Space Launch

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Space Launch Chapter 20 REST-OF-WORLD (ROW) SPACE LAUNCH Missiles and space have a long and related history. All the early space boosters, both U.S. and Russian, were developed from ballistic missile programs. Today, many other nations are using their missile and rocket technology to develop a space launch capabil- ity. COMMONWEALTH AND INDEPENDENT STATES (CIS) Tyuratam (TT)/Baikonur Cosmodrome RUSSIAN / UKRAINE / KAZAKH In the 1950s, the Soviet Union an- SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEMS nounced that space launch operations were being conducted from the Baikonur Space Launch Facilities Cosmodrome. Some concluded that this facility was near the city of Baikonur, The breakup of the former Soviet Un- Kazakhstan. In truth, the launch facilities ion (FSU) into independent states has are 400 Km to the southwest, near the fragmented and divided the Russian railhead at Tyuratam (45.9ºN, 63.3ºE). space support infrastructure. This has re- The Soviets built the city of Leninsk sulted in planning and scheduling diffi- near the facility to provide apartments, culties for Russia, the main inheritor of schools and administrative support to the the remains of the former Soviet space tens of thousands of workers at the program. Ukraine has the most extensive launch facility. Sputnik, the first man- space capability after Russia but with no made satellite, was launched from TT in space launch facility, followed by Ka- October 1957. This site has been the lo- zakhstan with a major space launch facil- cation of all manned and geostationary ity but little industrial base. Other newly orbit Soviet and CIS launches as well as independent countries have some limited most lunar, planetary launches. Addi- manufacturing capability related to the tionally, it is the only facility that space industry. Russia’s spaceports are supports launches of the Proton (SL-12 now located in two different countries. and SL-13), the Zenit (SL-16) and the The program’s oldest and biggest space- Energia (SL-17). The climate is hot in port, and the only site currently able to do the summer and suffers violent snow- manned launches is Baikonur Cos- storms and -40ºC temperatures in the modrome or Tyuratam in Kazakhstan. winter. A unique feature of the Rus- Within Russia, there are three spaceports. sian/CIS space program is its ability There are two from the former Soviet to launch in extremely harsh climates. space program: Plesetsk Cosmodrome Since the demise of the Soviet Union, and Kapustin Yar Space and Missile Test Kazakhstan has claimed ownership of Facility, and the new Russian spaceport the facility. However, most of the in Siberia, Svobodny Cosmodrome. The skilled workers and the military forces Russian's have also developed and mar- protecting the site are Rus- keted a space booster based on a Subma- sian. To use the facilities at Tyruatam, rine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) Russia must pay rent to Kazakhstan. which has launched a satellite into orbit from the Barents Sea. Counting this un- Kapustin Yar (KY) dersea space launch platform, Russia can use five different launch locations. AU Space Primer 7/23/2003 20 - 1 Kapustin Yar Space and Missile Test for coordination with other countries is Center (48.4ºN, 45.8ºE) is located on the minimal. There are launch pads for the banks of the Volga River, about 120 Km SL-4, SL-6, SL-8, SL-14 and the SL-19 east of Volgograd and less than 48 Km space launch vehicles. Additionally, west of Kazakhstan. In 1947, this site launches of the SL-3 and SL-11 could was selected as the location for the de- also be conducted, if necessary. The ex- velopment of the Soviet rocket and space treme northern latitude of PK has pro- program. Numerous German V-2 rocket vided the Russians with valuable experi- launches were made from here during ence in cold weather launch operations. testing and development. The first So- viet-built rocket systems, the R-1 and R- Svobodny Cosmodrome 2, were launched from here in 1948 and 1949. In the past, this facility was the When the breakup of the Soviet Union site of numerous sounding rockets and left Russia’s largest spaceport of Tyuratum small orbital payload launches using the in Kazakhstan, experts concluded that SL-8/Kosmos. There were no space Russia needed another spaceport. launches from Kapustin Yar from 1987 Svobodny Cosmodrome (51.2oN, until April 1999 when a commercial 128.0oE) was selected in 1993 to fill this launch was performed for a German sat- role. It is the site of a former ICBM base ellite. Kapustin Yar’s proximity to Ka- along the Trans-Siberian railway. Plans zakhstan now precludes eastward call for Svobodny to incrementally come launches without prior approval of that on line as a spaceport. At first, the exist- government. ing facilities of the former ICBM base will be used to launch Rokot and Plesetsk (PK) Cosmodrome START-series vehicles. In later stages, launch facilities will be built to support Plesetsk Cosmodrome (63.8ºN, 40.7ºE) the heavy Angara launch vehicle. is about 640 Km northeast of St. Peters- Svobodny became Russia’s fourth space- burg. PK is situated in a heavily wooded port with the launch of a START-1 on 4 area close to the Arctic Circle. It is near March 1997. A second START-1 was the town of Plesetsk on the railway line launched in December 1997 and a third from Moscow to Archangelsk. Although in late 2000. used for civilian communications, meteoro- logical and international launches; most Barents Sea Launch Area launches from PK have military roles. The site may be considered as the Rus- With the development of a space sian equivalent of Vandenberg AFB. Or- booster from an SLBM, the Russian's bital inclinations attained from PK range have demonstrated the potential ability to from 63º to 83º. Historically, it is the launch a small satellite from almost any- port of debarkation for over 1,300 where in the world. All Russian tests and launches, or more than one third of all its first commercial satellite from a sub- orbital or planetary missions from all marine have all taken place from near launch sites world-wide. It typically is Russian home waters in the Barents Sea used to deliver most (if not all) Russian located north of the Kola Peninsula, the polar orbiting sensor payloads and many homeport of Russia's ballistic missile Molniya orbit payloads. The high inclina- submarine fleet. This first underwater tion of the Molniya communications satel- launch of a satellite placed a German lites is a natural result of an eastward university built scientific satellite into a launch from PK. Because the launch site polar, low earth orbit. is on Russian soil and the flight profile Russian Space Launch Vehicles does not pass over any other countries during the boost phase, the requirement AU Space Primer 7/23/2003 20 - 2 The FSU developed an impressive ar- The original version, the A vehicle (or ray of SLVs, mostly derived from Inter- SL-1/2) is classified as a one and one- continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs). half stage vehicle. It consists of a central On more than one occasion, Russia has core with four strap-on boosters. The demonstrated the ability to conduct mul- Russians classified this as a two-stage tiple launches within a short period of assembly, but since the engines of the time. The SLV names such as Proton strap-ons and the central sustainer ignite used in this chapter are Russian. The simultaneously at lift off, this parallel "SL-#" designation is assigned by DOD. staging arrangement is generally regarded The letter-number designation, such as as a one and one-half-stage vehicle. This “A-1”, was developed by Dr. Charles vehicle launched the first three Sputnik Sheldon, U.S. Congressional Research satellites in 1957 and 1958. The third Service, to differentiate between launch and largest Sputnik had a mass of 1327 vehicle families and their variants. This Kg and was delivered to a 122 by 1016 system is no longer used but is still found nm orbit. All three A launches were con- in some publications. Since the break-up ducted from TT. of the Soviet Union, many FSU countries To satisfy the need to launch bigger and companies have been marketing for- payloads, the Vostok (A-1/SL-3) (Fig. mer Soviet booster for international and 20-2) was introduced in 1959. commercial space lift. This trend has With an SS-6 first stage, the Vostok lead to the increased use of the Russian has a second stage attached by a trellis- names for these boosters in press releases like structure. The initial version of the and news reports. Table 20-1 at the end A-1 vehicle was used to launch the Luna of this SLV section is a matrix providing moon payload. The payload fairing was a list of all three types of names. Soyuz Series (A-Class, Soyuz, Molniya) The Soyuz class of launch vehicles is based on the original Soviet ICBM, the SS-6 Sapwood (Fig. 20-1), which was first tested as a missile on 2 August 1957. Its first use as a space vehicle was only two months later, suggesting concurrent development as an ICBM and SLV. This ICBM has provided, in various forms, the initial stages of a whole family of SLVs Fig. 20-2. SL-3 Vostok including the operational Vostok, Soyuz and Molniya SLVs. then enlarged to launch the manned Vostok as well as the first-generation re- coverable Kosmos satellites. With a lar- ger and more sophisticated payload fair- ing used on the Vostok, the overall length of the booster increased to 38m from about 34m.
Recommended publications
  • Project Number: JMW-USC1
    Project Number: JMW-USC1 Department of Social Science and Policy Studies THE FUTURE OF UNMANNED SPACE: A SPECULATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE COMMERCIAL MARKET An Interactive Qualifying Project Report: Submitted to the Faculty of the WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science by ______________________________ Peter Brayshaw ______________________________ Brooks Farnham ______________________________ Jon Leslie December 16, 2004 _____________________________ ________________________________ Professor John M. Wilkes, Advisor Professor Peter Campisano, Co-Advisor Abstract: This report is one of many which deal with the unmanned space race. It is a prediction of who will have the greatest competitive advantage in the commercial market over the next 25 years, based on historical analogy. Background information on Russia, China, Japan, the United States and the European Space Agency, including the launch vehicles and launch services each provides, is covered. The new prospect of space platforms is also investigated. 2 Table of Contents Abstract: ...................................................................................................... 2 Table of Contents ......................................................................................... 3 Introduction ................................................................................................. 5 Literature Review ...................................................................................... 5 Project
    [Show full text]
  • The Wittelsbach-Graff and Hope Diamonds: Not Cut from the Same Rough
    THE WITTELSBACH-GRAFF AND HOPE DIAMONDS: NOT CUT FROM THE SAME ROUGH Eloïse Gaillou, Wuyi Wang, Jeffrey E. Post, John M. King, James E. Butler, Alan T. Collins, and Thomas M. Moses Two historic blue diamonds, the Hope and the Wittelsbach-Graff, appeared together for the first time at the Smithsonian Institution in 2010. Both diamonds were apparently purchased in India in the 17th century and later belonged to European royalty. In addition to the parallels in their histo- ries, their comparable color and bright, long-lasting orange-red phosphorescence have led to speculation that these two diamonds might have come from the same piece of rough. Although the diamonds are similar spectroscopically, their dislocation patterns observed with the DiamondView differ in scale and texture, and they do not show the same internal strain features. The results indicate that the two diamonds did not originate from the same crystal, though they likely experienced similar geologic histories. he earliest records of the famous Hope and Adornment (Toison d’Or de la Parure de Couleur) in Wittelsbach-Graff diamonds (figure 1) show 1749, but was stolen in 1792 during the French T them in the possession of prominent Revolution. Twenty years later, a 45.52 ct blue dia- European royal families in the mid-17th century. mond appeared for sale in London and eventually They were undoubtedly mined in India, the world’s became part of the collection of Henry Philip Hope. only commercial source of diamonds at that time. Recent computer modeling studies have established The original ancestor of the Hope diamond was that the Hope diamond was cut from the French an approximately 115 ct stone (the Tavernier Blue) Blue, presumably to disguise its identity after the that Jean-Baptiste Tavernier sold to Louis XIV of theft (Attaway, 2005; Farges et al., 2009; Sucher et France in 1668.
    [Show full text]
  • OUFTI-1 Environmental Impact Assessment
    Date: 11/02/2016 Issue: 1 Rev: 1 Page: 1 of 11 OUFTI-1 Environmental Impact Assessment Reference 3_OUF_ENV_IMPACT_1.0 Issue/Rev Issue 1 Rev 0 Date 11/02/2016 Distribution OUFTI-1 team OUFTI-1 Environmental Impact Assessment Date: 11/02/2016 Issue: 1 Rev: 1 Page: 2 of 11 AUTHORS Name Email Telephone X. Werner [email protected] +32 4 366 37 38 S. De Dijcker [email protected] +32 4 366 37 38 RECORD OF REVISIONS Iss/Rev Date Author Section/page Change description 1/0 11/02/2016 X.Werner, All Initial issue S. De Dijcker Copyright University of Liège [2016]. OUFTI-1 Environmental Impact Assessment Date: 11/02/2016 Issue: 1 Rev: 1 Page: 3 of 11 TABLE OF CONTENTS Authors ....................................................................................................................................... 2 Record of revisions ..................................................................................................................... 2 1. Activities and Objectives ................................................................................................... 4 1.1. Project description ....................................................................................................... 4 1.2. Soyuz launch vehicle ................................................................................................... 5 1.3. Arianespace ................................................................................................................. 7 1.4. Conclusion ..................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • The Tubesat Launch Vehicle
    TubeSat and NEPTUNE 30 Orbital Rocket Programs Personal Satellites Are GO! Interorbital Systems www.interorbital.com About Interorbital Corporation Founded in 1996 by Randa and Roderick Milliron, incorporated in 2001 Located at the Mojave Spaceport in Mojave, California 98.5% owned by R. and R. Milliron 1.5% owned by Eric Gullichsen Initial Starting Technology Pressure-fed liquid rocket engines Initial Mission Low-cost orbital and interplanetary launch vehicle development Facilities 6,000 square-foot research and development facility Two rocket engine test sites at the Mojave Spaceport Expert engineering and manufacturing team Interorbital Systems www.interorbital.com Core Technical Team Roderick Milliron: Chief Designer Lutz Kayser: Primary Technical Consultant Eric Gullichsen: Guidance and Control Gerard Auvray: Telecommunications Engineer Donald P. Bennett: Mechanical Engineer David Silsbee: Electronics Engineer Joel Kegel: Manufacturing/Engineering Tech Jacqueline Wein: Manufacturing/Engineering Tech Reinhold Ziegler: Space-Based Power Systems E. Mark Shusterman,M.D. Medical Life Support Randa Milliron: High-Temperature Composites Interorbital Systems www.interorbital.com Key Hardware Built In-House Propellant Tanks: Combining state-of-the-art composite technology with off-the-shelf aluminum liners Advanced Guidance Hardware and Software Ablative Rocket Engines and Components GPRE 0.5KNFA Rocket Engine Test Manned Space Flight Training Systems Rocket Injectors, Valves Systems, and Other Metal components Interorbital Systems www.interorbital.com Project History Pressure-Fed Rocket Engines GPRE 2.5KLMA Liquid Oxygen/Methanol Engine: Thrust = 2,500 lbs. GPRE 0.5KNFA WFNA/Furfuryl Alcohol (hypergolic): Thrust = 500 lbs. GPRE 0.5KNHXA WFNA/Turpentine (hypergolic): Thrust = 500 lbs. GPRE 3.0KNFA WFNA/Furfuryl Alcohol (hypergolic): Thrust = 3,000 lbs.
    [Show full text]
  • Kazakhstan Missile Chronology
    Kazakhstan Missile Chronology Last update: May 2010 As of May 2010, this chronology is no longer being updated. For current developments, please see the Kazakhstan Missile Overview. This annotated chronology is based on the data sources that follow each entry. Public sources often provide conflicting information on classified military programs. In some cases we are unable to resolve these discrepancies, in others we have deliberately refrained from doing so to highlight the potential influence of false or misleading information as it appeared over time. In many cases, we are unable to independently verify claims. Hence in reviewing this chronology, readers should take into account the credibility of the sources employed here. Inclusion in this chronology does not necessarily indicate that a particular development is of direct or indirect proliferation significance. Some entries provide international or domestic context for technological development and national policymaking. Moreover, some entries may refer to developments with positive consequences for nonproliferation. 2009-1947 March 2009 On 4 March 2009, Kazakhstan signed a contract to purchase S-300 air defense missile systems from Russia. According to Ministry of Defense officials, Kazakhstan plans to purchase 10 batteries of S-300PS by 2011. Kazakhstan's Air Defense Commander Aleksandr Sorokin mentioned, however, that the 10 batteries would still not be enough to shield all the most vital" facilities designated earlier by a presidential decree. The export version of S- 300PS (NATO designation SA-10C Grumble) has a maximum range of 75 km and can hit targets moving at up to 1200 m/s at a minimum altitude of 25 meters.
    [Show full text]
  • Design for Demise Analysis for Launch Vehicles
    A first design for demise analysis for launch vehicles Henrik Simon, Stijn Lemmens Space debris: Inactive, manmade objects in space Source: ESA Overview Introduction Fundamentals Modelling approach Results and discussion Summary and outlook What is the motivation and task? INTRODUCTION Motivation . Mitigation: Prevention of creation and limitation of long-term presence . Guidelines: LEO removal within 25 years . LEO removal within 25 years after mission end . Casualty risk limit for re-entry: 1 in 10,000 Rising altitude Decay & re-entry above 2000 km Source: NASA Source: NASA Solution: Design for demise Source: ESA Scope of the thesis . Typical design of upper stages . General Risk assessment . Design for demise solutions to reduce the risk ? ? ? Risk A Risk B Risk C Source: CNES How do we assess the risk and simulate the re-entry? FUNDAMENTALS Fundamentals: Ground risk assessment Ah = + 2 Ai � ℎ = =1 � Source: NASA Source: NASA 3.5 m 5.0 m 2 2 ≈ ≈ Fundamentals: Re-entry simulation tools SCARAB: Spacecraft-oriented approach . CAD-like modelling . 6 DoF flight dynamics . Break-up / fragmentation computed How does a rocket upper stage look like? MODELLING Modelling approach . Research on typical design: . Elongated . Platform . Solid Rocket Motor . Lack of information: . Create common intersection . Deliberately stay top-level and only compare effects Modelling approach Modelling approach 12 Length [m] 9 7 5 3 2 150 300 500 700 800 1500 2200 Mass [kg] How much is the risk and how can we reduce it? SIMULATIONS Example of SCARAB re-entry simulation 6x Casualty risk of all reference cases Typical survivors Smaller Smaller fragments fragments Pressure tanks Pressure tanks Main tank Engine Main structure + tanks Design for Demise .
    [Show full text]
  • Monsoon 2008 (July-September) AIR POWER CENTRE for AIR POWER STUDIES New Delhi
    AIR POWER Journal of Air Power and Space Studies Vol. 3, No. 3, Monsoon 2008 (July-September) AIR POWER CENTRE FOR AIR POWER STUDIES New Delhi AIR POWER is published quarterly by the Centre for Air Power Studies, New Delhi, established under an independent trust titled Forum for National Security Studies registered in 2002 in New Delhi. Board of Trustees Shri M.K. Rasgotra, former Foreign Secretary and former High Commissioner to the UK Chairman Air Chief Marshal O.P. Mehra, former Chief of the Air Staff and former Governor Maharashtra and Rajasthan Smt. H.K. Pannu, IDAS, FA (DS), Ministry of Defence (Finance) Shri K. Subrahmanyam, former Secretary Defence Production and former Director IDSA Dr. Sanjaya Baru, Media Advisor to the Prime Minister (former Chief Editor Financial Express) Captain Ajay Singh, Jet Airways, former Deputy Director Air Defence, Air HQ Air Commodore Jasjit Singh, former Director IDSA Managing Trustee AIR POWER Journal welcomes research articles on defence, military affairs and strategy (especially air power and space issues) of contemporary and historical interest. Articles in the Journal reflect the views and conclusions of the authors and not necessarily the opinions or policy of the Centre or any other institution. Editor-in-Chief Air Commodore Jasjit Singh AVSM VrC VM (Retd) Managing Editor Group Captain D.C. Bakshi VSM (Retd) Publications Advisor Anoop Kamath Distributor KW Publishers Pvt. Ltd. All correspondence may be addressed to Managing Editor AIR POWER P-284, Arjan Path, Subroto Park, New Delhi 110 010 Telephone: (91.11) 25699131-32 Fax: (91.11) 25682533 e-mail: [email protected] website: www.aerospaceindia.org © Centre for Air Power Studies All rights reserved.
    [Show full text]
  • Spacewatchafrica April Edition 2019
    Paul Kagame launches Rwanda into space VVVolVolVolVol o6 o6 66l l. .No. NoNo. No77 N N 55 oo5.. 816 April 2018 2019 AFRICA By Marcel Dischinger Prof.(Sir) Martin Sweeting “SSTL transfer know-how, not technology developing countries.” C O N T E N T S Vol. 7 No. 16 Editor in-chief Aliyu Bello 2018 was another good year Executive Manager Tonia Gerrald NASRDA's chief executive to step down SA to the editor in-Chief Ngozi Okey Head, Application Services M. Yakubu SES posted strong revenue growth in 2018 Editorial/ICT Services John Daniel Nestle using satellites to monitor palm oil plantations Usman Bello for deforestation Alozie Nwankwo How global satellite network convinced Juliet Nnamdi FAA grounding of Boeing's 737 Max Client Relations Sunday Tache Nigeria plans new systems to improve GPS accuracy over Africa Lookman Bello Safiya Thani Ivory Coast begins digital TV switch over with GatesAir Marketing Offy Pat Eutelsat successfully mate KONNECT satellite payload Tunde Nathaniel with its all-electric platform Wasiu Olatunde SSTL transfer know-how not technology to Media Relations Favour Madu developing countries Khadijat Yakubu Paul Kagame launches Rwanda into space Zacheous Felicia Monitoring desertification using integrated Finance Folarin Tunde geospatial technologies APT Satellite releases 2018 annual results Space Watch Magazine is a publication of Communication Science, Inc. All correspondence should be addressed to editor, space Watch Magazine. Abuja office: Plot 2009, Awka Street, UTC Building, GF 11, Area 10, Garki, Abuja, Nigeria Tel: 234 80336471114, 07084706167, email: [email protected] LEGAL CONSULTANTS Idowu Oriola & Co. Garki, Abuja DISTRIBUTION CONTACTS Ade Adejo ABIJAN INTERNATIONAL Suleija, Abuja AYO DISTRIBUTION AGENCY Emir Road, Ilorin Olumayowa Ojo NEWSROUND INTERNATIONAL Area 10, Garki, Abuja Magazine Circulation Nigeria Limited 90, Obafemi Awolowo Way, Ikeja Magazine Subscription Nigeria Limited Ikeja, Lagos.
    [Show full text]
  • Soyuz Launch Brochure
    Incredible Adventures is excited to offer a unique opportunity – a chance to visit the famous Baikonur Cosmodrome and observe a manned launch of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. You’ll be completely immersed in the electric atmosphere surrounding a launch. You’ll explore Baikonur’s launch sites, museums and most historic places. Join IA for an Incredible Space Adventure. Highlights of Your Incredible Baikonur Adventure 800-644-7382 or 941-346-2603 www.incredible-adventures.com Observe roll-out and installation of the Soyuz rocket at launch pad. Attend international press conference of main and back- up crews. See the farewell of the crew at the cosmonaut hotel. Hear crew's ready-to-go official report. See launch of the Soyuz rocket, something you’ll never forget. Incredible Baikonur Adventure Day 1 Meet IA representative at the airport. Flight from Moscow to Baikonur .Transfer to the hotel. Time to relax. Day 2 Breakfast in the hotel Transfer to Baikonur Cosmodrome Roll-out of the Soyuz Rocket. (Follow the Soyuz to its launch site.) Observe installation of the rocket on the launch pad. Visit to the integration building of Soyuz and Progress spaceships. Transfer back to town. Visit to the International Space School. 9 Day 3 Breakfast in the hotel. Visit Museum of History Cosmodrome Baikonur. Enjoy general sightseeing in the town of Baikonur (learn history of the town, visit memorials and monuments). Transfer to Cosmonaut hotel. International press conference with the main and backup crews of Soyuz-TMA vehicle. Walk along the historical alley of Cosmonauts where personalized trees are planted.
    [Show full text]
  • Study of a 100Kwe Space Reactor for Exploration Missions
    Preliminary study of a 100 kWe space reactor concept for exploration missions Elisa CLIQUET, Jean-Marc RUAULT 1), Jean-Pierre ROUX, Laurent LAMOINE, Thomas RAMEE 2), Christine POINOT-SALANON, Alexey LOKHOV, Serge PASCAL 3) 1) CNES Launchers Directorate,Evry, France 2) AREVA TA, Aix en Provence, France 3) CEA DEN/DM2S, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France NETS 2011 Overview ■ General context of the study ■ Requirements ■ Methodology of the study ■ Technologies selected for final trade-off ■ Reactor trade-off ■ Conversion trade-off ■ Critical technologies and development philosophy ■ Conclusion and perspectives CNES Directorate of Launchers Space transportation division of the French space agency ■ Responsible for the development of DIAMANT, ARIANE 1 to 4, ARIANE 5, launchers ■ System Architect for the Soyuz at CSG program ■ Development of VEGA launcher first stage (P80) ■ Future launchers preparation activities Multilateral and ESA budgets • To adapt the current launchers to the needs for 2015-2020 • To prepare launcher evolutions for 2025 - 2030, if needed • To prepare the new generation of expandable launchers (2025-2030) • To prepare the long future after 2030 with possible advanced launch vehicles ■ Future space transportation prospective activities, such as Exploration needs (including in particular OTV missions) Advanced propulsion technologies investigation General context ■ Background Last French studies on space reactors : • ERATO (NEP) in the 80’s, • MAPS (NTP) in the 90’s • OPUS (NEP) 2002-2004 ■ Since then Nuclear safe orbit
    [Show full text]
  • Space Almanac 2007
    2007 Space Almanac The US military space operation in facts and figures. Compiled by Tamar A. Mehuron, Associate Editor, and the staff of Air Force Magazine 74 AIR FORCE Magazine / August 2007 Space 0.05g 60,000 miles Geosynchronous Earth Orbit 22,300 miles Hard vacuum 1,000 miles Medium Earth Orbit begins 300 miles 0.95g 100 miles Low Earth Orbit begins 60 miles Astronaut wings awarded 50 miles Limit for ramjet engines 28 miles Limit for turbojet engines 20 miles Stratosphere begins 10 miles Illustration not to scale Artist’s conception by Erik Simonsen AIR FORCE Magazine / August 2007 75 US Military Missions in Space Space Support Space Force Enhancement Space Control Space Force Application Launch of satellites and other Provide satellite communica- Ensure freedom of action in space Provide capabilities for the ap- high-value payloads into space tions, navigation, weather infor- for the US and its allies and, plication of combat operations and operation of those satellites mation, missile warning, com- when directed, deny an adversary in, through, and from space to through a worldwide network of mand and control, and intel- freedom of action in space. influence the course and outcome ground stations. ligence to the warfighter. of conflict. US Space Funding Millions of constant Fiscal 2007 dollars 60,000 50,000 40,000 30,000 20,000 10,000 0 Fiscal Year 59 62 65 68 71 74 77 80 83 86 89 92 95 98 01 04 Fiscal Year NASA DOD Other Total Fiscal Year NASA DOD Other Total 1959 1,841 3,457 240 5,538 1983 13,051 18,601 675 32,327 1960 3,205 3,892
    [Show full text]
  • The New Commercial Spaceports
    The New Commercial Spaceports Derek Webber1 Spaceport Associates, Rockville, Maryland 20852,USA During the second half of the 20th Century, the first launch sites were established, mostly during the ‘fifties and ‘sixties. They were originally a product of the cold war and served military and civil government purposes. They were used for launching sounding rockets, space probes, for missile testing and injecting military, scientific, and eventually commercial satellites into orbit. Initially the sites were in either the USA or the former Soviet Union, but gradually they were introduced in other countries too. Governmental astronaut crews were also sent into orbit from these early launch sites. As the 21st Century begins, a new era is emerging where a fuller range of commercial missions will be undertaken and moreover where public space travel will become common place. This situation ushers in a new kind of launch facility, known as the commercial spaceport. I. Introduction here will be vastly different requirements for the future public space travelers, and their families and friends, T than are normally available at the traditional launch sites built fifty years ago. Indeed, the creation of this emerging kind of facility, the commercial spaceport, is in some ways a very necessary part of the creation of the new space businesses that the twenty-first century offers. It will be essential that, while the space tourism companies are becoming established in order to provide services to the new public space travelers, suitable ground based facilities will be developed in parallel to sustain and support these operations. This paper provides an insight into these commercial spaceport facilities, and their characteristics, in order to assist in both design and business planning processes.
    [Show full text]