Commercial suborbital spaceflight is clearly covered by this forum.
Quote from: docmordrid on 10/26/2014 02:15 pmCommercial suborbital spaceflight is clearly covered by this forum.Suborbital by powered vehicles and not balloons.
>Such a system has wide-ranging applications for; the study of the science of the stratosphere, development of means for spaceship crew egress, the study of dynamics of bodies at Mach 1, new high altitude aircraft suits, and setting of records for space diving, sailplaning and ballooning. >
Even if balloon flight isn't spaceflight, it does have the potential to be used for testing of equipment, and manned balloon flights could perhaps be used to man-rate some technologies by putting them in a near-space environment.
development of means for spaceship crew egress,
Quote from: sanman on 10/26/2014 04:25 pmEven if balloon flight isn't spaceflight, it does have the potential to be used for testing of equipment, and manned balloon flights could perhaps be used to man-rate some technologies by putting them in a near-space environment. Nothing that couldn't be done in a vacuum chamber which is cheaper and safer.
1. Vacuum chambers aren't the really real world. Even suborbital suit re-entries may have unexpected thermal effects to be tested, regardless if the occupant is wetware or an insteumented test dummy. 2. Sooner or later you have to test like you fly®
Karman line is an arbitrary distinction. What is the likelihood that the line between the atmosphere and the void(that doesn't really exist) just happens to be exactly 1/100th the distance between the equator and the north pole.
Quote from: docmordrid on 10/26/2014 04:36 pm1. Vacuum chambers aren't the really real world. Even suborbital suit re-entries may have unexpected thermal effects to be tested, regardless if the occupant is wetware or an insteumented test dummy. 2. Sooner or later you have to test like you fly®1. Neither are balloon flights2. and using balloon flights for testing orbital suits is quite the opposite of test like you fly.
Quote from: ncb1397 on 10/26/2014 02:27 pmKarman line is an arbitrary distinction. What is the likelihood that the line between the atmosphere and the void(that doesn't really exist) just happens to be exactly 1/100th the distance between the equator and the north pole.Kármán line is not arbitrary. And you could find it out in 15 seconds by checking Wikipedia.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%A1rm%C3%A1n_line
Kármán line is not arbitrary. And you could find it out in 15 seconds by checking Wikipedia.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%A1rm%C3%A1n_line
I would suggest that if this doesn't qualify as a space topic, neither does a rover on Mars. Perhaps the cruise phase of the vehicle that delivered the payload but the rover is within a planetary atmosphere.
A rover on Mars is off planet and is in "space".
October 24, 2015: Milestone 10% Scale Test FlightPublished on Oct 26, 2015World View, the commercial spaceflight company, has successfully completed a major milestone test flight, keeping the company on track to meet its 2017 goal for manned private flights to the edge of space. This test flight carried a scaled down, replica spacecraft to a final altitude of 100,475 feet (30624 meters), successfully marking the transition from sub-scale testing to a historical next stage of development – full scale testing.World View is a space experience launching in 2017 that presents a drastically different approach to the adrenaline-laced rocket ride we think of today. World View will have its Voyagers, planet earth's new class of discerning explorers, gliding peacefully along the edge of space for a two-hour sailing-like experience within a luxury capsule transported via high-altitude balloon. WEBSITE:http://www.worldviewexperience.com
One of the @WorldViewSpace 'Stratolites' which take scientific equipment to 100,000ft. Behind, a prototype full size passenger module.
Would you pay $75,000 for a balloon ride to the edge of space? We got exclusive access to @WorldViewSpace in Tucson, AZ. Only on @BBCClick
It's an ego/adventure thing. People gotta spend their money some way, for 75k you could have a 1 in 4 chance of dying while climbing Everest, or you could do this and put some money into the aerospace industry.It's not Space, but it's Aerospace. I've got no problem with it being on the forum.
It's on BBC News24 now. Missed the start myself.
Great feature story on World View by @SPACEdotcom! Check it out here:http://bit.ly/2mxmSHG
Click here for a 360 VR tour of Biosphere 2, our facility, a WV test flight, and trip to the edge of space! http://on.mash.to/2ojrpBy @Within
Balloon explodes at Spaceport Tucson, no injuries reported[…]"There were no injuries and only superficial facility damage at the site."
Fine, it's not "real spaceflight", just like sending people to live in some isolated enclosure in Antarctica or on the upper slopes of Mauna Loa in Hawaii isn't a "real Mars mission".
QuoteBalloon explodes at Spaceport Tucson, no injuries reported[…]"There were no injuries and only superficial facility damage at the site."http://tucson.com/news/local/balloon-explodes-at-spaceport-tucson-no-injuries-reported/article_6a3b5558-e4fc-11e7-b0d3-97f88bb96b88.amp.html
World View intends to use what it learns from Stratollite to launch people in another balloon-lifted craft called Voyager. "We will be flying people in the future but I'd like us to have 100 or more Stratollite flights under our belt first," Poynter said.Stratollite can fly commercial payloads the size of a small bus to 150,000 feet of altitude, making it possible to quickly and steadily provide services such as weather forecasting, military surveillance or disaster recovery.
Why do they have to say more than this?
Well, that's main stream media for you. Hyperbole, hyperbole, hyperbole. They do this for LauncherOne, which doesn't go a lot higher, as well. And basically for anything space-related. Or rather: for everything, full stop.
World View, which focuses on remote sensing and stratospheric surveillance, has agreed to go public through a merger with a blank-check firm, according to people with knowledge of the matter.The deal with Leo Holdings Corp. II is set to value the combined entity at about $350 million, which includes a potential $75 million private investment in public equity, or PIPE, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. A transaction could be announced as soon as Thursday, they said.
In October 2021, World View announced it would return to the tourism business, developing a balloon system and pressurized cabin to take up to 10 people to altitudes of about 30 kilometers for flights lasting 6 to 12 hours. The company says 1,200 people have reserved seats on those flights, with a ticket cost of $50,000, although the company has not disclosed how much revenue it has collected from those reservations.World View provided little financial information as part of the SPAC announcement. Unlike some similar deals involving space or space-adjacent companies, there was no conference call to discuss the merger, and they did not release an investor presentation with financial details or projections.
World View, the stratospheric ballooning company that announced plans to go public last month, is emphasizing remote sensing, and not tourism, as its primary market for the next several years.The company, which said Jan. 13 it would go public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) called Leo Holdings Corp. II, filed an investor presentation with the Securities and Exchange Commission Feb. 3 that provided new information about its finances and business plans.In the presentation, the company described how it believed its balloon platform, called a “stratollite,” could compete against satellites and aerial platforms in providing high-resolution imagery for extended periods.
These balloons take nearly 500,000 m3 of helium each. Annual helium production in the USA is 57 million m3. if they get to more than ~10 flights per year, it'll have significant impact on helium supplies.
Helium production in the United States totaled 73 million cubic meters in 2014. The US was the world's largest helium producer, providing 40 percent of world supply.(Wikepedia)
World View expects both the number of flights and revenue to grow substantially in the next few years, reaching $89 million in revenue from 65 flights in 2025.
Quote from: Hobbes-22 on 01/13/2023 06:51 amThese balloons take nearly 500,000 m3 of helium each. Annual helium production in the USA is 57 million m3. if they get to more than ~10 flights per year, it'll have significant impact on helium supplies. butQuoteHelium production in the United States totaled 73 million cubic meters in 2014. The US was the world's largest helium producer, providing 40 percent of world supply.(Wikepedia)From the SpaceNews article:QuoteWorld View expects both the number of flights and revenue to grow substantially in the next few years, reaching $89 million in revenue from 65 flights in 2025.65*5E5 m^3= 3.3E7 m^3 = 45% of 73 million m^3 or just under half of the 2014 production in the US, and about 20% of the 2014 world production.Still a big chunk.Is this correct today?Is this economically practical?Is there no recovery of the helium?Isn't one of the balloons fixed while gas is bled into and pumped out of the variable other?