Surely SALVO is simply a modernised air-launched ASAT system? What else could it be, when the commercial world has looked at, and rejected, such micro-launchers time and time again, and for good reasons?This is a weapons system, guys, and not in terms of information warfare, either.
I have just found this article on SALVO with an artist impression:http://www.americaspace.com/?p=83211
Any info, when the SALVO will fly?The last news from Ventions was in September, when they successfully conducted a static fire test of electric pump-fed SALVO stage.
Ventions awarded 2 DARPA contracts for on-going development of electric-pump fed propulsion and launch vehicle stage technologies.
Has anyone heard any news on SALVO? Still active development or has it died together with Boeing's ALASA?
SALVO was a really wild concept. Based on information in patent US9745063B2 filed by Adam London and some of the other former Ventions members, what you see in the pictures mostly isn't the rocket. The rocket itself was going to be held inside an outer shell type thing (Fig.19A) which would reduce structural loads during takeoff and deployment as well as keeping the propellant cool during a possibly lengthy flight to the drop zone. Upon deployment the rocket would ditch the outer shell, sliding out the top and continuing to orbit (Fig.23). Its truly a wild concept and I highly suggest looking through the patent.
The back end of the rocket looks pretty empty. Is this just a model of the rocket?