Recently in Suborbital Category

In early May, teams of rocket enthusiasts were at the Big Range 2012 Launch Campaign in Sutherland, Scotland to hold suborbital high altitude experimental rocketry tests.  The event is a collaboration between the Scottish Aeronautics & Rocketry Association (SARA), UK Rocket Association (UKRA) and AspireSpace. 

 

Of the teams, one from Cambridge University made an attempt at taking the current UK altitude record for an amateur rocket.   The record currently stands at 24,500 feet and the Cambridge hoped to better that by 10,000 feet using a two stage solid fuel rocket using 15kg of ammonium perchlorate - the same fuel that were used by the Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) on the Space Shuttle launch system.  The Cambridge team's rocket's light weight structure was made from carbon fibre and red anodised aluminium.  The total mass of the rocket was 40kg.

 

After a one day delay due to ignition failure, the launch and stage separation went well on 3 May.  However, sadly, the team could not tell whether the altitude record had been breached as they could not find the second stage with the altimeter recording system aboard.   The science writer, Dr. Lucy Rogers, who was observing the launch, amusingly commented: "We hope the gamekeeper will come across it sometime."

 

The team was not disheartened however and gained plaudits from rocket experts including James Macfarlane, Chairman of the UK Rocket Association (UKRA) and Director of the rocket research firm Airborne Engineering Ltd:  "I am very impressed with this group. Every problem they have encountered they have designed and built elegant and professional solutions."

 

Given the altitude targets involved, a special NOTAM air traffic warning was issued for the event which is now expected to become an annual gathering.   Next year, the Cambridge University Spaceflight Rocket Team is promising to return with a three-stage rocket capable of reaching 50,000 feet.  

 

 

 

After firing from Spaceport America in New Mexico, Armadillo's Stig-A successfully flew to 137,000 ft. Stig-A is now nearly halfway to the Karman Line, the arbitrary line that marks the official transition from atmosphere to space. Of course, there is a video

Armadillo, a tiny but driven company, has for years been building small rockets with the goal of suborbital flight. If they haven't quite made it, they're certainly well on their way.

Sometimes, it's best to let things speak for themselves. Read on, friends (our highlights):

The First Vibrator in Space   
     
Los Angeles, CA - September 27, 2011 -- On October 8, 2011, online sex toy sales leader SexToy.com, will lead a team to launch the first adult sex toy vibrator into space. The space craft will be equipped with a still and video camera that will send images of its best selling vibrator back to Earth.
 
Through rigorous experimentation, the group has developed a way to send the vibrator into space. The toy will have to withstand temperatures of -75 degrees Fahrenheit and conditions 10 times over normal cosmic radiation. The vibrator will be fully exposed to the elements, reach an altitude of 100,000 feet (~20miles) above the Earth's atmosphere, which is three times the cruising altitude of a typical jet plane. The team hopes to retrieve the vibrator in fully functioning order.
 
SexToy Dave, CEO of CNV.com Inc., says of his inspiration behind the project, "I have always been into firsts and that is how I made my money. I was one of the first on the web selling sex toys, first to have an adult affiliate program, the first to make three appearances on Bravo's hit show Millionaire Matchmaker and now the first online adult business with a space program."
 
The sex toy will be carried into space by a partially solar-powered, partially helium-filled balloon 8 feet wide, armed with a 1080p HD video camera, a 10MP still camera, two consumer cell phones running tracking software, and an experimental GPS unit. The balloon and vibrating bullet will travel through Jet stream winds of up to 100 miles per hour for 1-3 hours and achieve a total distance of up to 100 miles. Sextoy.com will publish the photos on its new blog, "Chew On This" at www.sextoy.com/blog http://www.sextoy.com/blog

credit: Virgin Galactic / caption: could SpaceShipTwo use a liquid propulsion system?

Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo could be a single stage to suborbit vehicle using liquid chemical propulsion according to independent research carried out by a company that has been contracted by the European Space Agency for suborbital and hypersonic transport studies

UK company Gas Dynamics has concluded, after its own internal study, using all the publicly available material it could obtain about SS2, that the spacecraft does not need its carrier aircraft WhiteKnight Two if it is fitted with a liquid chemical propulsion system

Spacevidcast.com has released this video and this article about Russia's MAKS aerospace system

credit: Dassault Aviation / caption: this is the VSH, Dassault's space tourism spin off from VEHRA 

French aerospace company Dassault Aviation's In the Air newsletter issue 14 has provided an update on its spaceflight related activities and teased us with the prospect of an imminent report outlining a possible future for the European suborbital vehicle VSH, or is that K:1000?

In its report "Suborbital Aviation: on the very edge of space" it says:

The study of suborbital vessels, both manned and unmanned, constitutes the natural extension of the activities of Dassault Aviation with regard to the aircraft of the future.
The suborbital activity began with the VEHRA (air-launched reusable hypersonic vehicle) project. This constituted an "evolution" of the X-38 experimental lifting body from NASA, for which Dassault Aviation had defined the shape. It comprises a family of vehicles that comes in three versions:
− 10 t demonstrator;
− 30 t vehicle for launching small (300 kg) satellites;
− heavy vehicle (200 t) for placing a 7 t payload in low orbit.

The newsletter goes on to say:

Air-launching from a commercial transport aircraft does away with the take-off constraints of classic launchers. In terms of flexibility, this type of launch requires a much more slim line ground infrastructure, and offers the possibility of aborting the mission and recovering the vehicles and their payloads in the majority of cases. The VEHRA project has generated repeat works (configuration, systems, propulsion, etc.) for the engineering division (DGT). Interns from the major engineering colleges have also been associated over the years with these futuristic vehicle projects.

For any US nationals or green card holders that are interested Virgin Galactic is advertising for a head of safety on the Virgin group website. The role also works for The Spaceship Company (TSC),  a Mojave based Virgin group, Scaled Composites joint venture that is the Boeing, shall we say, to Virgin Galactic's Virgin Atlantic. The head of safety will make public appearences as well

The advert says:

VG/TSC is seeking a first rate qualified Head of Safety to define and develop Virgin Galactic's operational safety approach, and to lead the establishment of the Galactic Group safety policies & framework.

and that the role will

• Be responsible for the risk management process at the core of the SMS, from hazard identification and analysis to development of mitigation approaches. Emphasis will be on integrating Scaled Composites / TSC's space launch system hazard analyses, VG LLC's operationally focused hazard analyses, and Spaceport America/NMSA's infrastructure and airspace analyses.

and that it will

• Develop, with the Chief Pilot and their team, emergency scenarios and appropriate action plans or mitigation approaches. These should include dress rehearsals and emergency / incident response plans in accordance with FAA and stakeholder requirements.

Amateur rocketeers have fun at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center  last week according to this website

Virgin Galactic's commercial director Stephen Attenborough talks about the future of space tourism from an Irish science and engineering education organisation's event held in 2008 but the video was not posted until end of 2009. Go through to the extended portion of this blog post to see parts two and three