NASA is going to announce Venture Class Launch Services providers next Wednesday, Oct. 15:http://www.parabolicarc.com/2015/10/07/nasa-announce-venture-class-launch-service-winners/
Jeff Foust (@jeff_foust) tweeted at 9:54 AM on Thu, Oct 08, 2015:(There have been rumors in industry that ALASA might never fly, out of concerns about flying that vehicle’s unproven propellant on an F-15.)(https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/651863177370730496)At least F15 has an ejection seat which is more than can be said for most of the other air launch systems.
Quote from: TrevorMonty on 10/07/2015 10:47 pmJeff Foust (@jeff_foust) tweeted at 9:54 AM on Thu, Oct 08, 2015:(There have been rumors in industry that ALASA might never fly, out of concerns about flying that vehicle’s unproven propellant on an F-15.)(https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/651863177370730496)At least F15 has an ejection seat which is more than can be said for most of the other air launch systems.ALASA is using a monopropellant, so it can release all its energy very quickly if something goes wrong. If that happens while it's attached to the F-15, an ejection seat won't help -- the overpressure from the blast will kill the pilot before the ejection seat can get away, unless the problem is detected a couple of seconds before the boom.
Boeing has announced that it has retrofitted a number of retired Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter jets with equipment enabling them to be flown remotely without a pilot. In conjunction with the US Air Force, the company recently flew one of these unmanned jets, performing combat maneuvers and a perfect center line landing.
Quote from: ChrisWilson68 on 10/07/2015 10:58 pmQuote from: TrevorMonty on 10/07/2015 10:47 pmJeff Foust (@jeff_foust) tweeted at 9:54 AM on Thu, Oct 08, 2015:(There have been rumors in industry that ALASA might never fly, out of concerns about flying that vehicle’s unproven propellant on an F-15.)(https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/651863177370730496)At least F15 has an ejection seat which is more than can be said for most of the other air launch systems.ALASA is using a monopropellant, so it can release all its energy very quickly if something goes wrong. If that happens while it's attached to the F-15, an ejection seat won't help -- the overpressure from the blast will kill the pilot before the ejection seat can get away, unless the problem is detected a couple of seconds before the boom.Possible solution?QuoteBoeing has announced that it has retrofitted a number of retired Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter jets with equipment enabling them to be flown remotely without a pilot. In conjunction with the US Air Force, the company recently flew one of these unmanned jets, performing combat maneuvers and a perfect center line landing.http://www.gizmag.com/boeing-f16-jet-unmanned-drone/29203/
Quote from: ChrisWilson68 on 10/07/2015 10:58 pmQuote from: TrevorMonty on 10/07/2015 10:47 pmALASA is using a monopropellant, so it can release all its energy very quickly if something goes wrong. If that happens while it's attached to the F-15, an ejection seat won't help -- the overpressure from the blast will kill the pilot before the ejection seat can get away, unless the problem is detected a couple of seconds before the boom.Possible solution?QuoteBoeing has announced that it has retrofitted a number of retired Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter jets with equipment enabling them to be flown remotely without a pilot. In conjunction with the US Air Force, the company recently flew one of these unmanned jets, performing combat maneuvers and a perfect center line landing.
Quote from: TrevorMonty on 10/07/2015 10:47 pmALASA is using a monopropellant, so it can release all its energy very quickly if something goes wrong. If that happens while it's attached to the F-15, an ejection seat won't help -- the overpressure from the blast will kill the pilot before the ejection seat can get away, unless the problem is detected a couple of seconds before the boom.
“We are going to be doing three to four suborbital launches first — starting in 2017 to assure people — before we kick into orbital flights in the first quarter 2018,” said King. ( FireFly )Richard DalBello, VP of business development and government relations at Virgin Galactic: “We hope to be starting test launches in the latter part of 2017 with commercial operations in 2018. Other defense-driven rapid response vehicles are in the works as well, such as the U.S. Air Force Operationally Responsive Space (ORS) office’s Super Strypi rail-launched rocket, slated for its debut mission this month
One for the list: Nammo North Star Launch Vehicle (NSLV) from Norway using hybrid motors. First launch in 2020.
Currently there are at least eight companies developing vehicles. I'll ad a excel document later.
A helpful boost or "thumb on the scale"? What are the deliverables for these contracts? First launch? Seems like insufficient funding for that.PowerPoint files for reviews? At least one of our members sees that kind of "help" as a distraction at best.