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#1160
by
William Graham
on 15 Jan, 2014 16:44
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#1161
by
antriksh
on 20 Jan, 2014 10:50
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#1162
by
edkyle99
on 20 Jan, 2014 16:11
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Does anyone know the record for highest altitude suborbital rocket flight? When China did its near-GEO altitude suborbital launch last year there was mention of it being the highest since 1976.
- Ed Kyle
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#1163
by
William Graham
on 20 Jan, 2014 20:03
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Does anyone know the record for highest altitude suborbital rocket flight? When China did its near-GEO altitude suborbital launch last year there was mention of it being the highest since 1976.
- Ed Kyle
If failed orbital launches count, Pioneer 1 reached about 140,000 km.
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#1164
by
edkyle99
on 20 Jan, 2014 21:16
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Does anyone know the record for highest altitude suborbital rocket flight? When China did its near-GEO altitude suborbital launch last year there was mention of it being the highest since 1976.
- Ed Kyle
If failed orbital launches count, Pioneer 1 reached about 140,000 km.
Yes, that would count. According to my references, Pioneer 1 had a 113,854 km apogee and a 43 hour, 17 minute long flight that began on October 11, 1958. Pioneer 3, launched by a Juno II, also fell short but reached 108,702 km during a nearly 30 hour flight after a December 6, 1958 launch.
For Pioneer 3, the difference between its suborbital trajectory and its planned solar orbit was its first stage cutting off only 3.6 seconds early. This shows that these missions were very close to the fine line between suborbital and escape. I wonder what the theoretical max suborbital apogee could be - and if anyone beat Pioneer 1.
- Ed Kyle
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#1165
by
William Graham
on 20 Jan, 2014 21:22
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I wonder what the theoretical max suborbital apogee could be - and if anyone beat Pioneer 1.
I'd assume the theoretical maximum would be the edge of Earth's sphere of influence. Not sure what it would take to get there without reaching escape velocity though.
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#1166
by
jcm
on 24 Jan, 2014 02:52
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The claimed record, and highest deliberate suborbital attempt, was Blue Scout Jr O-1 in 1961, at 225000 km. However telemetry was lost prior to final stage burn so it's extremely dubious that it really got that high.
Pioneer 1 was the next highest.
You could go to the edge of the effective sphere of influence at about 1.5 million km, if you aimed perfectly
vertically - straight line orbit with zero sideways velocity and a very very carefully judged vertical velocity just below escape velocity
(and well away from the Moon)
In practice it'd be very hard to control the apogee accurately, small velocity changes would make a big difference in that range
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#1167
by
jcm
on 24 Jan, 2014 02:58
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Here are my candidates for high altitude suborbital launches, in order of claimed apogee in km (final column)
(values should be not too far off except for Kunpeng-7 and Blue Scout Jr O-1)
[Edit:] Sorry - I forgot the Luna failure of Apr 1960 which is claimed in some sources to have done a Pioneer-1-like high altitude flight.
Date Rocket type Flight Payload Launch Site Apogee
1960 Oct 4 1523 Scout X-1 - ST-2 Radiation Probe WI LA3 5600
1962 Mar 29 0727 Scout X-2 1C ST-9 P-21A WI LA3 6291
1961 Oct 19 1738 Scout X-1 - ST-7 P-21 WI LA3 6855
2013 May 13 1258 DF-31 ? Kunpeng-7 - XSC - 10000
1976 Jun 18 1141 Scout D-1 - S193C GP-A WI LA3A 10230
1963 Jul 30 1616:08 Blue Scout Jr - 22-1/AD-622 OAR 22-1/AFCRL-1/21 CC LC18A 11100
1965 May 12 1602:35 Blue Scout Jr - 22-8 (OAR Probe 6) OAR 22-8/AFCRL-335 CC LC18A 13586
1965 Mar 30 1609:31 Blue Scout Jr - 22-4 (OAR Probe 4) OAR 22-4/AFCRL-35 CC LC18A 16500
1965 Jun 9 1626:15 Blue Scout Jr - 22-5 (OAR Probe 7) OAR 22-5/AFWL-304 CC LC18A 17533
1965 Apr 9 1810:37 Blue Scout Jr - 22-9 (OAR Probe 5) OAR 22-9/AFWL-14 CC LC18A 25422
1960 Sep 21 1301:53 Blue Scout Jr - D-1 HETS CC LC18A 26700
1971 Sep 20 2331:00 Scout B - S166C BIC WI LA3A 31479
1961 Dec 4 0400:16 Blue Scout Jr - O-2 - PA LC-A 44400
1958 Dec 6 0544:52 Juno II - AM-11 Pioneer 3 CC LC5 102200
1958 Oct 11 0842:13 Thor Able - 130 Pioneer 1 CC LC17 113860
1960 Apr 15 1519 8K72 - L1-9 E-3 No. 1 (Luna) NIIP-5 LC1 200000?
1961 Aug 17 1429 Blue Scout Jr - O-1 HETS CC LC18A 225000
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#1168
by
albatros68
on 26 Feb, 2014 18:53
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There is little information, but Argentina`s VEX1 might have been launched today with uncertain results
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#1169
by
josespeck
on 27 Feb, 2014 16:23
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#1170
by
jcm
on 27 Feb, 2014 19:21
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Bad:
http://puntaindioweb.com/el-cohete-despego-y-exploto.htm
So, to summarize: launched 2014 Feb 26 (morning local time in Argentina) from Punta Piedras, (about 35 26S 57 08W)
Reached 2 metres before exploding. VEXI 1 is the rocket's name. - per wikipedia, planned apogee was 16 km,
a single stage propulsion test.
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#1171
by
Satori
on 27 Feb, 2014 21:45
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Bad:
http://puntaindioweb.com/el-cohete-despego-y-exploto.htm
So, to summarize: launched 2014 Feb 26 (morning local time in Argentina) from Punta Piedras, (about 35 26S 57 08W)
Reached 2 metres before exploding. VEXI 1 is the rocket's name. - per wikipedia, planned apogee was 16 km,
a single stage propulsion test.
The name is Vex 1A or sometimes VEx 1A (probably Vehiculo Experimental).
"Este prototipo tiene 4,5 metros de largo, pesa 2,8 toneladas, puede alcanzar una velocidad máxima de 828 kilómetros por hora y, a diferencia de los misiles, su motor funciona con combustible líquido."
Length - 4.5 meters
Weight - 2,800 kg
Maximum speed - 828 km/h
Liquid fuel propulsion
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#1172
by
baldusi
on 27 Feb, 2014 22:20
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Bad:
http://puntaindioweb.com/el-cohete-despego-y-exploto.htm
So, to summarize: launched 2014 Feb 26 (morning local time in Argentina) from Punta Piedras, (about 35 26S 57 08W)
Reached 2 metres before exploding. VEXI 1 is the rocket's name. - per wikipedia, planned apogee was 16 km,
a single stage propulsion test.
The name is Vex 1A or sometimes VEx 1A (probably Vehiculo Experimental).
"Este prototipo tiene 4,5 metros de largo, pesa 2,8 toneladas, puede alcanzar una velocidad máxima de 828 kilómetros por hora y, a diferencia de los misiles, su motor funciona con combustible líquido."
Length - 4.5 meters
Weight - 2,800 kg
Maximum speed - 828 km/h
Liquid fuel propulsion
It's got a pressure fed 4tf engine. My back of the envelop calculation was a 20s to 25s nominal flight. Please take with a grain of salt.
The previous launch attempt had a GSE problem (hose failure, apparently). They did have the VEx-1B already built and in the next HIF. I don't know what are thet going to do with it, though.
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#1173
by
baldusi
on 28 Feb, 2014 00:21
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BTW, the comment is that it just cleared the launch pad and propulsion failed when it was a couple of meters in the air. When it fell, obviously it ignited, since it's hypergolics. But it was not an explosion. It sounds to me like a pressurization system failure. Either that or a thrust termination system activated very early for an unknown reason.
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#1174
by
edkyle99
on 04 Mar, 2014 18:57
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Russia launched an RS-12M Topol missile, apparently from Kapustin Yar toward Kazakhstan, on March 4, 2014. Reported to be a success. This would have been a short range test, which makes it a bit chilling given the current Ukrainian situation. Russia notified the U.S. before the launch, as required by treaty.
- Ed Kyle
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#1175
by
Star One
on 04 Mar, 2014 20:24
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From the Guardian newspapers rolling coverage so I cannot provide a link.
Reuters picks up a report by state-run RIA quoting a Russian defense ministry spokesman as saying that Russia successfully test-fired an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM).
Reuters:
The Strategic Rocket Forces launched an RS-12M Topol missile from the southerly Astrakhan region near the Caspian Sea and the dummy warhead hit its target at a proving ground in Kazakhstan, the state-run news agency RIA cited Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Yegorov as saying.
The RIA report in Russian is here. Update: an Interfax report is here. And Yegorov is a defense ministry spokesman. We’re looking for a further statement.
Update: The Pentagon tells Luis Martinez of ABC News that the United States had been notified of the test, which was planned ahead of the recent and current unrest in Ukraine.
#Russia ICBM test was planned ahead of #Ukraine and US had been notified of window, US official tells @LMartinezABC
— Alexander Marquardt (@MarquardtA) March 4, 2014
Update: Reuters hears the same from the Pentagon:
The United States received nomination from Russia ahead of its test-fire of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Tuesday, in line with Moscow’s commitments under the nuclear arms treaty between the two countries, a U.S. official said.
The official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said initial notification of Russia’s test plans pre-dated Russia’s military intervention in Crimea.
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#1176
by
Satori
on 04 Mar, 2014 20:31
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Russia launched an RS-12M Topol missile, apparently from Kapustin Yar toward Kazakhstan, on March 4, 2014. Reported to be a success. This would have been a short range test, which makes it a bit chilling given the current Ukrainian situation. Russia notified the U.S. before the launch, as required by treaty.
- Ed Kyle
Launch took place at 1810UTC.
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#1177
by
Star One
on 04 Mar, 2014 20:47
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Russia launched an RS-12M Topol missile, apparently from Kapustin Yar toward Kazakhstan, on March 4, 2014. Reported to be a success. This would have been a short range test, which makes it a bit chilling given the current Ukrainian situation. Russia notified the U.S. before the launch, as required by treaty.
- Ed Kyle
Launch took place at 1810UTC.
Thanks. Why does it have two designators as it looks like its correct one is RT-2PM? I thought PT was the indicator of solid fuelled?
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#1178
by
edkyle99
on 04 Mar, 2014 21:19
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Russia launched an RS-12M Topol missile, apparently from Kapustin Yar toward Kazakhstan, on March 4, 2014. Reported to be a success. This would have been a short range test, which makes it a bit chilling given the current Ukrainian situation. Russia notified the U.S. before the launch, as required by treaty.
- Ed Kyle
Launch took place at 1810UTC.
Thanks. Why does it have two designators as it looks like its correct one is RT-2PM? I thought PT was the indicator of solid fuelled?
This is how Anatoly Zak lists the multiple names and numbers for Topol.
Vehicle
RT-2PM Topol
Industrial name
15Zh58
Treaty name
RS-12M
US name
SS-25 (PL-5)
NATO name
Sickle
Anatoly points out that the launch was "likely unconnected" to the Ukrainian standoff - it was planned and announced well before the situation developed - but it is fair to mention that the U.S. postponed a preplanned Minuteman III test last year in the midst of, if I remember correctly, a crises on the Korean peninsula (when the borders were closed, etc.). In that light, this test seems either reckless or purposeful.
- Ed Kyle
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#1179
by
Olaf
on 05 Mar, 2014 07:56
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RIA Novosti has reported that two additional launches are planned in March.
