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Poster Design. Part of a set based on the prospect of affordable space exploration by human beings.
Model: Ruth Birkett
The vehicle is powered by a rocket engine designed to use a rubber-based fuel called HTPB and liquid nitrous oxide as an oxidizer. It can rocket at more than three times the speed of sound — about 2,300 miles per hour — to more than 50 miles above ground. It is able to reach space as defined by the U.S. Air Force, NASA and the FAA, by going over 50 miles (80.5 km) above sea level. However, it is unable to go above the Karman line of 62.1 miles (100 km), defined as the space boundary by the FAI (Federation Aeronautique Internationale).
The rocket engine is manufactured by The Spaceship Company, a California-based company owned by Virgin Galactic.
With a wingspan of 141 ft (43 meters), the mothership, VMS Eve, carried the spaceplane to an altitude of around 50,000 ft (15,000 m), where it was released to fly into space under the thrust of its rocket engine.
[Note: Jeff Bezos' New Shepard spacecraft did go above the Karman line. It transported William Shatner to an altitude of 351,000 feet (about 66 miles up).]
The Journey Upward
“The grand story of what is now Spaceport America in New Mexico began in the depths of prehistory, when the skies rained material leftover from the birth of our solar system. The impacts from this early space debris brought elements essential for life to our fledgling planet. As life evolved into creatures of all kinds in those early eons, the stars from whence it came shined bright in the sky. Now after millions of years traveling through space, that same starlight has finally reached Earth and the human beings who now inhabit it.
“Venturing forth across the planet, humans have looked ever upward to the skies. First in awe and wonder, and then later, through study and story, we sought to use the sky to identify our place among the stars. Eventually, with practicality and understanding, the nighttime sky became a map to make our way across the land and the seas. But this knowledge was not enough, as we continued looking skyward and yearned to travel among the stars. Eventually, we succeeded in breaking the bonds that had kept us firmly on this planet.
“The future of humanity is rooted in the stars. Today a new generation of explorers is advancing our understanding of who we are by breaking the boundaries of what we can do. This special place in New Mexico has been a crossroads for thousands of years of kindred souls seeking to go beyond and reach ever higher. Now, as Spaceport America helps launch the next generation of space travel and exploration, our long collective journey upward can truly aim for the stars where it all began.
“The panorama on this wall illustrates this journey – our journey upward – our journey out among the stars.”
[From the accompanying text]
Poster Design. Part of a set based on the prospect of affordable space exploration by human beings.
Model: Ruth Birkett
The vehicle is powered by a rocket engine designed to use a rubber-based fuel called HTPB and liquid nitrous oxide as an oxidizer. It can rocket at more than three times the speed of sound — about 2,300 miles per hour — to more than 50 miles above ground. It is able to reach space as defined by the U.S. Air Force, NASA and the FAA, by going over 50 miles (80.5 km) above sea level. However, it is unable to go above the Karman line of 62.1 miles (100 km), defined as the space boundary by the FAI (Federation Aeronautique Internationale).
The rocket engine is manufactured by The Spaceship Company, a California-based company owned by Virgin Galactic.
With a wingspan of 141 ft (43 meters), the mothership, VMS Eve, carried the spaceplane to an altitude of around 50,000 ft (15,000 m), where it was released to fly into space under the thrust of its rocket engine.
[Note: Jeff Bezos' New Shepard spacecraft did go above the Karman line. It transported William Shatner to an altitude of 351,000 feet (about 66 miles up).]
Richard Branson's private jet putting in an appearance at LAX. The "iris" graphic is pretty striking.
The hangar where Virgin Galactic's suborbital spaceplane Spaceship Two (SS2) is kept.
"Virgin Galactic is the largest employer at Spaceport America with around 180 employees and holds a 20-year lease agreement for the use of the Gateway to Space and the horizontal launch area. Other tenants with long-term leases at Spaceport America include AeroVironment/ HAPSMobile, UP Aerospace and SpinLaunch. Boeing, Swift Engineering, Stratodynamics, C6 Launch Systems and White Sands Research and Developers are among the many short-term customers at Spaceport America." [ From a July 11, 2021 Press Release]
The new Land Rover Discovery Sport made a uniquely British public debut today, ahead of the Paris Motor Show. A pair of Discovery Sport vehicles performed a dramatic dynamic debut aboard a giant barge on the River Seine to mark the arrival of the brand’s new premium compact SUV.
Land Rover has revealed the new Discovery Sport, the world’s most versatile and capable premium compact SUV. The first member of the new Discovery family, Discovery Sport, features 5+2 seating in a footprint no larger than existing 5-seat premium SUVs.
Read all about it on www.LandRoverMENA.com
A Range Rover Autobiography, the pinnacle of premium SUV luxury, took centre stage as it towed out the new Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo – officially christened VSS Unity – at a special reveal and naming ceremony at their Mojave Air and Space Port base in California, USA.
Astronaut Mike Melville gives a thumbs up to the crowd less than 20 minutes after being in space following the first sucessful flight of Virgin Galactic's Spaceship One. I was lucky enough to be invited to the launch.
Land Rover has revealed the new Discovery Sport, the world’s most versatile and capable premium compact SUV. The first member of the new Discovery family, Discovery Sport, features 5+2 seating in a footprint no larger than existing 5-seat premium SUVs.
Read all about it on www.LandRoverMENA.com
Join our road trip to the #MojaveDesert with adventurer and photographer @Jimmy_Chin. From towing the new #VirginGalactic #SpaceShipTwo to an #offroad #adventure, the #RangeRover Autobiography is capable as well as refined. #AboveAndBeyond #RoadTrip by landrover ift.tt/1Q29EK5 ift.tt/21hP6Ey ift.tt/1pZRVvM
Land Rover has revealed the new Discovery Sport, the world’s most versatile and capable premium compact SUV. The first member of the new Discovery family, Discovery Sport, features 5+2 seating in a footprint no larger than existing 5-seat premium SUVs.
Read all about it on www.LandRoverMENA.com
Look where it is, in the right lower corner...
South of a New Mexico’s town with a funny name ‘Truth or Consequences’.
Sir Richard Branson "high tens" with SpaceShip2 test pilot Mark Stuckey following the successful first powered flight of SpaceShipTwo. At left is Mark Stuckey's wife Cheryl and at right is Virgin Galactic President and CEO George Whitesides.. The spacecraft was dropped rom its "mothership", WhiteKnight2 over the Mojave, CA area, April 29, 2013 at high altitude before firing its hybrid power motor. Virgin Galactic hopes to become the first commercial space venture to bring multiple passengers into space on a regular basis.
Raven - Mach 8-10 Hypersonic Plane - Single Stage to Orbit (STO) - Iteration 7
IO Aircraft www.ioaircraft.com
Drew Blair www.linkedin.com/in/drew-b-25485312/
Raven - B Model (Iteration 7)
Single Stage To Orbit Fixed Wing Aircraft
Length: 100'
Span: 45' 8"
Thermals: 6,000+ Fahrenheit
Turn Around Time: 3-6 Hours (No Ablative/Ceramic Tiles)
Airframe: 90% Advanced Composites, 10X Stronger then if it were Titatanium
Propulsion: U-TBCC (Unified Turbine Based Combined Cycle + Zero Atmosphere Mod)
Empty Weight: Apx 40,000 LBS
Fuel: 8,000-12,000 PSI Compressed Hydrogen and Oxygen
Fuel Weight Total: 5,000 LBS
Capability: Max Load, 170 Mile Parking Orbit
(W/O Assist) Half Load, Geo Stationary Orbit (Or Moon Orbit)
Payload Bay: 15' X 7' X 7'
Payload Max: 15,000 LBS
Costs Per Launch: Apx $2.5 Million
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Advanced Additive Manufacturing for Hypersonic Aircraft
Utilizing new methods of fabrication and construction, make it possible to use additive manufacturing, dramatically reducing the time and costs of producing hypersonic platforms from missiles, aircraft, and space capable craft. Instead of aircraft being produced in piece, then bolted together; small platforms can be produced as a single unit and large platforms can be produces in large section and mated without bolting. These techniques include using exotic materials and advanced assembly processes, with an end result of streamlining the production costs and time for hypersonic aircraft; reducing months of assembly to weeks. Overall, this process greatly reduced the cost for producing hypersonic platforms. Even to such an extent that a Hellfire missile costs apx $100,000 but by utilizing our technologies, replacing it with a Mach 8-10 hypersonic missile of our physics/engineering and that missile would cost roughly $75,000 each delivered.
Materials used for these manufacturing processes are not disclosed, but overall, provides a foundation for extremely high stresses and thermodynamics, ideal for hypersonic platforms. This specific methodology and materials applications is many decades ahead of all known programs. Even to the extend of normalized space flight and re-entry, without concern of thermodynamic failure.
*Note, most entities that are experimenting with additive manufacturing for hypersonic aircraft, this makes it mainstream and standardized processes, which also applies for mass production.
What would normally be measured in years and perhaps a decade to go from drawing board to test flights, is reduced to singular months and ready for production within a year maximum.
Unified Turbine Based Combined Cycle (U-TBCC)
To date, the closest that NASA and industry have achieved for turbine based aircraft to fly at hypersonic velocities is by mounting a turbine into an aircraft and sharing the inlet with a scramjet or rocket based motor. Reaction Engines Sabre is not able to achieve hypersonic velocities and can only transition into a non air breathing rocket for beyond Mach 4.5
However, utilizing Unified Turbine Based Combine Cycle also known as U-TBCC, the two separate platforms are able to share a common inlet and the dual mode ramjet/scramjet is contained within the engine itself, which allows for a much smaller airframe footprint, thus engingeers are able to then design much higher performance aerial platforms for hypersonic flight, including the ability for constructing true single stage to orbit aircraft by utilizing a modification/version that allows for transition to outside atmosphere propulsion without any other propulsion platforms within the aircraft. By transitioning and developing aircraft to use Unified Turbine Based Combined Cycle, this propulsion system opens up new options to replace that airframe deficit for increased fuel capacity and/or payload.
Enhanced Dynamic Cavitation
Dramatically Increasing the efficiency of fuel air mixture for combustion processes at hypersonic velocities within scramjet propulsion platforms. The aspects of these processes are non disclosable.
Dynamic Scramjet Ignition Processes
For optimal scramjet ignition, a process known as Self Start is sought after, but in many cases if the platform becomes out of attitude, the scramjet will ignite. We have already solved this problem which as a result, a scramjet propulsion system can ignite at lower velocities, high velocities, at optimal attitude or not optimal attitude. It doesn't matter, it will ignite anyways at the proper point for maximum thrust capabilities at hypersonic velocities.
Hydrogen vs Kerosene Fuel Sources
Kerosene is an easy fuel to work with, and most western nations developing scramjet platforms use Kerosene for that fact. However, while kerosene has better thermal properties then Hydrogen, Hydrogen is a far superior fuel source in scramjet propulsion flight, do it having a much higher efficiency capability. Because of this aspect, in conjunction with our developments, it allows for a MUCH increased fuel to air mixture, combustion, thrust; and ability for higher speeds; instead of very low hypersonic velocities in the Mach 5-6 range. Instead, Mach 8-10 range, while we have begun developing hypersonic capabilities to exceed 15 in atmosphere within less then 5 years.
Conforming High Pressure Tank Technology for CNG and H2.
As most know in hypersonics, Hydrogen is a superior fuel source, but due to the storage abilities, can only be stored in cylinders thus much less fuel supply. Not anymore, we developed conforming high pressure storage technology for use in aerospace, automotive sectors, maritime, etc; which means any overall shape required for 8,000+ PSI CNG or Hydrogen. For hypersonic platforms, this means the ability to store a much larger volume of hydrogen vs cylinders.
As an example, X-43 flown by Nasa which flew at Mach 9.97. The fuel source was Hydrogen, which is extremely more volatile and combustible then kerosene (JP-7), via a cylinder in the main body. If it had used our technology, that entire section of the airframe would had been an 8,000 PSI H2 tank, which would had yielded 5-6 times the capacity. While the X-43 flew 11 seconds under power at Mach 9.97, at 6 times the fuel capacity would had yielded apx 66 seconds of fuel under power at Mach 9.97. If it had flew slower, around Mach 6, same principles applied would had yielded apx 500 seconds of fuel supply under power (slower speeds required less energy to maintain).
Enhanced Fuel Mixture During Shock Train Interaction
Normally, fuel injection is conducted at the correct insertion point within the shock train for maximum burn/combustion. Our methodologies differ, since almost half the fuel injection is conducted PRE shock train within the isolator, so at the point of isolator injection the fuel enhances the combustion process, which then requires less fuel injection to reach the same level of thrust capabilities.
Improved Bow Shock Interaction
Smoother interaction at hypersonic velocities and mitigating heat/stresses for beyond Mach 6 thermodynamics, which extraordinarily improves Type 3, 4, and 5 shock interaction.
6,000+ Fahrenheit Thermal Resistance
To date, the maximum thermal resistance was tested at AFRL in the spring of 2018, which resulted in a 3,200F thermal resistance for a short duration. This technology, allows for normalized hypersonic thermal resistance of 3,000-3,500F sustained, and up to 6,500F resistance for short endurance, ie 90 seconds or less. 10-20 minute resistance estimate approximately 4,500F +/- 200F.
*** This technology advancement also applies to Aerospike rocket engines, in which it is common for Aerospike's to exceed 4,500-5,000F temperatures, which results in the melting of the reversed bell housing. That melting no longer ocurrs, providing for stable combustion to ocurr for the entire flight envelope
Scramjet Propulsion Side Wall Cooling
With old technologies, side wall cooling is required for hypersonic flight and scramjet propulsion systems, otherwise the isolator and combustion regions of a scramjet would melt, even using advanced ablatives and ceramics, due to their inability to cope with very high temperatures. Using technology we have developed for very high thermodynamics and high stresses, side wall cooling is no longer required, thus removing that variable from the design process and focusing on improved ignition processes and increasing net thrust values.
Lower Threshold for Hypersonic Ignition
Active and adaptive flight dynamics, resulting in the ability for scramjet ignition at a much lower velocity, ie within ramjet envelope, between Mach 2-4, and seamless transition from supersonic to hypersonic flight, ie supersonic ramjet (scramjet). This active and dynamic aspect, has a wide variety of parameters for many flight dynamics, velocities, and altitudes; which means platforms no longer need to be engineered for specific altitude ranges or preset velocities, but those parameters can then be selected during launch configuration and are able to adapt actively in flight.
Dramatically Improved Maneuvering Capabilities at Hypersonic Velocities
Hypersonic vehicles, like their less technologically advanced brethren, use large actuator and the developers hope those controls surfaces do not disintegrate in flight. In reality, it is like rolling the dice, they may or may not survive, hence another reason why the attempt to keep velocities to Mach 6 or below. We have shrunken down control actuators while almost doubling torque and response capabilities specifically for hypersonic dynamics and extreme stresses involved, which makes it possible for maximum input authority for Mach 10 and beyond.
Paradigm Shift in Control Surface Methodologies, Increasing Control Authority (Internal Mechanical Applications)
To date, most control surfaces for hypersonic missile platforms still use fins, similar to lower speed conventional missiles, and some using ducted fins. This is mostly due to lack of comprehension of hypersonic velocities in their own favor. Instead, the body itself incorporates those control surfaces, greatly enhancing the airframe strength, opening up more space for hardware and fuel capacity; while simultaneously enhancing the platforms maneuvering capabilities.
A scramjet missile can then fly like conventional missile platforms, and not straight and level at high altitudes, losing velocity on it's decent trajectory to target. Another added benefit to this aspect, is the ability to extend range greatly, so if anyone elses hypersonic missile platform were developed for 400 mile range, falling out of the sky due to lack of glide capabilities; our platforms can easily reach 600+ miles, with minimal glide deceleration.
Dateline, Spaceport America, October 4, 2024
On the 20th anniversary of the Ansari X Prize-winning flight of SpaceShipOne, and the 67th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik, Scaled Composites and Virgin Galactic have achieved one of the most elusive accomplishments ever - the development and successful orbital flight of a single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) vehicle.
Derisively referred to as "The Unicorn" by project detractors due to the near-mythically elusive nature of a successful SSTO craft, the monicker was eventually used as the unofficial name of the craft, also known as SpacePlaneOne. Unlike its predecessors, SpacePlaneOne needs no mothership to carry it through atmospheric flight to the edge of space. Thanks to the newly-developed Variable Cycle Engine technology it employs, the craft can take off like any conventional airplane, powered by standard turbojet thrust at sub-sonic speeds, transferring to ramjet thrust during transonic speed, cycling through to scramjet thrust above the sound barrier and finally to full rocket-powered thrust outside of the atmosphere.
After successfully breaking the boundary to space as its predecessors SpaceShipOne through SpaceShipTen have so many times before, SpacePlaneOne made three orbits before docking with the International Space Station to prove its capabilities in that area, then returned to the atmosphere and powered flight via the unique and innovative "feathered re-entry" system featured on all previous SpaceShip designs.
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For Toys N Bricks "The Next Generation of Space Travel" contest.
Land Rover has revealed the new Discovery Sport, the world’s most versatile and capable premium compact SUV. The first member of the new Discovery family, Discovery Sport, features 5+2 seating in a footprint no larger than existing 5-seat premium SUVs.
Read all about it on www.LandRoverMENA.com