Airbus drop test spacecraft model
Discussion
Airbus' idea of a spaceplane came a little closer to fruition with a successful drop test of a scale model today
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-2768...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-2768...
It's obviously not a design for orbital spaceflight but rather (like Virgin Galactic) aimed at suborbital flight.
I'm sure they know what they are doing but the length of those wings would not seem to me to be conducive to a re-entry from space - even at the much lower sub-orbital velocities that a craft like this would experience.
I'm sure they know what they are doing but the length of those wings would not seem to me to be conducive to a re-entry from space - even at the much lower sub-orbital velocities that a craft like this would experience.
( though they didn't go all the way to Singapore to do it )There was a program some years back about "new" space technologies, and it covered a group of people looking at building a "space elevator". Well, as this is quite a difficult task, so they decided to start with the simple bit and build a machine to climb a rope hanging from a tree! er? Why even bother to do that, afterall, monkeys can climb ropes! Needless to say the voice over suggested that because of this, the space elevator is a completely feasible new technology........
Eric Mc said:
It's a standard method of testing aircraft and spacecraft designs to see how they behave in flight.
It's not the same though, is it?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-YNcwc1ZME
tapkaJohnD said:
Eric Mc said:
It's a standard method of testing aircraft and spacecraft designs to see how they behave in flight.
It's not the same though, is it?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-YNcwc1ZME
Next test will be probably be a drop from a high altitude balloon. They are building up the testing slowly & methodically to try to avoid nasty surprises.
I'm not sure what altitude the spaceplane is meant to operate at but the straight wing does not preclude orbital flight. One of the early concepts for the Space Shuttle was straight winged. Evidently it was to come into the atmosphere at a high angle of attack in something like a stalled condition and then revert to conventional flight once it had reached denser air.
I'm not sure what altitude the spaceplane is meant to operate at but the straight wing does not preclude orbital flight. One of the early concepts for the Space Shuttle was straight winged. Evidently it was to come into the atmosphere at a high angle of attack in something like a stalled condition and then revert to conventional flight once it had reached denser air.
Edited by Tempest_5 on Sunday 8th June 23:54
They didn't persist with the straight winged versions for long though.
I know the Shuttle design went through a vast number of permutations - mainly because of the added requirements of the USAF, but it was realised early on that a straight wing was not such great idea.
In fact, NASA's original ideas involved a shape with no wing at all, the lifting body concept. It was the USAF who wanted wings - and it was the delta shape that proved the best option.
I know the Shuttle design went through a vast number of permutations - mainly because of the added requirements of the USAF, but it was realised early on that a straight wing was not such great idea.
In fact, NASA's original ideas involved a shape with no wing at all, the lifting body concept. It was the USAF who wanted wings - and it was the delta shape that proved the best option.
Max_Torque said:
There was a program some years back about "new" space technologies, and it covered a group of people looking at building a "space elevator". Well, as this is quite a difficult task, so they decided to start with the simple bit and build a machine to climb a rope hanging from a tree! er? Why even bother to do that, afterall, monkeys can climb ropes! Needless to say the voice over suggested that because of this, the space elevator is a completely feasible new technology........
Arthur C Clark's written a (fictional) book based on a similar premise. Can't remember what it was called though.Zombie said:
Max_Torque said:
There was a program some years back about "new" space technologies, and it covered a group of people looking at building a "space elevator". Well, as this is quite a difficult task, so they decided to start with the simple bit and build a machine to climb a rope hanging from a tree! er? Why even bother to do that, afterall, monkeys can climb ropes! Needless to say the voice over suggested that because of this, the space elevator is a completely feasible new technology........
Arthur C Clark's written a (fictional) book based on a similar premise. Can't remember what it was called though.Gassing Station | Science! | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff