Quote from: FinalFrontier on 03/02/2010 04:04 pmHuh. 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.
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..........
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."
aj26 could be used on an hlv too..........
Quote from: FinalFrontier on 03/02/2010 04:04 pmaj26 could be used on an hlv too..........It was. The HLV wasn't exactly a success.
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
Quote from: just-nick on 03/01/2010 10:38 pmAnyone 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, --NickWith a matched upper stage I'd expect it's performance to revival LVs like F9 and Atlas V.
Quote from: Freddie on 02/20/2010 04:50 pmThe 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!
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:
Anyone heard anything regarding the advanced/high-energy 2nd stage?
Quote from: just-nick on 03/01/2010 10:38 pmAnyone 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?
Why doesn't orbital have to do several test flights before actually berthing to ISS like Spacex?
Quote from: telomerase99 on 03/16/2010 08:38 amWhy 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?
Quote from: Kitspacer on 03/05/2010 02:56 pmWhat 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...