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Stratolaunch lifts off!

PostPosted: Sat Apr 13, 2019 7:54 pm
by B0ikat
I'm still amazed that the wing can stand the torque!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIQ3FrjBdf4

Re: Stratolaunch lifts off!

PostPosted: Sun Apr 14, 2019 4:27 am
by pete
I was just about to post this. https://www.stratolaunch.com/
It does look like one of those projects that never got off the ground .. so to speak :)

Re: Stratolaunch lifts off!

PostPosted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 3:24 am
by Sinkrate
So how many more satellites do we need anyway? :think:

Re: Stratolaunch lifts off!

PostPosted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 10:38 am
by Dave T
Looks like an accident waiting to happen.

Re: Stratolaunch lifts off!

PostPosted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 4:43 pm
by FlexibleFlier
I'm fascinated by the concept. Understand, I'm no scientist but given the math involved in determining trajectory, rocket motor cutout, etc, launching from a stationary pad with the known rotation of the earth, just how do you figure out how to do it from a moving platform at a non-specific altitude (even if only by a few feet) and a variable speed and direction? And so on and so forth. Obviously they think they've worked the problem successfully but my poor - and old - brain doesn't get it.

Ah, well....nobody ever said I was smart. :confusion-shrug:

Re: Stratolaunch lifts off!

PostPosted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 5:31 pm
by B0ikat
" just how do you figure out how to do it from a moving platform at a non-specific altitude (even if only by a few feet) and a variable speed and direction? And so on and so forth."

I imagine it's no different than launching a multi-stage cruise missile. The difference being it's aimed for an orbit instead of a ground target.

Re: Stratolaunch lifts off!

PostPosted: Tue Apr 16, 2019 1:22 am
by Canuck1955
I just don't get it, don't see the point. Seems a bit of a Fred Karno imo.

Re: Stratolaunch lifts off!

PostPosted: Tue Apr 16, 2019 6:38 am
by FlexibleFlier
I imagine it's no different than launching a multi-stage cruise missile. The difference being it's aimed for an orbit instead of a ground target.


Okay, I get the idea. Now, a cruise missile is aimed at a stationary target of known GPS location and altitude. Can I assume that the area of space suitable for satellite insertion is either 1) similarly mapped, or 2) can be mathematically calculated? (I would think it would be the latter.) Still, a very, very complex problem for which I am glad there are folks so much smarter than me who can solve it. :clap:

Re: Stratolaunch lifts off!

PostPosted: Tue Apr 16, 2019 7:54 am
by ftldave
FlexibleFlier wrote:I'm fascinated by the concept. Understand, I'm no scientist but given the math involved in determining trajectory, rocket motor cutout, etc, launching from a stationary pad with the known rotation of the earth, just how do you figure out how to do it from a moving platform at a non-specific altitude (even if only by a few feet) and a variable speed and direction? And so on and so forth. Obviously they think they've worked the problem successfully but my poor - and old - brain doesn't get it.

Ah, well....nobody ever said I was smart. :confusion-shrug:



Was done before, guys, back in the 1970's, air launched ICBM out of the back of a C-5 Galaxy, by the US Air Force. A different technique ... but, it worked.

And the point is to not stay dependent on expensive use-once rocket boosters for satellite launches, a cheaper way to launch 'em.

From the Wiki:

In the early 1970s, the USAF tested air-launching a Minuteman 1b ICBM from a C-5A Galaxy transport aircraft. On 24 October 1974, the Space and Missile Systems Organization successfully conducted an Air Mobile Feasibility test where a C-5A Galaxy aircraft air-dropped the 86,000-pound missile from 20,000 feet over the Pacific Ocean. The missile fell to 8,000 feet before its rocket engine fired. The 10-second engine burn carried the missile to 20,000 feet again before it dropped into the ocean. The test proved the feasibility of launching an intercontinental ballistic missile from the air. Operational deployment was discarded due to engineering and security difficulties, though the capability was used as a negotiating point in the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks.

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