Author Topic: Space Access '12 Live Blog  (Read 28603 times)

Offline simonbp

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Re: Space Access '12 Live Blog
« Reply #40 on: 04/13/2012 05:46 pm »
United Launch Alliance, Frank Zegler

He's a dinosaur, but a velociraptor.

A need to integrate the systems on in-space hardware (ie Centaur) together. E.g. He bottles are actually quite dangerous. Lots of dangerous pyrotechnics. Boring systems add up to 15-20% mass of a Centaur. Much technology not shared with no other industry. Only marginal improvements attained existing design approaches. Needs non-aerospace-specific parts and processes. Get rid of high-pressure systems, hypergolics, have very high margin and redundancy, and unlimited restarts. Enable depots through a better engineered upper stages.

Use only LH2 and LOX for everything. Use waste boiloff as power source in a simple two-stroke engine to pump up pressure, with a 300 V battery in between. Everything is block-redundant. Exploit high-performance automotive industry. Backend of Centaur is completely redesigned/simplified. Continuous thrust RCS using boiloff gases. Prius car hooked to a shop-vac system. Little settling GOX/GH2 thuster is quite powerful.

Full H2/O2 internal-combustion engine designed by Roush, inline 6-cylinder. Breathe fuel and inject oxygen, regeneratively cooled. Generate about 4 kWe. ~15,000 rpm typical, 40 horsepower max.

Cryopumps with Xcor, based on work with Roush. Completely controllable.

Store all the energy in one place, only small elsewhere, produce power on need. Waste heat much more valuable than electrons. At just a 0.1 millig, boil-off really drops down, so small thruster burning boiloff will reduce the total boiloff. Staying settled for weeks is worth thousands of pounds of propellant. Lower pressure, much lower dry mass. System mass does not change with larger tanks, extra engine. Higher voltage solenoids can seal much better. Don't need to spin-test an IC engine; repairable for the future. Also all works with CH4.

Pressure in tank determined by hottest part of propellant; abilitiy to mix propellants and prevent segregation huge. Also, allows active cooling. Whole new set of tools. Thiner walls, better thermal control. Get back to original Centaur wall thickness. Long-term a mix of IC APU, fuel cells, and solar. IC engine now 650 cc, only needs to be 250 cc.

Offline Robotbeat

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Re: Space Access '12 Live Blog
« Reply #41 on: 04/13/2012 07:03 pm »
Awesome talk!
"He's a dinosaur, but a velociraptor."  ;D
Wish I could be there. Too bad there's no video.
Chris  Whoever loves correction loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.

To the maximum extent practicable, the Federal Government shall plan missions to accommodate the space transportation services capabilities of United States commercial providers. US law http://goo.gl/YZYNt0

Offline simonbp

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Re: Space Access '12 Live Blog
« Reply #42 on: 04/13/2012 07:06 pm »
Panel: World Space Programs & Prospects - Jeff Foust, Clark Lindsey, Doug Messier, Dave Salt

Space tourism has a lot of international funding. Reaction Engines only commercial spaceflight near-term hardware company in Europe right now. North Korea is going to be sending a human into space anytime soon, at east not willingly.

Offline simonbp

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Re: Space Access '12 Live Blog
« Reply #43 on: 04/13/2012 07:31 pm »
Henry Spencer, "Lessons From Smallsats for Small Launchers"

U Toronto has 6 nanosats in progress, for paying customers, students only as apprentices. 15 grad students at any given time. To get a mammal, you don't put a dinosaur on a starvation diet. Don't spend too long on paper, get working with hardware as fast as possible. Don't get too ambitious right off the bat. Three generations of Explorers before the first Vanguard got into space. Don't go full-up on the first launch. Wiring biggest source of random failures, not chips. MOST has not had many radiation failures in 9 years, despite having no rad-hard chips.

Offline manboy

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Re: Space Access '12 Live Blog
« Reply #44 on: 04/13/2012 07:33 pm »
Thanks for these notes Simon.

I really like the G-lab concept - using ISS resources (discarded vehicles) to do science that would otherwise have a detrimental effect on other ISS experiments. SSI should talk to the Russians, since they're interested in a man-tended free flyer too.

Also, I really like Jon Goff's D2S. :)
I also like the concept, I just wish it was more specific.
"Cheese has been sent into space before. But the same cheese has never been sent into space twice." - StephenB

Offline simonbp

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Re: Space Access '12 Live Blog
« Reply #45 on: 04/13/2012 07:37 pm »
Ben Brockert, "Encouraging STEM Education In The US"

Prizes, Competitions, Grants. What can be done with $10,000-100,000?

Offline simonbp

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Re: Space Access '12 Live Blog
« Reply #46 on: 04/13/2012 09:38 pm »
NASA Office of the Chief Technologist, Dr. Laguduva Kubendran

Space Technology now funded, at $575 million. Most centers have had to drop tech development funds, ST trying to fill gaps. Restarted NIAC.

Making a conscience effort to not tell commercial suborbital operators what to do as much as possible. Goal is to make sure there is a pipeline for suborbital payloads.

Offline simonbp

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Re: Space Access '12 Live Blog
« Reply #47 on: 04/13/2012 10:44 pm »
Lasermotive, Jordin Kare

Won centennial challenge for power beaming (for UAVs). Since then, second round canceled. Kept a COTS quad-copter in flight for 12.5 hours. Developing a commercial UAV system based on that.

Also did a study of laser launch for OCT to estimate TRL level. Laser Heat Exchanger vehicle, ~60 kg payload SSTO, requires ~200 MW laser system. Mix of water and hydrogen propellant.

Offline simonbp

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Re: Space Access '12 Live Blog
« Reply #48 on: 04/13/2012 11:54 pm »
Orbital Outfitters, Jeff Feige

We make spacesuits. One of the only "tier 2" companies, dependent on the primary space companies. Every vehicle has different issues and requirements. There is no suit you can just buy off the rack.

Challenger crew could have survived _if_ they had both suits and an emergency egress method. Crew of Soyuz 11 would absolutely have survived with suits. ASTP Apollo darn close to killing crew in last 10,000 ft.

Also build full spacecraft mockups. Just got a huge new mill (4 meter max part size).

A number of hours for training, but not too much.

Offline robertross

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Re: Space Access '12 Live Blog
« Reply #49 on: 04/13/2012 11:57 pm »
Thanks for posting the details of these presentations Simon. Following closely.
Some very positive & interesting ones so far.

Offline simonbp

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Re: Space Access '12 Live Blog
« Reply #50 on: 04/14/2012 12:22 am »
Masten Space, Dave Masten (now CTO!)

Beautiful image of Xaero on title. Flown twice free-flight, 80 tether. Xoie with an aeroshell, which changed all the vibration modes, and confused the IMU.

Sensei - Masten Rocket Hypervisor GN&C system. Acts as a low-level back-up GN&C system in parallel to an experimental system. Can independently control and land vehicle in emergency. Used with Draper's Apollo-heritage GENIE on Xombie to show they can fly different GN&C system. 25 flights.

Working on 2 business lines, high-altitude and planetary EDL. Xeus started with Jon Goff talking to ULA about DTAL. ULA donated a Centaur stage for initial work. 4x 3 klb engines. Just waiting on airport approval for testing.

Looking to launch second Xaero to get to max altitude/supersonic in a few months. High test launches will be from Mohave, operational from where the customers want. Second vehicle because too many customers! First dedicated to EDL type testing.

Donated Centaur not spaceflight-worthy (training RL-10), but for flight testing (flying down from 1,000 meters). Stored in "the stable". :)  Xeus is the missing element in NASA program of record. About 14 tonnes to lunar surface. Working with people at several NASA centers. Goal is land an SMD payload on Moon by 2017, but probably won't happen.

Xogdor parts being worked on, but want to learn from Xaero B first. Really good financial situation.

Offline Robotbeat

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Re: Space Access '12 Live Blog
« Reply #51 on: 04/14/2012 12:28 am »
Ask Masten about Xeus on Mars!
Chris  Whoever loves correction loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.

To the maximum extent practicable, the Federal Government shall plan missions to accommodate the space transportation services capabilities of United States commercial providers. US law http://goo.gl/YZYNt0

Offline simonbp

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Re: Space Access '12 Live Blog
« Reply #52 on: 04/14/2012 03:04 am »
Rick Tumlinson, on the EarthLight Institute

Noone got into this field for money. It's because it's destiny. We have a tendency to focus on the top new technology. It's not rich boys' toys. It's the beginning of an epic frontier. You don't walk into the frontier and stay in the Hyatt. It's not an accident that it's called the (M.) Falcon...

Earthlight is about to spread life across the solar system and universe. Building credible/critical technology. Own the name Encyclopedia Galactica. The edge is where the exciting things happen. Pat Rawlings, BSG animators working on vision art to visualize space settlement. Goal is become self-funding.

Offline simonbp

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Re: Space Access '12 Live Blog
« Reply #53 on: 04/14/2012 03:29 am »
Phil Chapman, "Reviving Human Spaceflight"

"Space Guard", space version of Coast Guard. Gigantic solar power lasers for power and as weapons of mass destruction.

Offline simonbp

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Re: Space Access '12 Live Blog
« Reply #54 on: 04/14/2012 04:19 am »
Panel: Newspace Lessons Learned - Gary Hudson, Henry Spencer, Henry Vanderbilt

If you're going to set a regulatory timebomb, put a longer fuse on it. Everything takes longer than you thought. Customer financing much better than investor financing. Investors want to exit as soon as possible, customers stick around. Fly hardware early and often. Document as much as possible. Keep track of software versions (from Paul Breed). Labor is the biggest expense. It takes the same effort to bid an SBIR as for a $10 million contract.

Offline simonbp

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Re: Space Access '12 Live Blog
« Reply #55 on: 04/14/2012 05:00 am »
Armadillo Aerospace, Ben Brockert

16 min video. Lots of tests. 4 klb CH4 engine. Nice video of Stig first flight, including the parachute departing the rocket. Fracture during transport killed Dalek. Parachute drop test from manned balloon. Had a transonic control inversion on Stiga in December; reached 42 km; turbulence shredded ballute, broke control lines in main chute. January Stiga flight hit Mach 3.4; had 7 cameras, recovered one; the drogue detached... Flight did not go well, but got (literal) data compression for free... Engine was actually intact, will fly again!

Next Stig (Stigb, 20-inch diameter) will have cold gas RCS, not under amateur classification.

It's "very exciting" waiting for it to come down. Point of Stig is getting high-altitude experience, something they never did in Texas. Put together 2 planes for Rocket Racing.

Offline simonbp

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Re: Space Access '12 Live Blog
« Reply #56 on: 04/14/2012 05:53 am »
JP Aerospace, John Powell

Volunteer-based organization. Airship to Orbit. Balloon at 140,000 ft with an ion engine attached. Docks at "station" floating at top of atmosphere. Pays for it by shooting commercials. Tested 1.2 Tesla Hall Effect thruster, shooting for ~1000 s Isp. Tandem has controllable airship altitude record. Flown 6400 pongsats. Wants the millionth pongsat on the Moon. Commercial follow-up to pongsat is mini-cube, 5 cm^3.

Offline savuporo

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Re: Space Access '12 Live Blog
« Reply #57 on: 04/14/2012 05:57 am »
Customer financing much better than investor financing. Investors want to exit as soon as possible, customers stick around.
Good observation of course, but i am still wondering why they are not discussing all the other types of financing that are possible.
Orion - the first and only manned not-too-deep-space craft

Offline Geron

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None
« Reply #58 on: 04/14/2012 06:45 am »
None
« Last Edit: 02/11/2014 06:34 pm by Geron »

Offline simonbp

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Re: Space Access '12 Live Blog
« Reply #59 on: 04/14/2012 07:44 am »
Good observation of course, but i am still wondering why they are not discussing all the other types of financing that are possible.

That was a relative point that Gary Hudson was making that every time he had investor funding, he lost money, and every time he had customer funding, he made money. He wasn't necessarily discounting any other sources.

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