Aerospaceplane (1958-1963)

[KJ_Lesnick]

Which is more effective in terms of thrust, weight, and specific impulse... an RBCC/Turborocket? LACE? or TBCC?


BTW: Regarding the Martin MHD design... did anything come of that? Or did it just not work?


KJ_Lesnick

 

[Barrington Bond]

I don't know any more than this...

 

[Barrington Bond]

Wasn't sure where to put this pic...

 

[XP67_Moonbat]

Barrington, you rock! Been looking for something like three years now. I bought Jenkin's '96 edition secondhand in 2005 and the Astroplane caught my eye. I did Google, but I got nothing. So I thank you.

Now if I could just get the last page or two, the section on the HL-20. Seems the previous owner probably didnt want to part with it. So Im missing that section. You get what you pay for.

 

[flateric]

Model 176 in wind tunnel
Model 176 surface temperature distribution

 

[flateric]

Republic Aerospaceplane

 

[flateric]

Thanks for the kind words, Doug. At least we are trying to...

Adding some more pics on Model 176 and FDL-7C/D
BTW, if I understand right, operational vehicles like Model 176, would be covered with *shining* reflectory metal TPS?

 

[hesham]

Hi,

http://history.nasa.gov/sp4232-part2.pdf

 

[hesham]

Hi,

http://history.nasa.gov/sp4232-part2.pdf

 

[flateric]

In Wings And Space by John Chaplin SBN 7110 0150 2 Ian Allan Publishing is this picture...

BTW, Mr.Bond, would you advise this 1970s book as interesting nostalgy reading?

 

[Barrington Bond]

I wouldn't say it was a serious study just a general public history of aviation - it does have a few choice pictures in though. It's something I'd expect to pick up at a car boot or charity shop for no more than a pound or two. I have a spare copy buried in a cupboard somewhere...

Regards,
Barry

contents
Man And Superman 7
Flight Of The Eagle 10
"Them crazy boys...name of Wright" 17
Beware of imitations 33
The Balloon goes up 42
The years of adventure 45
Into Action 57
The Aeroplane conquers the world 66
Scramble... for peace! 87
Through the barrier 113
Ghastly or sublime? 137
Sources of reference 158
Acknowledgements 160

 

[XP67_Moonbat]

From Scott, http://up-ship.com/apr/extras/boasp1.jpg

Although I found the link on here:http://sci.tech-archive.net/Archive/sci.space.history/2005-01/2443.html

 

[circle-5]

Factory model of the Convair LACES aerospaceplane (SSTO). This model was classified for quite a few years. More details of this design and LACE engine operations are available in the excellent Space Shuttle book by Dennis Jenkins.

 

[Grey Havoc]

Nice.

 

[shockonlip]

These same pics were in Keeshen's new book, just out in
the US now (Amazon just informed me they are now available
but I had already gotten a copy from Crecy).

They are the first factory Aerospaceplane project model pics I've seen.

I wish there were more.

 

[Stargazer]

A marvelous design and a splendid desktop model. Thanks a lot for sharing.

 

[circle-5]

Wallpaper photo of Convair LACES Aerospaceplane model (ca. 1961).

 

[archipeppe]

Wallpaper photo of Convair LACES Aerospaceplane model (ca. 1961).

Many thanks Circle-5, and as follows my contribution about the matter as a part of Scott Lowther's APR old number (http://www.up-ship.com/eAPR/ev2n5.htm)

 

[circle-5]

Wallpaper photo of Convair LACES Aerospaceplane model (ca. 1961).

Many thanks Circle-5, and as follows my contribution about the matter as a part of Scott Lowther's APR old number (http://www.up-ship.com/eAPR/ev2n5.htm)

Thank you Archipeppe. I believe your drawing represents an earlier, development version of the Convair Aerospaceplane, with separate air intakes for the LACE oxygen separators (on three quadrants, behind the flight deck). It appears that Convair engineers were later satisfied with diverting enough air from the six hybrid engine intakes to perform that function. The fuselage intakes then became unnecessary. I've seen a model of your Aerospaceplane variant, but I do not have it, unfortunately.


No word on how the exposed ventral intakes would withstand atmospheric re-entry -- perhaps they were solid, unobtainium castings.

 

[Archibald]

In his seminal shuttle book Dennis Jenkins briefly mentions the HIRES scheme - Hypersonic Refueling ! does anybody knows a little bit more about that concept ?

 

[shockonlip]

In his seminal shuttle book Dennis Jenkins briefly mentions the HIRES scheme - Hypersonic Refueling ! does anybody knows a little bit more about that concept ?

About HIRES specifically, no.

But, mid-air refuelling is just part of it.

LTV studied a more general capability they called Atmospheric Rendezvous in which mid-air refueling
was just one possibility. See AIAA paper 72-134 by Bird and Schaezler; "Aerospace Applications of
Atmospheric Rendezvous".

To give you an idea, of the application of these concepts, for example to a 2-stage orbital vehicle.
These concepts would permit the first stage or second stage to be designed and constructed without
certain low speed elements such as wings, landing gear, air breathing hypersonic, supersonic or
subsonic propulsion for cross range or ferry. Such vehicles would be received in atmospheric flight by
a carrier aircraft to perform those aspects of the mission. Significant reductions in gross lift off weight
are possible employing aircraft as a carrier or tow vehicle.

Interesting paper!

 

[shockonlip]

Wallpaper photo of Convair LACES Aerospaceplane model (ca. 1961).

Many thanks Circle-5, and as follows my contribution about the matter as a part of Scott Lowther's APR old number (http://www.up-ship.com/eAPR/ev2n5.htm)

Thank you Archipeppe. I believe your drawing represents an earlier, development version of the Convair Aerospaceplane, with separate air intakes for the LACE oxygen separators (on three quadrants, behind the flight deck). It appears that Convair engineers were later satisfied with diverting enough air from the six hybrid engine intakes to perform that function. The fuselage intakes then became unnecessary. I've seen a model of your Aerospaceplane variant, but I do not have it, unfortunately.


No word on how the exposed ventral intakes would withstand atmospheric re-entry -- perhaps they were solid, unobtainium castings.

Since the pictures you posted (thanks for that circle-5, VERY much!) show a shock cone inlet,
I would expect that the cone would have the capability to close off the inlet when they were done
breating air and for reentry. Plus it was probably a moving spike inlet anyway for more efficient
compression. And as far as cooling, since LH2 is used for the LACE to cool the air and liquify it,
I would expect LH2 was probably also employed to cool the structure there.

As far as the fuselage based or engine inlet integrated air liquifier, I would think that the most
flexible approach would be for an inlet that could breathe non or low-cooled air, more deeply cooled air
(but not liquified) to increase the compression ratio for a turbojet or certain cycles of a variable cycle
turbofan, or to cool the air all the way to liquifying it, for the LACE (Liquid Air Cycle Engine).
Such a propulsion system would have great flexibility if such an inlet could feed a turbojet or
variable cycle turbofan, or a rocket.

 

[ouroboros]

I don't know any more than this...

Considering PROFAC was an atmosphere scooper with a nuclear powered arcjet (and no MHD?) that might make some sense. In the modern case, I guess that Astroplane would be described more like a nuclear electric VASIMR though.

 

[Archibald]

In his seminal shuttle book Dennis Jenkins briefly mentions the HIRES scheme - Hypersonic Refueling ! does anybody knows a little bit more about that concept ?

About HIRES specifically, no.

But, mid-air refuelling is just part of it.

LTV studied a more general capability they called Atmospheric Rendezvous in which mid-air refueling
was just one possibility. See AIAA paper 72-134 by Bird and Schaezler; "Aerospace Applications of
Atmospheric Rendezvous".

To give you an idea, of the application of these concepts, for example to a 2-stage orbital vehicle.
These concepts would permit the first stage or second stage to be designed and constructed without
certain low speed elements such as wings, landing gear, air breathing hypersonic, supersonic or
subsonic propulsion for cross range or ferry. Such vehicles would be received in atmospheric flight by
a carrier aircraft to perform those aspects of the mission. Significant reductions in gross lift off weight
are possible employing aircraft as a carrier or tow vehicle.

Interesting paper!

thank you very much. If you happens to know more about in-flight refueling of space planes, I'll be interested by it.
It is a path not taken but has a pretty huge potential. It literally breaks the big delta-V to Earth orbit into smaller pieces, making a SSTO somewhat easier.

According to Mitchell Burnside Clapp (there)
http://www.ai.mit.edu/projects/im/magnus/bh/analog.html

A Speculative Idea Beyond their baseline mode of operation, certain speculative operabonal modes exist that could signiticantly enhance the capability of APT vehicles in the future.
Consider the case where we have two Black Horse type vehicles, each using JP-5/H2O2 with an Isp of 335 s. The vehicles have a dry weight of 15,000 lb and a propellant load of 180,000 lb, which assuming a required Delta-v to orbit of 27 kft/s, allows them to deliver 1,000 lb to LEO.

Now, let's say that we fly the two of them off together, accelerating them jointly not to orbit, but rather to a suborbital trajectory with a velocity of 18.5 kft/ s. The two space planes are now outside the atmosphere, in free fall (i.e. zero gravity) in the immediate vicinity of each other. Let's say we now bring the two together and extend a refueling boom, allowing the 20,000 lb of residual propellant from one to be transferred to the other. The two then separate, the empty vehicle to return to Earth, the enriched vehicle to ascend to orbit with a payload of 12,000 lbs. Without any new hardware, the orbital delivery capability of the system can be increased by a factor of 12.

(now if someone knows Burnside Clapp, or understand how does the math works - I'll be glad to discuss the matter further !)

 

[archipeppe]

In the same Scott Lowther APR I've mentioned before there is a link to such "hypersonic in-flight refuelling" even if really odd it was seriously envisioned for the Douglas Model 2235. This Sci-fi like space vehicle had specific buddy-buddy like system pod on wing extremities.

 

[KJ_Lesnick]

The Boeing 887-12 design -- when was that drawn up?

 

[hesham]

Hi,

http://history.nasa.gov/sp4232-part2.pdf

The Republic Scramjet.

 

[Stargazer]

The Republic Scramjet.

I could be wrong, but I believe we've already discussed this design in a topic devoted to the Aerospaceplane program.

 

[hesham]

Hi,


here is a n aerospaceplane designed by Marquardt.


https://archive.org/stream/missilesrockets1213unse#page/n167/mode/2up

 

[hesham]

Hi,


I can't ID this ?.


https://archive.org/stream/missilesrockets1219unse#page/9/mode/2up

 

[Michel Van]

Could be Lockheed System III from the Earth-to-space "shuttle" vehicles for NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. around 1962-1964
http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,6741.0.html

 

[hesham]

Could be Lockheed System III from the Earth-to-space "shuttle" vehicles for NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. around 1962-1964
http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,6741.0.html

I agree with you my dear Michel.

 

[hesham]

Hi,

http://archive.aviationweek.com/image/spread/19610619/28/2

 

[hesham]

Hi,

http://archive.aviationweek.com/image/spread/19630722/123/2

 

[hesham]

Hi,

http://archive.aviationweek.com/image/spread/19630211/14/2

 

[Dynoman]

Any information on the Marquardt M-146 engine system developed for the Aerospaceplane? Supposedly, after Marquardt shut down the M-146 test article was still on the property in Van Nuys (circa 1991). This is reportedly the same engine Steven Wurst used in his Space Access design.

 

[flateric]

Convair Aerospace Plane see-through model from SDASM archives on Flickr

 

[Dew]

Convair Aerospace Plane see-through model from SDASM archives on Flickr

General Dynamics Astronautics Aerospace Plane

 

[publiusr]

Convair’s was the most elegant.
The Douglas entry looks like the ark from: WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE

 

[flateric]

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