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#1 2018-07-16 09:24:31
- SpaceNut
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- From: New Hampshire
- Registered: 2004-07-22
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UK Rocket Launch Site
This is important for any nation that wants a space program.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/60379683/Rocket_Lab_Still_Testing_launch_21_January_2018.1531735175.jpg)
An Electron rocket built by Rocket Lab, which is similar to the sort of launch vehicles that will be used at the new spaceport.
Local business development agency, the Highlands and Islands Enterprise, will receive £2.5 million in funding ($3.3 million) from the UK government, with the first rocket launches planned for the early 2020s. In recent years, a new breed of small satellites have created a boom in the space industry. These satellites are often the size of a shoebox or smaller, and far more technologically capable than older, larger models. This means they’re cheaper to launch and can be put to a range of uses: from communications, to weather monitoring, to scientific experiments. It’s estimated that the global market for such launches (including supporting infrastructure) is currently worth $339 billion, and will grow eightfold by 2045 to $2.7 trillion. The UK Space Agency has said that the spaceflight market could add £3.8 billion ($5 billion) to the country’s economy over the next decade.
UK's first spaceport to be built on Scottish peninsula
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LXXrjz921Q
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#2 2019-07-01 20:23:19
- SpaceNut
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- From: New Hampshire
- Registered: 2004-07-22
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Re: UK Rocket Launch Site
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#3 2019-07-01 20:51:20
- tahanson43206
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- Registered: 2018-04-27
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Re: UK Rocket Launch Site
For SpaceNut re #2 ...
Thanks for posting the link to the Rocket Lab story ...
While reading the Wikipedia article on Rocket Lab, I noticed the use of electron beam 3D printing which requires a high vacuum.
That technique would be (should be) useful in orbit (LEO) or on the Moon.
I note that the 3D printed components are holding up well ... the company has (apparently) achieved 100% success with launches to date.
(th)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_Lab
The Rutherford engine uses pumps that are uniquely powered by battery-powered electric motors rather than a gas generator, expander, or preburner.[42] The engine is also fabricated largely by 3D printing, via electron beam melting,[43] whereby layers of metal powder are melted in a high vacuum by an electron beam rather than a laser.
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