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Aviation History
1988
1988 - 0977.PDF
SPACEFLIGHT Cut price Space Van proposed WASHINGTON D.C. Third Millenium (MMI), which in 1986 proposed the private-venture development of a $750 million Space Van shuttle, is now proposing a smaller, yet more versatile design, originally called Micro Van, which could halve development costs, reports Tim Furniss. Space Van Mk.II is a reusable, two-stage launch system incorporating a one- man piloted orbiter or an unmanned delayed recovery stage, a winged one-man piloted flyback booster, a semi-submersible launch ship, an orbiting "depot", and an orbital transfer vehicle. The orbiter or delayed recovery stage would be powered by three Pratt & Whitney RL10 Centaur engines, and would be about one-twentieth the size of the Nasa Space Shuttle. The flyback, Mach 2 winged booster would be powered by three Rocketdyne H-I Saturn IB first-stage engines. The addition of the delayed recovery stage in the system is a result of MMI's possible bid to win the lease contract for the Commercial Space Facil ity, or at least a logistics role in the project. The company reports that it is on the verge of signing "a contract", but was unable to disclose any more details of the contract to Flight. With this stage, Space Van could place a pay load 2-9m wide, 4 • 5m long, and weighing 3,500kg into a Space Station- type orbit. The weight which could be placed into polar orbit would be 2,800kg. Using the "depot" for staging to an orbital transfer vehicle, a payload could also be placed into geosynchronous orbit. With the orbiter, payloads weighing 1,400kg and measuring 2-5m wide and 4 • 2m long could be placed into a Space Station-type orbit, and 600kg could be placed into polar orbit. Space Van would operate out of the Pacific Island of Pago Pago, landing on a FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, J6 April 1988 3,000m runway there. Space tourism is seen as a major eventual market. Tentative launch prices to low Earth orbit are projected at between $770 and $2,750 per kilo gramme, depending on the level of traffic. There would be three complete vehicles in the system, with a turnaround time of three to seven days. Test flights could begin within three to four years of completion of financing, and operational flights could begin one to two years after this, the company claims. Like many other entrepren eurial companies attempting to privatise space without government subsidies, MMI faces a huge task in this risky and speculative undertaking, but the company has been internally financed thus far from its fees as an aero space engineering consul tancy company. MMI needs to raise a total of $550 million to $600 million from potential customers and US and overseas investors, and is considering a public stock offering. It is also nego tiating deep-discount pre payments for the first 120 flights. China and Brazil plan joint satellite BEIJING ~ China and Brazil have agreed to develop a joint remote- sensing satellite which will be launched by a Long March 2C in 1992-93. Brazil will contribute about $100 million towards the development of the satellite, which will have a resolution of 20m. Although Brazil is a heavily indebted nation, it has ambi tious plans for a space programme which, in addition to the Chinese link, will include the development of the VLS low-Earth-orbit launcher, capable of carrying between 115kg and 160kg to 750km/650km, and four national satellites dedicated to remote sensing and remote data collection. Stacked Oscars launch due Two US Navy Transit navigation satellites will be launched by Nasa from Vandenberg this month, under a programme called Stacked Oscars on Scout (SOOS). Two such satellites were launched in September 1987 as SOOS-II. The 59kg satellites are built by GE Astro Space, and operate in 960km circular polar orbits. Nasa ELV schedule 1988- Date Apr 1988 May Jun Aug Aug Feb 1989 May Sep Nov Feb 1990 Feb Mar Jun Aug Sep Dec Mar 1991 May Aug Dec May 1992 Jun Jul Dec Apr 1993 Notes: Vehicle Scout S-211C Atlas 63E Scout S-213C Delta 183 Scout S 214C Delta 184 Atlas 50E Atlas Centaur 68 Scout S 215C" Delta Scout S-218C Atlas Centaur Atlas Centaur'" Scout S-210C Atlas Atlas Centaur Scout S-217C" Titan 3** Delta Atlas 45E Atlas Centaur tbd tbd tbd tbd * Earliest date scheduled " Nasa planning purposes Launch site Vandenberg Vandenberg Vandenberg Canaveial Vandenberg Vandenberg Vandenberg Canaveral Wallops Canaveral Vandenberg Canaveral Canaveral Vandenberg Vandenberg Canaveral Wallops Canaveral Canaveral Vandenberg Canaveral Canaveral Canaveral Vandenberg Vandenberg Crres 1 and 2 are active plasma experiment satellites to mission. Payloads scheduled for planning purposes Jun 1991 Sep Jan 1992 Jun Jan 1993 Mar Jun only -1993 Payload Soos-lll Noaa-H- Nova-ll SDIO Soos-IV Cobe Noaa D FltSatcom F-8" Crres 1 Rosat Transit 27 Goes-1 Crres Transit 28 Noaa-1 Goes J Ones 2 Planetary alternative Euve Noaa-J Goes-K Wind Geotail Polar Noaa-K support main Crres Nasa payload on ELV tbd from launch site tbd ditto ditto ditto ditto MSAT on ELV tbd from Canaveral to communications Nasa payload on ELV tbd from launch site Contingency planning launch: Aug 1991 Titan 3 Planned payloads not scheduled Cold Sat Medium Class ELV 1995-96 Craf Atlas Centaur 1997 Canaveral Gravity probe B2 Medium Class ELV 1995 test tbd mobile satellite TDRS-F caliu'p High Resolution Solar Observatory Medium Class ELV (or Shuttle! 1994 Lunar Observer Intermediate Class ELV 1995 Nasa 7 to 10 Small Class ELV 1994-95 Radarsat Titan IV 1994 Soho Medium Class ELV lor Shuttle) 199e TDRS H Callup intermediate Class ELV 1992 Wind Medium Class ELV 1992
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