My goal is clearly to build a NANOSAT launcher class vehicle.
Why?
I answered the question on the blog, but to answer it here:
1)Most likely to empower others to do interesting things in space without NASA sized budgets.
2)Smallest thing that can be made a viable standalone business.
1)Most likely to empower others to do interesting things in space without NASA sized budgets.
I wish you good luck but there is a scaling factor that makes what you want to do extremely difficult.
Understood that its on the wrong end of the curve for minimum gauge, air drag and a whole host of other issues.
Building a $5M per launch launcher will not materially change the state of whats possible in the world. Building a launcher where 200K will fund an real honest to god flight mission …flight hardware AND launch might.
Air drag and minimum gauge constraints of small scale can to a large extent be mitigated with sensible design (air launch and inflatable tanks, for example). Rocket engine performance scaling, especially with regard to heat transfer, seems trickier.
Finding design pathways around small scale constraints is I suspect an area of great opportunity for New Space. It would be one possible pathway around the status quo to order of magnitude lower launch costs.
Best of luck, Paul, although I’m afraid I don’t have any ideas (or funding) to offer.
I am curious, though: What is the smallest launch vehicle that has orbited a payload? I’m thinking maybe Vanguard; but wasn’t there a satellite launched from an F-15 some years ago?
wasn’t there a satellite launched from an F-15 some years ago?
That was an ASAT rocket. You’re probably thinking of NOTSNIK, which was launched from an F4D Skyray.
My goal is clearly to build a NANOSAT launcher class vehicle.
Why?
I answered the question on the blog, but to answer it here:
1)Most likely to empower others to do interesting things in space without NASA sized budgets.
2)Smallest thing that can be made a viable standalone business.
1)Most likely to empower others to do interesting things in space without NASA sized budgets.
I wish you good luck but there is a scaling factor that makes what you want to do extremely difficult.
Understood that its on the wrong end of the curve for minimum gauge, air drag and a whole host of other issues.
Building a $5M per launch launcher will not materially change the state of whats possible in the world. Building a launcher where 200K will fund an real honest to god flight mission …flight hardware AND launch might.
Air drag and minimum gauge constraints of small scale can to a large extent be mitigated with sensible design (air launch and inflatable tanks, for example). Rocket engine performance scaling, especially with regard to heat transfer, seems trickier.
Finding design pathways around small scale constraints is I suspect an area of great opportunity for New Space. It would be one possible pathway around the status quo to order of magnitude lower launch costs.
Best of luck, Paul, although I’m afraid I don’t have any ideas (or funding) to offer.
I am curious, though: What is the smallest launch vehicle that has orbited a payload? I’m thinking maybe Vanguard; but wasn’t there a satellite launched from an F-15 some years ago?
wasn’t there a satellite launched from an F-15 some years ago?
That was an ASAT rocket. You’re probably thinking of NOTSNIK, which was launched from an F4D Skyray.
http://www.citizensinspace.org/2012/03/historical-note-project-notsnik/
Editorial comment: The Douglas F4D was one of the most beautiful airplanes ever build. Bruce Wayne really should have used it.
Paul, did you sell the blue ball? I imagine there’s customers out there for the kind of vehicles you can make now.. why not bootstrap?
“The darkest day in any mans life is when he sits down and trys to figure out how to get money without earning it.”
You might have to earn it Paul? The best idea I saw was lecturing if that’s in ya.
What would be your actual product? Do others offer the same and how would you compete? (service and/or price.)
Good luck to you.