Congratulations to the Stratolaunch team on a successful first powered flight of the TA-1 vehicle! Read more: https://buff.ly/3Tco4QH #WeRoc
Ursa Major Hadley Engine Flies for the First TimeUrsa Major and Stratolaunch achieve a major leap toward the first flight test of a privately funded hypersonic vehicleDENVER, March 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Ursa Major's Hadley engine, a purpose-built engine to satisfy America's commercial and national security space needs, flew for the first time powering Stratolaunch's Talon-A1 (TA-1) testbed during a Monday test over the Pacific Ocean.The test, which reached high supersonic speeds approaching Mach 5, marks the first step toward flight of a hypersonic vehicle developed by a private company."For the first time since SpaceX fundamentally transformed space launch with privately developed rockets, Ursa Major and Stratolaunch have come together to advance a critical national mission," said Ursa Major founder and CEO Joe Laurienti. "Hypersonic flight has been a massive military and governmental challenge. Today, private companies were able to propel a leap forward."The flight test marks a major milestone for Ursa Major, who designed, built, and flew Hadley in less than a decade. Hadley and Ursa Major's other products enable the U.S. Defense Department to field new mission solutions more quickly and push performance metrics of speed, range, and payload.Hadley is a 5,000-pound-thrust (lbf) liquid oxygen and kerosene, oxygen-rich staged combustion cycle rocket engine for small vehicles. Customers can use Hadley to launch small payloads into orbit or hypersonic platforms.Ursa Major has sold dozens of Hadley engines to customers that will enable space launch, hypersonics, and in-space missions.Unlike historical rocket engines, Ursa Major uses 3D printing to speed up the manufacturing process, allowing the company to build engines in a matter of days.Hadley is the first product in a family of propulsion systems, including liquid rocket engines and solid rocket motors, being designed, developed, and produced by Ursa Major.
Stratolaunch’s Talon-A1 prepares for flight powered by Ursa Major’s Hadley engine.
The world's largest airplane launches a vehicle to over Mach 4 on the first try and you guys aren't happy? Tough crowd!
Quote from: JAFO on 03/09/2024 09:37 pmThe world's largest airplane launches a vehicle to over Mach 4 on the first try and you guys aren't happy? Tough crowd!This is a space flight forum. We're only happy when flights go to space and Stratolaunch isn't planning to do that any more. :-(
That is until people realize that the Talon-A could do a zoom climb to go beyond the Kármán line anytime someone pays for it. .
Remember their future plans...lets rock, The ROC
Quote from: Tywin on 03/09/2024 10:34 pmRemember their future plans...lets rock, The ROC What is the source of that slide? Is this still in their plans, or from the original company before Paul Allen's passing?
@ursamajortech's Hadley engine, a purpose-built engine designed to satisfy America's commercial & national security space needs, flew for the first time powering @Stratolaunch's Talon-A testbed. The test reached high supersonic speeds approaching Mach 5. https://brnw.ch/21wHMqS
March 9, 2024, marked the success of Stratolaunch's TalonA-1 first powered flight. This achievement was only possible due to the dedication, hard work, and commitment of our incredible team!Check out our website for more information about the flight: https://buff.ly/3Tco4QH
Quote from: Zed_Noir on 03/10/2024 02:59 amThat is until people realize that the Talon-A could do a zoom climb to go beyond the Kármán line anytime someone pays for it. .While I agree with the sentiment, I doubt Talon-A has been designed with the maneuvering thrusters they would need for that. So, not quite anytime someone pays for it.<snip>
Take a look at our first powered flight with TalonA-1. Last Saturday’s flight marked a significant achievement for the advancement of the nation's first commercial reusable hypersonic test capability. We thank the Stratolaunch team and partners for their hard work and dedication.
Quote from: JEF_300 on 03/10/2024 06:27 pmQuote from: Zed_Noir on 03/10/2024 02:59 amThat is until people realize that the Talon-A could do a zoom climb to go beyond the Kármán line anytime someone pays for it. .While I agree with the sentiment, I doubt Talon-A has been designed with the maneuvering thrusters they would need for that. So, not quite anytime someone pays for it.<snip>Would be surprising if the Talon-A don't have provision to install attitude control thrusters. Since you need attitude control after the boosted phase of flight to recovered the vehicle, instead of it breaking up due to aerodynamic forces with an unpowered tumble in mid air.
Quote from: Zed_Noir on 03/13/2024 12:18 pmQuote from: JEF_300 on 03/10/2024 06:27 pmQuote from: Zed_Noir on 03/10/2024 02:59 amThat is until people realize that the Talon-A could do a zoom climb to go beyond the Kármán line anytime someone pays for it. .While I agree with the sentiment, I doubt Talon-A has been designed with the maneuvering thrusters they would need for that. So, not quite anytime someone pays for it.<snip>Would be surprising if the Talon-A don't have provision to install attitude control thrusters. Since you need attitude control after the boosted phase of flight to recovered the vehicle, instead of it breaking up due to aerodynamic forces with an unpowered tumble in mid air.Thrusters are only needed if flying outside of the atmosphere. For hypersonic flights that don't climb out of the atmosphere, the aerodynamic controls are sufficient.
First steps are hard. They require careful planning, calculated risk, and most of all, courage. We took a daring first step earlier this month with the completion of TA-1’s first powered flight, reaching high supersonic speeds approaching Mach 5. The flight was a landmark moment on our path to providing our customers and nation a reusable and routine #hypersonic test capability. Congratulations to the Stratolaunch team and our partners on this achievement! Stay tuned on our progress as we prepare to fly our first fully reusable Talon-A vehicle, TA-2, later this year.
TA-1 first flight complete ☑️ The dawn is now breaking on the era of reusability.Debuting in this week’s edition of @AviationWeek, TA-2 the first fully recoverable hypersonic vehicle able to land on a runway and fly again. Progress is speeding up, keep up with us!
