It might be able to air launch one of XS1 proposals. This would allow for downrange recovery on land. Between, improved latitude, small DV gain from airlaunch and downrange recovery there would be a significant increase in payload. Even one of small LV in development eg Firefly, Electron. Would be overkill but its a LV that doesn't need to be developed from scratch.
Quote from: TrevorMonty on 04/26/2016 04:47 pmIt might be able to air launch one of XS1 proposals. This would allow for downrange recovery on land. Between, improved latitude, small DV gain from airlaunch and downrange recovery there would be a significant increase in payload. Even one of small LV in development eg Firefly, Electron. Would be overkill but its a LV that doesn't need to be developed from scratch. Since Vulcan Aerospace is connected to Firefly, it would be my bet that they'll announce some sort of development partnership with them, at least.
What's interested me the most of the last couple years is how resilient these launch start ups are. You'd think microlaunch would see a bunch exiting the field due to obvious overcrowding, but more keep entering. You'd think that after 2 different rockets, Stratolaunch would be dead, but it's not. Somehow, these groups make a go of it by merging or collaborating, or at least delaying the inevitable. I mean, Dream Chaser. Everyone thought it was dead. Even Armadillo Aerospace is being reborn.
Quote from: Robotbeat on 04/26/2016 05:54 pmWhat's interested me the most of the last couple years is how resilient these launch start ups are. You'd think microlaunch would see a bunch exiting the field due to obvious overcrowding, but more keep entering. You'd think that after 2 different rockets, Stratolaunch would be dead, but it's not. Somehow, these groups make a go of it by merging or collaborating, or at least delaying the inevitable. I mean, Dream Chaser. Everyone thought it was dead. Even Armadillo Aerospace is being reborn.Yeah, it's fascinating. Makes you wonder if the next big player in the newspace launch crowd will be a company made through smaller corporate mergers.
New pictures! Whoot!http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/06/20/science/stratolaunchs-gargantuan-flying-launchpad-edges-toward-the-skies.html?_r=0&referer=https://news.google.com/RcTeller
“It’s an incredibly ambitious undertaking,” said Charles Beames, president of Vulcan Aerospace, the entity Mr. Allen created to oversee Stratolaunch and other space initiatives. “A really big plane means carrying anything from a really big rocket to a smaller rocket. That allows us to serve a broader set of customers.” [...]Mr. Beames said Stratolaunch would announce new partnerships in the coming months that will fill out details about the project. He declined to say when Stratolaunch would begin test flights, but he vowed to meet a goal of Mr. Allen’s to be up and running by 2020. “Come hell or high water, you can be sure we’ll do that,” Mr. Beames said.
Paul Allen's "Vulcan Aerospace" (no connection with the planned Vulcan rocket from the United Launch Alliance) gave the Seattle Times a sneak preview of their new giant airplane-launched rocket system.
"Vulcan’s concept is that this airplane will carry a rocket weighing up to 275 tons slung beneath the central part of the wing — between the two fuselages — and release it at 35,000 feet. The rocket will then launch into space and deliver satellites into orbit."I can't find anything, even on Vulcan's home page, to say how much mass it would deliver to LEO.
Quote from: Greg Hullender on 06/20/2016 02:41 pmPaul Allen's "Vulcan Aerospace" (no connection with the planned Vulcan rocket from the United Launch Alliance) gave the Seattle Times a sneak preview of their new giant airplane-launched rocket system.When ULA debuted their name there was some barking about it violating trademark or something. That seems to have gone away. Did it just fade or did somebody make a public announcement about why it was okay?
Quote from: HMXHMX on 04/26/2016 05:35 pmQuote from: TrevorMonty on 04/26/2016 04:47 pmIt might be able to air launch one of XS1 proposals. This would allow for downrange recovery on land. Between, improved latitude, small DV gain from airlaunch and downrange recovery there would be a significant increase in payload. Even one of small LV in development eg Firefly, Electron. Would be overkill but its a LV that doesn't need to be developed from scratch. Since Vulcan Aerospace is connected to Firefly, it would be my bet that they'll announce some sort of development partnership with them, at least.I haven't followed Firefly that much. What's the connection with Firefly?
