for March 2011.

(Orbital CEO David W.) Thompson said Orbital's schedule for launch early next year is "busy and tight" due to a hectic pace of construction, manufacturing and testing of ground and flight infrastructure. There is essentially no remaining schedule slack, Thompson said.

Thales Alenia Space of Italy has already started constructing Cygnus pressurized cargo modules. Orbital will start manufacturing Cygnus service modules in Dulles, Va., this year.

First stage engine tests are scheduled in Russia next week to probe the propulsion system's abilities by taking the engine well beyond the Taurus 2's expected flight conditions.

"What we're really trying to do here is push the engine well beyond what we would expect it to produce on a regular launch, particularly in terms of its run time," Thompson said.

The Taurus 2 first stage is powered by two AJ26 engines provided by Aerojet. The AJ26 engines are based on the NK-33 power plant developed by Russia in the 1960s for the ill-fated N-1 moon rocket.

An earlier round of Russian engine tests in October was abruptly cut short after an undisclosed issue. Frank Culbertson, an Orbital senior vice president, said during a January interview the problems were in the engine's liquid oxygen turbopump.

Aerojet will deliver the first engines to the Stennis Space Center in southern Mississippi in April to begin acceptance testing before being shipped to the Taurus 2 launch site at Wallops Island, Va.

"Those tests will take four different engines through that test cycle between the end of April and July or August," Thompson said. "Two of those four engines will then be sent at the end of the summer to the Wallops Island launch site, where they will be used in full Stage 1 system level testing of the Taurus 2 rocket in the fall."

The Taurus 2's first stage tank will begin structural testing in Ukraine in March. Other portions of the booster's internal structure and payload fairing will also be tested this spring.

Orbital expects a ground test unit of the Taurus 2 to arrive at Wallops by the end of this summer for a series of fit checks and pathfinder demos."


What really surprised me is OSC using a low Isp Solid 2nd Stage. Rather nullifies the efficiency of the 26.  The engine is also available with a high-altitude/vacuo nozzle- the NK-43/??? variant: I've not got the  bumpf handy, but Kistler intended using it on the K-1.  I would have thought that that configuration minus the reusable/flyback gear  would have provided a greater payload than current. Certainly greater capacity for upgrading. The NK-33 was tested out to 450,000lbs st.th and proved capable of adaption to Hydrolox propellents, so the -43 should also: perfect! 8)

Offline bad_astra

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Re: Taurus II Development News
« Reply #283 on: 03/05/2010 02:59 pm »

aj26 could be used on an hlv too..........

It was. The HLV wasn't exactly a success.
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Offline Downix

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Re: Taurus II Development News
« Reply #284 on: 03/05/2010 03:15 pm »

aj26 could be used on an hlv too..........

It was. The HLV wasn't exactly a success.
Not due to any issues with the AJ26 however.  Quality shortfalls in manufacturing can bring down the mightiest craft, as witnessed time and again.
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Offline Patchouli

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Re: Taurus II Development News
« Reply #285 on: 03/05/2010 03:18 pm »
Anyone heard anything regarding the advanced/high-energy 2nd stage? 

Some of the original files from Orbital showed LOX/Methane, but rumblings of LOX/LH2?  Orbital certainly designed the baseline vehicle to be "bottom heavy" so it'll be interesting to see how far it can stretch in a more balanced configuration (we've some idea obviously from Orbital's marketing stuff) and how what route they choose to take.  It is interesting that later iterations of the T2 brochure have grown increasingly vague on the advanced 2nd stage.

Cheers,

  --Nick

With a matched upper stage I'd expect it's performance to revival LVs like F9 and Atlas V.
« Last Edit: 03/05/2010 03:19 pm by Patchouli »

Offline Downix

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Re: Taurus II Development News
« Reply #286 on: 03/05/2010 03:25 pm »
Anyone heard anything regarding the advanced/high-energy 2nd stage? 

Some of the original files from Orbital showed LOX/Methane, but rumblings of LOX/LH2?  Orbital certainly designed the baseline vehicle to be "bottom heavy" so it'll be interesting to see how far it can stretch in a more balanced configuration (we've some idea obviously from Orbital's marketing stuff) and how what route they choose to take.  It is interesting that later iterations of the T2 brochure have grown increasingly vague on the advanced 2nd stage.

Cheers,

  --Nick

With a matched upper stage I'd expect it's performance to revival LVs like F9 and Atlas V.
Apparently testing of modifying the AJ-26 for LH2 has been tried, so who knows.
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Offline HMXHMX

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Re: Taurus II Development News
« Reply #287 on: 03/05/2010 04:11 pm »
The following Taurus II update appeared as part of an article dated 18 February 2010 published by Spaceflight Now at http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1002/18orionlas/:

"Orbital's first mission of its Taurus 2 rocket and Cygnus spacecraft is scheduled for March 2011.

(Orbital CEO David W.) Thompson said Orbital's schedule for launch early next year is "busy and tight" due to a hectic pace of construction, manufacturing and testing of ground and flight infrastructure. There is essentially no remaining schedule slack, Thompson said.

Thales Alenia Space of Italy has already started constructing Cygnus pressurized cargo modules. Orbital will start manufacturing Cygnus service modules in Dulles, Va., this year.

First stage engine tests are scheduled in Russia next week to probe the propulsion system's abilities by taking the engine well beyond the Taurus 2's expected flight conditions.

"What we're really trying to do here is push the engine well beyond what we would expect it to produce on a regular launch, particularly in terms of its run time," Thompson said.

The Taurus 2 first stage is powered by two AJ26 engines provided by Aerojet. The AJ26 engines are based on the NK-33 power plant developed by Russia in the 1960s for the ill-fated N-1 moon rocket.

An earlier round of Russian engine tests in October was abruptly cut short after an undisclosed issue. Frank Culbertson, an Orbital senior vice president, said during a January interview the problems were in the engine's liquid oxygen turbopump.

Aerojet will deliver the first engines to the Stennis Space Center in southern Mississippi in April to begin acceptance testing before being shipped to the Taurus 2 launch site at Wallops Island, Va.

"Those tests will take four different engines through that test cycle between the end of April and July or August," Thompson said. "Two of those four engines will then be sent at the end of the summer to the Wallops Island launch site, where they will be used in full Stage 1 system level testing of the Taurus 2 rocket in the fall."

The Taurus 2's first stage tank will begin structural testing in Ukraine in March. Other portions of the booster's internal structure and payload fairing will also be tested this spring.

Orbital expects a ground test unit of the Taurus 2 to arrive at Wallops by the end of this summer for a series of fit checks and pathfinder demos."


What really surprised me is OSC using a low Isp Solid 2nd Stage. Rather nullifies the efficiency of the 26.  The engine is also available with a high-altitude/vacuo nozzle- the NK-43/??? variant: I've not got the  bumpf handy, but Kistler intended using it on the K-1.  I would have thought that that configuration minus the reusable/flyback gear  would have provided a greater payload than current. Certainly greater capacity for upgrading. The NK-33 was tested out to 450,000lbs st.th and proved capable of adaption to Hydrolox propellents, so the -43 should also: perfect! 8)

Do you have a citation for the thrust level increase?  I have seen 114% power increase over 338K lbf s.l. but nothing higher.

Offline ugordan

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Re: Taurus II Development News
« Reply #288 on: 03/05/2010 04:16 pm »
What really surprised me is OSC using a low Isp Solid 2nd Stage. Rather nullifies the efficiency of the 26.  The engine is also available with a high-altitude/vacuo nozzle- the NK-43/??? variant:

The first stage tanks are not made in the U.S. Using a liquid 2nd stage with an airstart AJ-26 would require new tankage. Would Orbital be making it? Do they have much experience with large liquid prop systems? Would it make the vehicle less than 51% "american" if a foreign contractor made it instead? Would it stretch-out the schedule even further?

Questions, questions...

Offline ugordan

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Re: Taurus II Development News
« Reply #289 on: 03/15/2010 04:26 pm »
"Orbital and Aerojet Complete Main Engine Lifetime Testing for Taurus II Space Launch Vehicle"

http://www.orbital.com/NewsInfo/release.asp?prid=724

Any AJ-26 firing videos to be released?

Offline Ben the Space Brit

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Re: Taurus II Development News
« Reply #290 on: 03/15/2010 05:00 pm »
Anyone heard anything regarding the advanced/high-energy 2nd stage?

I read a rumour that Aerojet offered the hypergolic AJ-10.  Given that this worked so well on the Delta-II, it isn't a bad option.  Would an AJ-26/AJ-10 Taurus-II be the first all-Aerojet-powered LV?
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Offline Jim

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Re: Taurus II Development News
« Reply #291 on: 03/15/2010 05:15 pm »
Anyone heard anything regarding the advanced/high-energy 2nd stage?

I read a rumour that Aerojet offered the hypergolic AJ-10.  Given that this worked so well on the Delta-II, it isn't a bad option.  Would an AJ-26/AJ-10 Taurus-II be the first all-Aerojet-powered LV?

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Offline Swatch

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Re: Taurus II Development News
« Reply #292 on: 03/15/2010 05:48 pm »
Yea, and calling AJ-26 an Aerojet engine is stretching it until they start producing them IMHO.
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Offline telomerase99

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Re: Taurus II Development News
« Reply #293 on: 03/16/2010 08:38 am »
Why doesn't orbital have to do several test flights before actually berthing to ISS like Spacex?

Offline Skyrocket

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Re: Taurus II Development News
« Reply #294 on: 03/16/2010 08:48 am »
Why doesn't orbital have to do several test flights before actually berthing to ISS like Spacex?

probably because SpaceX has not any experience in building spacecrafts at all.

Orbital on the other hand have build a large number of spacecrafts, among them also satellites, which performed proximity operations like DART and one of the MITEX satellites (hopefully that Cygnus does not bump into it's target as DART did)

Offline ugordan

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Re: Taurus II Development News
« Reply #295 on: 03/16/2010 09:16 am »
Why doesn't orbital have to do several test flights before actually berthing to ISS like Spacex?
Because that's what was agreed upon in their COTS agreements. IIUC, the number of fligths wasn't levied onto the company, but the company itself chose the number it felt was appropriate. Orbital felt they can do it all at once, like Japan with HTV.

Offline William Barton

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Re: Taurus II Development News
« Reply #296 on: 03/16/2010 10:32 am »
Why doesn't orbital have to do several test flights before actually berthing to ISS like Spacex?
Because that's what was agreed upon in their COTS agreements. IIUC, the number of fligths wasn't levied onto the company, but the company itself chose the number it felt was appropriate. Orbital felt they can do it all at once, like Japan with HTV.

Am I correct in understanding it won't quite be as "all up" as HIIB/HTV, but will have a test flight of Taurus II prior to a second Taurus II carrying the first Cygnus to ISS?

Offline ugordan

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Re: Taurus II Development News
« Reply #297 on: 03/16/2010 10:38 am »
Am I correct in understanding it won't quite be as "all up" as HIIB/HTV, but will have a test flight of Taurus II prior to a second Taurus II carrying the first Cygnus to ISS?

Up until a couple of months ago, it would have been even "more" all-up than H-IIB because parts of that vehicle have flown before. As I hear part of the $300 million extra in COTS funding would go into risk reduction, meaning among other things an additional, demonstration flight of the T-II before the COTS flight, as you say.

Offline mmeijeri

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Re: Taurus II Development News
« Reply #298 on: 03/16/2010 10:46 am »
As a side note: this risk reduction is a wise move given the earlier very unwise move to depend exclusively on unproven launchers built by unproven launch vehicle designers. This term includes MSFC and Ares of course.
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Re: Taurus II Development News
« Reply #299 on: 03/18/2010 02:12 am »
What really surprised me is OSC using a low Isp Solid 2nd Stage. Rather nullifies the efficiency of the 26.  The engine is also available with a high-altitude/vacuo nozzle- the NK-43/??? variant:

The first stage tanks are not made in the U.S. Using a liquid 2nd stage with an airstart AJ-26 would require new tankage. Would Orbital be making it? Do they have much experience with large liquid prop systems? Would it make the vehicle less than 51% "american" if a foreign contractor made it instead? Would it stretch-out the schedule even further?

Questions, questions...

If Dave Thompson is calling the schedule "busy and tight" in public, the reality is probably more like "frantic." Using a solid on S2 probably gives them the shortest critical path and the lowest schedule risk, I would guess.

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