CANADIAN ARROW All the Information Given in This Document Has Been Cleared for Official Release by the X PRIZE Foundation and the Canadian Arrow Team
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X PRIZE Team Summary X PRIZE Team Summary Sheet CANADIAN ARROW All the information given in this document has been cleared for official release by the X PRIZE Foundation and the Canadian Arrow team. Quotes provided by Canadian Arrow are shown in italics. For more information about CA or if you have questions about Canadian Arrow, please visit their web site at www.canadianarrow.com. · Length (1st, 2nd Stage): 54 feet (33.5 feet, 20 feet) TEAM OVERVIEW · Diameter: 5.4 feet · GTOW: 31,000 lb The Canadian Arrow team is m highly motivated to fulfill the · Dry Weight: 12,500 lbm dream of popular space travel · Crew Capsule Environment: Pressurized to 1 atm using the “don’t reinvent the plus full pressure suits for crew wheel” approach. By making · Payload Capacity: 3 passengers (900 lbm) st nd use of the research performed over 60 years ago, this · No. of Engines (1 , 2 Stage): 1, 4 st nd Canadian team plans to bring the V2 rocket back to · Propulsion System (1 , 2 Stage): Liquid life, but this time for the benefit of the space tourism Pressure Fed, Solid industry. · Fuel, Oxidizer, 1st Stage: Alcohol, Liquid Oxygen · Fuel, Oxidizer, 2nd Stage: a blend of perchlorate, asphalt, and special oils TEAM LEADER BACKGROUND st nd · Total Thrust (1 , 2 Stage): 57,000 lbf, 17,600 lbf Geoffrey Sheerin is an industrial designer with · Reaction Control System: Cold gas nitrogen proven skills in managing large technical projects. He ISSION PECIFICATIONS has invented, patented, M S developed, and marketed · Launch Sites: Any coastal area with open water at advanced heat transfer least 100 ft deep, with a range footprint of 40 by equipment for use in cooling 30 miles large scale electrical · Alt. at Ignition: Launch from Earth equipment. His achievements surface include concept designs for · Orientation at Ignition: Vertical robotic equipment used in hazardous environments, · Max. Accel. Force on Ascent: 5.4 g and the design and development of equipment used for 3 sec in the photo industry. Geoff is well versed in the · Alt. at Engine Cut-off: 112,000 technology of launch vehicles and space flight. feet st Short biographies of the rest of the team members · Time at 1 Stage Engine Cut-off: are given later in this document. 60 sec · Max. Speed: · Max. Altitude: DATA AT-A-GLANCE · Time in Weightless Conditions: 4 minutes TEAM SPECIFICATIONS · Reentry Method: Ballistic descent · Name: Canadian Arrow · Accel. Forces on Descent: 7.5 g for 3 sec · Leader: Geoffrey Sheerin · Landing Method: Parachute · Place: London, Ontario, Canada descent into ocean. · Registered with X PRIZE: 8 November 2000 · Total Duration: 45 minutes · Web: www.canadianarrow.com · Landing Distance from Take-off Location: 15 miles downrange VEHICLE SPECIFICATIONS · Time Between Missions: 10 days · Name: Canadian Arrow · Description: Two stage rocket design based on German V2 Page 1 Canadian Arrow launch site for the Canadian Arrow. It is preferable to use established launch sites that offer tracking and VEHICLE/LAUNCH SYSTEM other vehicle processing services. Potential sites DESCRIPTION include areas such as the Churchill Launch Range, in northern Manitoba, Canada, and the Virginia The Canadian Arrow is a Space Flight Center, USA. 54-ft long, two-stage, three person sub-orbital rocket with the second stage PROPULSION SYSTEM doubling as an escape The Canadian Arrow first system. The first stage is stage uses a reproduction 33.5 ft. long and 5.4 ft. in WWII thrust chamber. diameter with four fins at Burning a mixture of alcohol the base for aerodynamic and liquid oxygen, this stability. motor will produce 57,000 Steering of the vehicle is pounds of thrust at sea level. accomplished using The engine is constructed of graphite jet vanes and low carbon steel with aerodynamic flaps on the propellant injectors made fins. The second stage (crew cabin) is 20-ft. long from brass. The first stage and 5.4 ft. in diameter at the base, and contains four propellants are fed to the jet-assisted-take-off type rocket engines for second engine using a pressurized stage propulsion. nitrogen gas system. This system is made up of two propellant tanks for fuel and oxidizer, topped by a The four solid rockets can be ignited at any point single composite construction high-pressure gas during the flight, including before launch, to initiate sphere. a zero altitude launch pad abort or an in-flight recovery sequence. The second stage of the Canadian Arrow is propelled by 4 jet assisted take-off type solid rocket For a zero altitude abort, the crew cabin will reach a engines. The four engines are ignited simultaneously height of 5,000 feet where it will deploy its 3 main just after stage separation. recovery parachutes. All of the hatches on the crew cabin can be explosively blown off for quick exit of The guidance system maintains correct attitude the vehicle. control using cold gas jets. For an in-flight abort, four extendable fin plates stored behind panels at the rear of the cabin will MISSION DESCRIPTION deploy to provide flight stability, similar to the type used on Russian launch VEHICLE ASCENT abort systems. The vehicle arrives at the launch pad 4 hours before The Canadian Arrow launch. After vehicle checkout, the propellants are sub-orbital vehicle is loaded, and chill down of cryogenic components designed for water begins. Final wet checkout is performed, and the splashdown recovery. flight crew enters the crew cabin approximately 30- Due to this requirement, min before launch. the launch site must have open water at least 100 ft After launch countdown, the propellant valves are deep, with a range opened, allowing the propellants to flow under footprint of 40 by 30 gravity into the combustion chamber. Ignition miles. This size of occurs, initially producing only 17,000 lbs. of thrust. footprint will The tanks are then brought up to full pressure, and accommodate in-flight the engine now builds rapidly to full thrust, lifting abort situations and the vehicle from the launch pad. Graphite vanes in range safety destruction the exhaust gas ensure a stable flight until enough of the first stage. Any speed has been built up to allow the aerodynamic coastal area is a potential fins to function. The first stage burns for just under one minute, until all of the propellant is exhausted. Page 2 3/5/2003 X PRIZE Team Summary Just prior to cabin splashdown velocity to 26 ft/sec. Splashdown engine cutoff, the will occur in the water approximately 15 miles down occupants will range from the launch site. experience The crew cabin has a low center of gravity so that acceleration of no when floating on the water, the cabin will roll over more than 4.5 g. to a stable position with the hatches facing up. After At the edge of reorienting itself, inflatable floats are deployed on space, the second each side of the cabin to make the whole craft a very stage separates stable 'raft' on the water. The crew can now open the and ignites its hatches and stand up if they want to, while waiting engines, boosting for the recovery vessel. the velocity enough to reach 70 miles altitude. The pilot can use the cold gas jets to orient the second stage to provide the best window view for HARDWARE & TESTS the passengers. The Canadian Arrow team has constructed a full- scale engineering mock-up of the Canadian Arrow VEHICLE DESCENT AND LANDING rocket. After separation, the first stage follows a trajectory Hardware for the that carries it over 50 miles high. Recovery of the propulsion system has first stage is initiated by using four "air brake flaps" also been built and tested. located between each fin on the tail section. These · A successful hot-fire air brakes will slow the first stage as it descends test of the main engine through the atmosphere. Four main parachute packs injector cup was are stored directly behind each air brake panel, and conducted on 25 July these packs are ready to deploy after each air brake 2002. opens. Small solid propellant rockets pull out pilot · A full-scale, hot-fire chutes that deploy the main chutes. Each main test of the 57,000 pound parachute is 64 ft. in diameter and will slow the thrust main engine is second stage for a splashdown on water at projected to take place in early 2003. approximately 30 ft/sec. The first stage has positive buoyancy eliminating the need for flotation gear. A recovery ship will lift the booster from the water and PUBLICITY carry it back to base for processing and re-launch. The following publicity was generated during the Upon reentry of the second stage, the dive brakes four days between 23 and 26 April, 2002. situated between the fins open to maintain a stable attitude and decelerate the vehicle to subsonic speed. PERSONAL APPEARANCES As the crew cabin decelerates into the denser atmosphere, the ballute ram air scoops keep it · Displayed Canadian Arrow full-scale mock-up at inflated to the correct pressure. Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, USA. When the booster reaches the lower, denser atmosphere during the reentry phase of the flight, TELEVISION AND RADIO the nose cap will separate · 23 April 2002, appeared on NBC “Today” show, from the main cabin, plus 3 hours of live drop-ins from Rockefeller pulling out the ram air Plaza in New York City, USA. reentry ballute. This · CNN Network News, USA ballute will slow down · MSNBC News, USA and stabilize the crew · CTV News, Canada cabin during the reentry · CKCO-TV News, Canada phase of the flight.