NASAs New Rocket Is Powerful Enough To Damage Nearby Buildings At Launch
Ron Czapala
Posts: 2,418
http://news.yahoo.com/nasa-rocket-powerful-enough-damage-nearby-buildings-launch-190226037.html
The record for the loudest test ever conducted at Stennis still belongs to the Saturn V rockets first-stage, which featured four engines capable of generating 7.5 million pounds of thrust and powered NASAs Apollo program to the moon. That test rang in at 204 decibles.
Saturn V could carry about 130 tons into Earth orbit, whereas the SLS will max out at an unprecedented lift capability of 143 tons, according to NASA, and have 10 to 20 percent more power than the Saturn V at a maximum of 9.2 million pounds of thrust.
Comments
Deep Space, here we come..err,.go...
Yahoo "journalism"...
The Saturn V had five engines, though I don't think they ever tested more than one engine at a time.
So much for 'lost technology' preventing going to the moon.
Yeah, you're right about that. I don't know where that idea came from. It's kind of like saying we couldn't fight a war because we can't make B-25 bombers anymore.
John Abshier
Doesn't mean that NASA will ever have enough money to actually make use of all of the rocket's potential....
Plans are to go to beyond the Moon on the second mission. I hope it works out. I also hope Boeing has better batteries now.
That either sounds mysterious and a great subject for conspiracy and speculation or they are planning on using Windows 8 on the in-flight computers!
Hmmm.. if I am creamated, maybe they will take my ashes along for a fee. It is the only way I am ever going to do any space travel. I might bring along my dog.
Who do you have to know to get in line for these?????
SpaceX's rocket program suffered a setback today, with one of its three-engine Falcon rockets exploding in mid-air during a test flight in McGregor, Texas. The company says it triggered the action after onboard systems detected that something was wrong.
http://www.vox.com/2014/8/23/6056873/commercial-crew-nasa-spacex-boeing
SpaceX's Dragon V2
The startup SpaceX founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Elon Musk has been using the initial version of its Dragon capsule to ship cargo to the space station since May 2012. It unveiled the upgraded version, equipped to carry people, this past May.
Boeing's CST-100
The CST-100 isn't quite as far along as the Dragon: Boeing has conducted some tests of the capsule, dropping it from 14,000 feet over the Nevada desert, but it hasn't been put into space yet, let alone orbit.
Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser
The Dream Chaser's design is radically different than the other two capsules in contention. It was developed by the Sierra Nevada Corporation, an aerospace electronics company that bought SpaceDev, a private spaceflight company, in 2008.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pLQCzfzKsYs
Undefinitized contracts?
The President of the United States and his national security advisors would likely be a good start. The heads of certain Senate and House appropriation committees would be a plus as well.
It seems that NASA has crossed the line into defense contracting. I thought we had another program for all that and NASA was not involved in such things.
Russia canceled its contract to supply rockets for the international space station recently, which in turn seems to have gotten the US government in a hurry to close the gap in sourcing as good or better rocketry within the US.
Though due to heightened tensions during the Ukraine crisis Russia announced it would ban the United States from using their RD-180 engines for military purposes, these engines continue to be supplied. Two were delivered August 20, 2014, just a few days ago. Three more are expected later this year.
NASA recently signed a new contract with Russia for transport to the ISS through the 2016-2017 time period. NASA expects to award a contract to a US based company to develop an independent source of transportation to low Earth orbit (LEO) and the ISS sometime in the next few weeks. Possible choices, as mentioned in a previous post in this thread, include SpaceX's Dragon V2, Boeing's CST-100, and Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser.
Since the "signing of the NASA Authorization Act of 2010 on October 11, 2010, NASA has a clear direction" and is making plans to focus more on space exploration. The Orion MPCV will be the primary spacecraft used for space exploration past LEO, to the Moon and beyond. Launching of the Orion spacecraft is the intended purpose of the Space Launch System (SLS). The Orion/SLS will not be used to service the ISS, however it can do so in a back up role. The first test flight of the Orion is scheduled for December 2014 aboard a Delta IV Heavy launch vehicle.
http://www.spacenews.com/article/launch-report/41622ula-takes-delivery-of-two-rd-180-rocket-engines-from-russia
http://www.presstv.com/detail/2014/03/22/355640/pentagon-reviews-russia-rocket-engines/
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/nasa-enlists-private-space-industry-to-break-reliance-on-russian-rockets/505716.html
http://www.vox.com/2014/8/23/6056873/commercial-crew-nasa-spacex-boeing
http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/510449main_SLS_MPCV_90-day_Report.pdf
http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/mpcv/
http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/
EXCERPT:
I do understand a lot of the nostalgia for NASA and patriotic feelings, but as some point peace requires partnership. Distrust breeds distrust and we just go back to the bad old days. It is hard to say this, but have we missed opportunites with Russia and China or were they just never there?
Space exploration without a global solidarity just may not happen, or it may take the world in unwanted directions.