German Bundeswehr contracts Polaris Raumflugzeuge for scaled demo Aurora hypersonic "spaceplane"

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Space plane demonstrator for the Bundeswehr​


The Bundeswehr has contracted Polaris to build and flight test a scaled demonstrator of the Aurora aerospace and hypersonic system. The order is based on the preparatory project RDRS, which was successfully completed in 2021.


03/18/2022

The demonstrator will be the largest aircraft ever built by Polaris Raumflugzeuge GmbH in Bremen. It is about ten times heavier than previous jet-powered aircraft that have flown or are preparing to fly. The first flights are planned for the end of this year.
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H1C76Dy.jpg


More in German. https://www.flugrevue.de/militaer/auftrag-an-polaris-raumflugzeug-demonstrator-fuer-die-bundeswehr/
 
Wow, spectacularly bad timing - that announcement's way too early for April Fools Day! But seriously, as a German aerospace engineer I am truly stunned (and somewhat embarrased) that the BAAINBw has apparently been hoodwinked like that.
 
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polaris-spaceplanes.com

POLARIS Raumflugzeuge - POLARIS

The German aerospace startup POLARIS Raumflugzeuge GmbH is developing a novel reusable space launch and hypersonic transport system. The spaceplane Aurora combines aircraft and rocket launcher technologies within a unique design. Aurora offers a game-changing economic viability and provides an...
polaris-spaceplanes.com polaris-spaceplanes.com
 
1kN of thrust equate 100kgp ~ 200lb of Thrust.
Not much for a 4,5m long vehicle with the intend to reach above 100km and go hypersonic..

So I fail to understand the logic in this expenditure of public money:
- why build an entire vehicle when you can hung the rocket engine under an high altitude aircraft and test it safely (thrust is minimal)?
- why risk injuries flying such around an airport?
- what's new there?
 
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That’s the inverse of the D-558…A rocket plane with a jet as opposed to a jet-plane with a rocket.

To me, a jet is something you have so you don’t have to land dead-stick like Shuttle…something you can use after you re-enter. Pop up over the atmosphere with a pure rocket.

This way you can have an airframe that doesn’t look like a chisel. Yuck.

It will probably take a few more breakthroughs to get Orion III though—the SuperSabre on steroids.
 
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Hey, cool, their website has a page with their several different demonstrators,

DEMONSTRATORS
Building and operating scaled spaceplane demonstrators is a key for rapid project progress, technology validation and risk reduction. POLARIS follows this approach with a series of five demonstrators of increasing size, mass and complexity. These five demonstrators are complemented by additional auxiliary vehicles, where useful.
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www.polaris-raumflugzeuge.de

POLARIS Raumflugzeuge - Demonstrators

The German aerospace startup POLARIS Raumflugzeuge GmbH is developing a novel reusable space launch and hypersonic transport system. The spaceplane Aurora combines aircraft and rocket launcher technologies within a unique design. Aurora offers a game-changing economic viability and provides an...
www.polaris-raumflugzeuge.de www.polaris-raumflugzeuge.de
 
I like the concept they have. If its gonna be useful is questionable but atleast they try to develop something like that.
 
With their own resources, that would be commendable. Here, it looks like an internship for a few selected kids.
Why does have public money be spend on industry grade know-how?
With an RFI, they would have received competing proposal directly for the last demonstrator, cutting time and expenses.

And what kind of micro-turbine is safe enough to lift a rocket system above the public?
 
That actually scares me less than something like NASP wallowing at lower speeds. Rocket blast means confetti.

A heavy electric plane that cannot lighten itself with a fuel jettison?

That might be the most dangerous thing to have flying over you.

Kerosene fires you can douse more easily.

I don't get why folks are hostile to government funding of rocketry. I think this is good.
 
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Confetti are shards and frags. Not much better.

But for the EV aircraft, you are right. It does not make much sense to deem those safe as in the status quo.

Especially when the biggest problem is that safety would now be directly linked to batteries manufacring, when those are seldom designed by industry members that have a solid experience in aviation.
Inevitably, mistakes that could have been adverted will be made, with the inherent loss of life.
 
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publiusr said:
To me, a jet is something you have so you don’t have to land dead-stick like Shuttle…something you can use after you re-enter.
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Not true. It doesn't mean the engine is available for use after entry. Dead stick landings are not a big deal. See 133 shuttle and 6 X-37 landings and soon to add Dreamchaser
 
publiusr said:
I don't get why folks are hostile to government funding of rocketry. I think this is good.
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Again, you read something and take away the wrong interpretation.
Not every spaceflight concept is worthy of using government money.
And it is wrong to think that just the fact of spending government money on spaceflight regardless of merit is good.
 
publiusr said:
To me, a jet is something you have so you don’t have to land dead-stick like Shuttle…something you can use after you re-enter. Pop up over the atmosphere with a pure rocket.
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Byeman said:
Not true. It doesn't mean the engine is available for use after entry. Dead stick landings are not a big deal. See 133 shuttle and 6 X-37 landings and soon to add Dreamchaser
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Actually, using using the rockets to get above atmosphere and using the jet engines after reentry is exactly the flight plan shown here,

www.polaris-raumflugzeuge.de

POLARIS Raumflugzeuge - Light Spaceplane AURORA

The German aerospace startup POLARIS Raumflugzeuge GmbH is developing a novel reusable space launch and hypersonic transport system. The spaceplane Aurora combines aircraft and rocket launcher technologies within a unique design. Aurora offers a game-changing economic viability and provides an...
www.polaris-raumflugzeuge.de www.polaris-raumflugzeuge.de
 
Byeman said:
I am saying that the jet engine might not start every time.
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That brings to mind what I use for a signature on Starship Modeler,
"There are a thousand things that can happen when you go light a rocket engine, and only one of them is good."
Tom Mueller of SpaceX, in Air and Space, Jan. 2011
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Similar is probably applicable to piston engines, well, actually, they already have a reputation for not starting every time.
Huh, wonder if steam engines started every time ...
 
Probably the future of EV aviation: Cranial steam from their incredulous pilots to power the backup/emergency power source.
 
Hi! I'm Adam Savage from TESTED
Today we are visiting Mat Irvine's shop--zzzzt

"It's publiusr again...yeah...he got past the gate for the third time this week.... we've got it up to 440..."
 
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As a native German Aerospace Engineer I silently weep over the crap some of my fellow countrymen are peddling.
 
Screen grab of their website. I'm trying to wrap my mind about all those demonstrators... and just like @martinbayer I really don't see the point of all this.
Usually that kind of stepped program is "bigger, faster" at every step. But here, most of them seems redundant... or unuseful, or incoherent.

For example: WTF "electric ducted fans" ? the damn things can barely make a Cessna size aircraft fly. What's the point in throwing that technology into a rocketplane test program ?

Capture d’écran 2024-07-31 095403.png
 
Archibald said:
Screen grab of their website. I'm trying to wrap my mind about all those demonstrators... and just like @martinbayer I really don't see the point of all this.
Usually that kind of stepped program is "bigger, faster" at every step. But here, most of them seems redundant... or unuseful, or incoherent.

For example: WTF "electric ducted fans" ? the damn things can barely make a Cessna size aircraft fly. What's the point in throwing that technology into a rocketplane test program ?

View attachment 735714
Click to expand...
Thanks, Archi - I'm positively elated that since over a quarter century ago I'm not paying taxes for this particular crap anymore...
 
What kills me since 30 years I've been hooked to spaceflight, is the never ending flow of "subscale demonstrators". So booooring.
Hey, we should have a thread for them.
X-40, Hermes X-2000, Shenlong, RLV-TD... so many of them. Re-inventing the wheel again and again and again: see ISRO for example. RLV-TD ! Another one to add on the list ! Same for Japan, with their HOPE-X demonstrator (can't remember the name). Also ESA Hopper. See ?

"Subsonic and hypersonic rocketplane demonstrators" - who's up for a new thread here, or in the space section ?
 
Archibald said:
Screen grab of their website. I'm trying to wrap my mind about all those demonstrators... and just like @martinbayer I really don't see the point of all this.
Usually that kind of stepped program is "bigger, faster" at every step. But here, most of them seems redundant... or unuseful, or incoherent.

For example: WTF "electric ducted fans" ? the damn things can barely make a Cessna size aircraft fly. What's the point in throwing that technology into a rocketplane test program ?

View attachment 735714
Click to expand...
The Prime system Demo is getting bigger and probaly faster tought the bigger question is what the f**k do the other ones. I Ding See the point in Mira Light I & II.
 
I looked there Website up again and i realised that it is Just a WZ-8 which can start from the ground.
 

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