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#1 2006-05-08 21:24:48
- SpaceNut
- Administrator
- From: New Hampshire
- Registered: 2004-07-22
- Posts: 29,438
Re: Air Force to develope Hybrid Launch Vehicle (HLV)
Serveral articles that reference Air force funding and developement.
LOCKHEED MARTIN TO BEGIN WORK ON HYBRID LAUNCH VEHICLE FOR U.S. AIR FORCE
This seems like warmed over OSP... X- series planes again.
Air Force Research Laboratory’s spaceplane to begin trajectory trials
Air Force/Lockheed plot new launch vehicle
Fresh off the US Air Force announcement of the SIV Space Test Program's "Standard Interface Vehicle" (STP-SIV), Lockheed Martin have revealed they have won an initial contract for the Hybrid Launch Vehicle (HLV) Studies and Analysis program.
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#2 2006-05-09 21:00:05
- SpaceNut
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- From: New Hampshire
- Registered: 2004-07-22
- Posts: 29,438
Re: Air Force to develope Hybrid Launch Vehicle (HLV)
Here are a few more links
ANDREWS AWARDED USAF CONTRACT TO DEFINE HYBRID LAUNCH VEHICLE
The HLV is a responsive low-cost launch system that consists of both reusable and expendable vehicle elements which can be combined to deploy payloads between 2,000 and 60,000 lbs to various orbits.
The HLV will be capable of launching payloads within 48 hours to a wide range of orbits at a fraction of the cost of current launch systems.
[url=http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/airlines/article/0,2777,DRMN_23912_4683947,00.html]Lockheed vying to build new rocket
Air Force wants booster to have reusable first stage[/url]
This looks like the Space Launch Initiative (SLI) as before the Orbital space plane (OSP).
As currently conceived, the HLV would blast off vertically, with the winged first stage climbing to an elevation of about 28 miles. The unmanned vehicle would then release the upper stages and return to Earth for an airplanelike landing at the launch site.
The Air Force's requirements call for an HLV that could deploy payloads weighing 10,000 to 15,000 pounds. Smaller satellites also could be launched.
The HLV is expected to be in operation by 2018.
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#3 2006-05-10 05:32:14
- GCNRevenger
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- From: Earth
- Registered: 2003-10-14
- Posts: 6,056
Re: Air Force to develope Hybrid Launch Vehicle (HLV)
As the US military becomes more dependant on satellites for communication, spying, and even strike capability, the EELVs poor response time and high price will become less and less acceptable except for the largest payloads. This vehicle would make sense in that case.
[i]"The power of accurate observation is often called cynicism by those that do not have it." - George Bernard Shaw[/i]
[i]The glass is at 50% of capacity[/i]
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#4 2006-05-10 22:01:57
- SpaceNut
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- From: New Hampshire
- Registered: 2004-07-22
- Posts: 29,438
Re: Air Force to develope Hybrid Launch Vehicle (HLV)
So how many more pieces of this pie did the air force pass out...
Orbital Awarded Contract By U.S. Air Force To Define Hybrid Launch Vehicle Architectures
Company’s Experience in Reusable Launch Systems to Jumpstart New Research and Development Program
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#5 2006-05-16 09:22:16
- RedStreak
- Banned
- From: Illinois
- Registered: 2006-05-12
- Posts: 541
Re: Air Force to develope Hybrid Launch Vehicle (HLV)
As the US military becomes more dependant on satellites for communication, spying, and even strike capability, the EELVs poor response time and high price will become less and less acceptable except for the largest payloads. This vehicle would make sense in that case.
The STS aka Space Shuttle was supposed to do the same keep in mind...
However, a reuseable first stage w/ expendable additional stages may work better than the shuttle at the least. We'll have to see.
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#6 2006-05-16 13:04:34
- Austin Stanley
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- From: Texarkana, TX
- Registered: 2002-03-18
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Re: Air Force to develope Hybrid Launch Vehicle (HLV)
As the US military becomes more dependant on satellites for communication, spying, and even strike capability, the EELVs poor response time and high price will become less and less acceptable except for the largest payloads. This vehicle would make sense in that case.
The STS aka Space Shuttle was supposed to do the same keep in mind...
However, a reuseable first stage w/ expendable additional stages may work better than the shuttle at the least. We'll have to see.
I've long advocated this. A rockets first stage is generaly it's biggest and most expensive. It has the most engines and the most powerful engines. And the first stage is generaly the easiest one to recover since they generaly don't make it all the way to orbit. If any stage in a rocket is expendible it should be the later upper stages as they are smaller and less expensive, and have to be recovered from space.
He who refuses to do arithmetic is doomed to talk nonsense.
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#7 2006-05-19 11:54:55
- publiusr
- Banned
- From: Alabama
- Registered: 2005-02-24
- Posts: 682
Re: Air Force to develope Hybrid Launch Vehicle (HLV)
STS tried to do too many things. A big re-usable first stage will have an aft boat-tail every bit as complicated as STS, but won't have the need for a heat shield.
On the other hand, Buran had the latter, but no expensive SSMEs and was just a payload.
STS orbiters had both issues to deal with--and while the orbiters were re-usable--they weren't very servicable.
The fighter jocks who run the Air Farce (who blindly support Iraq wars and $200 billion JSF nonsense) will kill this program as they have all the others.
"But we just spent money on EELV--back to your closet, private Heinlein--you forget yourself--and the DoD motto towards space advocates in the military in general."
"Don't ask, don't tell."
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