Forwarded message:
Subject: (Fwd) Re: **"OuR" Project press release** Priority: normal X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Windows (v2.23) Pulled this off of the net. The was even better than SkyeDance IV ;-) ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- Paul Robinson & Ken Mizoi wrote:
To All Fellow Rocketeers: [stuff deleted] Unfortunately, the rocket failed to deploy its recovery systems and accelerated to over Mach 1 and impacted into the sand dunes several miles away. There was a loud sonic boom heard by all that literally shook the earth. In fact, instead of the nominal "hole and fin slits" seen in previous impacts, there was a twenty foot diameter area with large chunks of sheared earth as if a high energy charge had been detonated under the ground. The rocket was not recovered, but several pieces of metal, fiberglass, and burnt Nomex were found indicating the ejection charges did in fact fire. Once again, the "OuR" Project members wish to express sincere thanks to all those who listened, donated, and gave their support who were not specifically named. This project would not have flown if were not for the "believers" and the tremendous team spirit. Only they know the sweat and the number of hours it takes to fly such a rocket. Members of the "OuR" Team
Stu Barrett e-mail: stu@zilker.net
Recommendation for the next one: Rather than try to brute force an LEO from about sea level, how about lofting the rocket by balloon up to a starting altitude of, say, 100,000 feet, and letting'er'rip from there? (this is probably not a new technique...) Using a hydrogen balloon, a cubic meter of balloon volume would loft 1.2 kilograms at sea level, although only 1/50th of that at 100,000 feet, or 25 grams. A 700-pound (320 kilogram)rocket would require 12,000 cubic meters of envelope volume, discounting the weight of the balloon itself, equivalent to the volume of a cube 25 meters on a side. Obvious advantages: First, you're 20 miles closer to an LEO altitude of about 200 miles or so, a considerable advantage. Even more important, my back-of-the-envelope calculation says that at 100,000 feet, you're above about 98% of the atmosphere. There'd be a minor advantage if you managed to find a 300 mph easterly airstream just before launch. (Derived from the numbers included in the original note, I assume that the average upward speed is 1000 feet per second, and a top speed of about 2000 feet per second reached at an altitude of about 10,000 feet (Mach 2). This peak velocity occurs when the barometric pressure is not greatly different than sea level, which is a huge waste of energy. I'd like to see the real numbers, or at least a simulation. Could they re-run the simulation for a starting altitude of 100,000 feet?) And I don't think they have a prayer of doing an LEO without substantially increasing the proportion of fuel in the rocket from their current 35%, and possibly doing a two-stage rocket. I'd like to hear much more about this. Jim Bell jimbell@pacifier.com