Aerospaceplane (1958-1963)

[Dynoman]

An air launched Aerospaceplane from an XB-70

 

[Archibald]

Wasn't that a Republic concept ? (well, d'oh, of course it is, as shown on this thread first two pages).

 

[flateric]

An air launched Aerospaceplane from an XB-70

https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/republic-1965-mach-12-hypersonic-recon-project-and-demonstrator.38549/post-512588

 

[Archibald]

Ok, so the Internet Archive has some Aviation Week magazines for free, and I've found a little Aerospaceplane gem from July 1963. I've split it, OCR and cleaned up.
Most important thing here: a detailed breakdown of Air Force Special Requirement SR.651 multiple propulsion developments. From SR.651B to SR.651J, including HIRES as SR.651H (hypersonic in-flight refueling, don't try this at home LMAO).

The major effort associated with Aerospaceplane has gone into studies, applied research and development of propulsion systems. A whole family of systems using liquid hydrogen as a base and ranging from air-breathing to pure rockets using liquid oxygen, have been explored.
The breakdown of studies under SR.651 is:
SR.651B—Air collection enrichment subsystems. This includes air compressors; liquid air separators, heat exchangers and tankage. Marquardt Corp. And Linde Air Products Corp. did work in this area. (SR 651A was a study of all the propulsion technologies and was supplanted by the more detailed studies listed here.)
SR.651C—Mach 8 ramjet. This effort is aimed at providing a subsonic air flow ramjet which will go beyond the present Mach 3-4 ramjets to Mach 8, the speed at which the second stage would be launched. Marquardt is doing this.
SR.651D — Liquid air cycle engine (LACF). Marquardt is following this.
SR.651E-Supersonic combustion ramjet (SCRAM). Marquardt. General Electric Co. at Evendale. Ohio, and General Applied Sciences Laboratory at Westbury, N. Y., arc doing applied research in this area. SCRAM is in such an early stage that it probably would be applied to the second-generation Aerospaceplane.
SR.651F—Turbo-accelerator (advanced turbo-ramjet). No company has been selected for this work.
SR.651G—Advanced structures and materials. Lockheed, North American, Solar, Armour Research Laboratory, General Dynamics/Astronautics and Texas Instruments, Inc., are working in this area.
Two other studies have been recommended and are awaiting approval.
They are:
SR.651H—Hypersonic inflight refueling subsystems (HIRES).
SR.651J—Aerospaceplane aerodynamics.

My pet peeve, albeit suborbital rather than hypersonic. Nice to hear about it from a contemporary source (1963) rather than the classic NASA histories by Jenkins, Heppenheimer and co.

 

[abheiden]

An air launched Aerospaceplane from an XB-70

That must be one of the bravest daredevil pilots i ever seen in that launch under that XB-70

 

[Archibald]

The way the XB-70 carries it : either it ruins the flight characteristics through massive asymmetry; or the huge asymmetrical drag has the Valkyrie unable to break the sound barrier, de facto turning it into a very expensive NB-52. What's more, ramjet / scramjet vehicles tends to be draggy, too, if only because the engine doesn't work properly below mach 3.
So the whole thing is a drag nightmare.
XB-70 may have dropped large aerospace vehicles at mach 3, but only from inside that streamlined big belly fairing: with a "bomb" bay carved inside. But from the back or from a wing pylon ? no and NO. Bad idea. Definitively.