Aerospace Technology » Transportation

Space Shuttles

crazykid — Fri, 16 May 2008 02:53:55 +0000

Many people in their childhoods have seen a space shuttle in a picture book or image. However, the early stages of a child causes them to assume from the picture that the shuttle is another big rocket flying into space without any thought of the space shuttle´s true purpose or technology behind it. As children grow into teenagers and then reach adulthood, education reveals the true purpose of space shuttles, the history, and its technological benefits to human society. Many people don´t realize but space shuttles have been a major role in space transportation that allowed space stations to be created and even allowed astronauts to return to damaged satellites and repair them. Without space shuttles, the Hubble Space Telescope could not have existed in space which then, the incredible images taken from the telescope would have not existed. In my opinion, space shuttles have a great part in human technology and advancement in knowledge.

The Space Shuttle, officially called the Space Transportation System (STS), is a currently used manned spacecraft purposely created to transport astronauts and space components into space. It consists of two white Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs), a rust colored external tank (ET), and the Orbiter Vehicle (OV). These major components in a space shuttle each have their roles and technological benefits for a successful shuttle launch and allow astronauts to return to Earth safely. The Space Shuttle is the first orbital spacecraft that has reusable components. For example, the shuttle´s Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) reinforce the thrust into the atmosphere but eventually both SRBs parachute into the ocean where it can be reused. Another reusable component is the orbiter where after each mission, the orbiter carries its astronauts back to Earth and lands on an airstrip safely. Before the creation of space shuttles, the government realized that they were spending too much money on rockets that were not reusable. As a result, Maxime Faget designed the Space Transportation System where it consisted of reusable solid rocket boosters and orbiters which decreased the financial expenses on space exploration as requested by the Nixon administration. The creation of space shuttles was a major achievement in space exploration because of its unique reusable system which caused lower costs for space exploration in contrast of the rocket systems that were not reusable which caused a large financial expense to the government.

The “Stack” in the space shuttle consists of the Orbiter Vehicle (OV), the two white Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs), and the external tank (ET). Each of these major components in the space shuttle carries a role during a mission. The orbiter, a white winged space plane, carries astronauts and loads such as satellites and space station parts into low orbit located in the thermosphere. The crew in an orbiter is usually five to seven astronauts each contributing different roles in the STS´s specific launch. Usually, the crew is made up of a commander, pilot, several mission specialists, and rarely, a flight engineer. In some occasions, there are some exceptions such as an extra astronaut or in an emergency mission where eleven astronauts are fit in. The orbiter´s wings contain four elevons located at the edge of the wings that helps the orbiter´s pitch and roll stabilization. It also possesses a rudder brake and a body flap that controls the orbiter during the descending and landing process. Most of the orbiter´s body is the cargo bay measuring 15 by 60 feet. There are three Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs) in the OV located on the fuselage. The engines allow the orbiter to thrust itself through the atmosphere and use a bit of its thrust during the descending process to change direction and for steering to be possible. Aluminum alloy is the material used in the OV´s structure but exceptionally, titanium alloy is used for the engine´s thrust structure. The Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) are rocket boosters located at the sides of the external tank. The SRB´s role in a launch is to thrust the shuttle enough for it to escape the gravitational pull from Earth and also give enough thrust to have sufficient speed to break through the atmosphere very quickly. The SRBs help the shuttle for the initial two minutes and afterwards separates itself from the external tank, and dropping into the Atlantic Ocean with parachute. They are picked up by ships and brought back to the space centers to be reused. The solid rocket motor in the SRBs is the largest solid propellant motor ever developed for space flight. It consists of a solid motor case loaded with solid propellants, an ignition system, a movable nozzle, and instrumentation and integration hardware. Each of the SRBs contains 1,000,000 lbs of propellant which requires special mixing in special plants located in Utah. The propellant is actually powdered aluminum similar to the aluminum foil wraps at home but mixed with oxygen provided by a chemical called ammonium perchlorate. In total, each SRB weighs 1,300,00 lbs including the propellant which weighs about 1,107,00 lbs. The external tank (ET) is the major backbone of the space shuttle. Without it, the shuttle´s structural design would be different. The ET is the component that puts the OV and SRBs together. The SRBs are stuck together onto the ET and the ET disconnects them after the initial two minutes of launch. Before the shuttle reaches the boundaries of Earth, the ET disconnects from the OV(orbiter) and falls to the Atlantic Ocean. In contrast of the OV and SRBs, the ET is not reusable and is design to break up before impact into the oceans. STS-1 and 2´s ET have been painted white in order for all the three major components to look alike. However, scientists noticed that the white paint gave a huge amount of additional weight onto the shuttle which meant one worrying thought to the government, money loss. The extra paint caused the scientists to use more propellant in order for the shuttle to carry the weight into space. As a result, from STS-3 and on, the ET remained rust colored. This caused less propellant to be applied during shuttle missions. The ET´s major role in a shuttle launch is to hold the main components together and contribute its propellant in order for the shuttle to escape the gravitational pull and reach the boundaries of the Earth. After the ET releases itself from the OV, the OV uses its thrusters to adjust itself in low orbit.

The creation of Space Shuttles allowed a variety of options for the government to use in space exploration and knowledge. Satellites were transported by the STS missions and satellite repairing was possible due to manned STS missions. Also, one of a minor purpose the space shuttle was created was the government´s desire for its people to get excited about space exploration. Although the creation of space shuttles was not as exciting as the space race and the landing of the moon. However, the space shuttle reduced expenses for the government and lots of new knowledge can be revealed through the research in space stations located in Earth´s orbit. The space shuttle´s job in the conquest of space knowledge is to be a STS, a Space Transportation System. However, many people believe that the space shuttles do more than transport astronauts and components to space, but also, an icon of hope for future space knowledge seekers.

Information thanks to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_program, www.nasa.gov, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/External_tank. Shuttle cargo bay opened. SRBs being carried back. SRB releasing process

Airbus A380 and Boeing Rivalry

crazykid — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 03:58:10 +0000

The world’s first double-decked jetliner, the Airbus A3XX, renamed as the Airbus A380, is the largest passenger airliner ever built. The successful flight of the Airbus A380 on February first in 2007 using GTL (Ground to Liquid) fuel, gave possible solutions to the increase of global warming. The use of GTL reduces CO2 emissions and results in low cost since less jet kerosene fuel is used. In one of the four engines of the Airbus A380, 60% is filled with standard jet kerosene fuel and 40% is filled with GTL, which is made out of natural gas from gas plants in Malaysia. The Airbus A380 produces only 75g of CO2 per passenger, which is a very low amount of carbon dioxide. According to Airbus.com, the GTL in the engines produced a smooth sound and reduced vibrations in the aircraft, in general, a hybrid feeling. This GTL fuel may not only help the environment, but it may increase the amount of comfort. Also, Airbus notices in the experimental flight that the GTL reduced the loudness of the noise from the engines and as stated before, it may increase the amount of comfort because of the smooth noise that is produced by the GTL used engines. GTL helps the Airbus Company economically because it is much cheaper than regular jet kerosene. Producing more GTL than kerosene will help the economy of Airbus. However, more GTL is required to equalize the amount of support it gives to the gigantic aircraft. Currently, there is not enough GTL fuel to power all the commercial aircraft in the world but many people believe that in about 2015, GTL will be sold by oil companies such as Shell and will slightly change the aircraft industry in a positive way. In addition, Shell was the company that first developed GTL fuel and worked with Airbus for the creation of an experimental flight using an Airbus A380 on February first. The company decided to use this specific aircraft because of two unique aspects. The Airbus A380 is a very fuel-efficient aircraft flying today and many people believe that it would remain that way for approximately 30 years. It also contained four engines and one was needed to fill the GTL fuel. The other three engines were critically important because it contained regular fuel and if the experimental flight turned out wrong, the three engines would have enough support to bring the aircraft back to the airport. However, without these engines, the Airbus A380 wouldn’t support the weight in which the engines where designed for and without the engine support, Airbus would lose an Airbus A380 which is equivalent to 275 million dollars. The successful 3-hour experimental flight began a slight change in the aircraft industry. As www.airbus.com states, “The A380 is a new generation of aircraft.”
As many people know, the Airbus and Boeing Company have a tough rivalry. Many different people prefer either one of their luxury and comfort and both companies receive victory and losses per year. Different people prefer Boeing’s luxury or others congratulate Airbus’s early start and success. To clarify, the Boeing Company began in 1916. On the contrary, the Airbus Company was founded in 1970, fifty-nine years after Boeing’s foundation. What many people like about the Airbus is that it developed very quickly and had a rivalry with a company that started fifty-nine years before the Airbus. This accomplishment is something very unique that the Airbus cotains. People such as Prince Al Waleed Bin Talal from Saudi Arabia replaced his private Boeing 747 for a 300 million dollar Airbus A380, which placed the world record of the world’s largest private jet. The prince’s nickname for his new VIP luxurious aircraft is the “Flying Palace”. Furthermore, according to the BBC News, Boeing’s 747 Jumbo Jet dominated the aircraft market for forty years until the Airbus A380 came in. Although the Boeing has more history behind the company, Airbus being created so early has become stiff competition against Boeing. The successful creation of the Airbus A380 using GTL as power source gave a helpful economical boost as well as more public support. Two years ago, Boeing was boasting about their large orders from other aircraft companies or airlines. However, Airbus, which represented Europe, was contracted by the United States Air Force, one of Boeing’s prime customers, which embarrassed Boeing because of the fact that Boeing was an American company. The cause for the contract was that Boeing accidentally reduced the size of the tankers in a contract with the U.S. Air Force therefore, the Air Force decided to change its buyer. After the Air Force contracted Airbus, Boeing was too embarrassed to let this go and tried to persuade the Air Force to change their minds. However, the Secretary of the Air Force, Michael Wynne, described Boeing and Airbus’s rivalry as “not even close” which silenced the Boeing Company. Airbus’s achievement not only gave them lots of money such as 100 billion dollars from the contract but it also succeeded in “stepping ahead” of its rival, Boeing. As a result, Airbus is now leading the competition. Currently, British billionaire Richard Branson’s (photo shown in my Commercial Spacecraft post) Virgin Group is planning to experiment bio-fuel in a Boeing 747. I believe that this was caused because of Boeing’s losing competition and Boeing’s attempt to reestablish itself in the competition. Also, I believe that the Airbus A380 was a unique and successful achievement that gave the Airbus the opportunity to help the environment and even beat their rivals, Boeing. However, this achievement will not be used as a commercial product until enough GTL fuel source is created. I think that the Airbus A380 could have been Airbus’s main source of victory and strategic power in which if used wisely, would benefit the company with financial expansion. As shown in the example of the Air Force contract, it gave Airbus an incredible amount of money, 100 billion dollars, that if Boeing were to receive it, they could have used it to surpass Airbus’s efforts. In reality, Airbus succeeded in receiving an American company to help beat an American aircraft company. The continuous efforts of Airbus may help change the world in an economical way for Airbus, but at the same time, delay global warming for at least one more day.
Some information from www.gizmag.com, www.cnn.com, www.wikipedia.org, www.airbus.com, www.surfersvillage.com, http://www.cbw.cz/en/the-wind-is-changing-in-the-boeing/airbus-rivalry/7123.html, and www.news.bbc.co.uk. Airbus A380 Prince Al Waleed Bin Talal´s Airbus A380 “Flying Palace” interior bed.

Commerical Spacecraft

crazykid — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 02:40:34 +0000

Many little children on Earth have always wanted to become an astronaut and go to space. As they grow on, they realize that only a few per year are chosen to work in government owned organizations such as NASA. However, currently, there are privately owned companies that are being formed that allow new astronautical careers. The Virgin Galactic Spaceline Company is a company that is creating spacecraft for commercial purposes. Burt Rutan, a famous aerospace engineer, develops and designs the spacecraft for the Virgin Galactic Spaceline Company and is known because of his creation of SpaceShipOne and currently constructing SpaceShipTwo. He is one of the best influential designers of aircraft and airframes in the 20th Century. Burt has also won the Ansari X-Prize for the SpaceShipOne´s historical flight on June 21. The Virgin Galactic Spaceline Company will allow astronautical careers to form and an expansion of an aerospace industry. Since this company is privately owned, astronauts and engineers will not be considered working for the government but commercially hired. The Virgin Galactic Spaceline Company are working with the Rutan Aircraft Factory commonly referred as the Scaled Composites company. The Scaled Composites Company was founded by Burt Rutan and has achieved creating lots of aircraft such as the famous Orbital Science Pegasus rocket, the rocket that carried the first hypersonic jet plane into action(X-43A scramjet) and the historical 318 White Knight that carried the first commercial spacecraft into high altitude and allowed SpaceShipOne to be blasted into space. These commercial spacecraft companies will allow more aerospace engineering jobs to expand and career astronaut seeking people will have a better chance of accomplishing their dreams.SpaceShipOne and SpaceShipTwo are both commercial spacecrafts that transports passengers into low orbit and allows them to view and observe the earth from above the atmosphere. They are privately funded thus, did not receive any help from NASA or any other government organizations. On June 21, SpaceShipOne became the first privately funded manned spacecraft to leave the earth´s atmosphere. This accomplishment gave a name for the date, “historical flight”. To improve the engines of the SpaceShipOne, aerospace engineers are currently developing the engine by inserting a hybrid rocket engine that uses both liquid (nitrous oxide oxidizer) and solid(solid-form rubber fuel) propellant. To increase the speed of SpaceShipOne even more, many engineers propose to expand the amount of nitrous oxide oxidizers to and burn in its initial thrust which increases speed to have an earlier burst from the atmosphere. However, the use of an extensive amount of nitrous reduces the signal from the control system of steering in the atmosphere. Many engineers currently are arguing over the use of extensive nitrous or having a better control system of steering in the SpaceShipOne. It currently has the speed of Mach 2-3, 2 or 3 times the speed of sound, a reasonable amount of achievement without government funding. However, Paul Allen, Microsoft co-founder, helped the project and donated 25 million dollars. Unfortunately, the historical SpaceShipOne was used only three times because of Burt Rutan decided to not risk damage on the spacecraft. It is now on display at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum. However, two identical SpaceShipOnes are being used as experimental tests to reveal beneficial information for the future construction of the SpaceShipTwo.SpaceShipOne only allowed two passengers excluding the two pilots. To throttle into the atmosphere, a 318 White Knight jet-powered aircraft, needs to transport the SpaceShipOne 50,000 ft high. The 318 White Knight had the similar size of a Boeing 737 and had the length of 82ft. After reaching 50,000ft, the 318 White Knight dropped the SpaceShipOne and then flew back to base while the spacecraft blasted through the atmosphere. SpaceShipTwo, on the other hand, will support six passengers excluding the two pilots with a total of eight people. It will be transported just like SpaceShipOne but a 318 White Knight 2, the descendant of the 318 White Knight. SpaceShipTwo will be twice the size of its descendant and will construct windows for the passenger´s viewing pleasure. Five SpaceShipTwos are being constructed but names have not yet been placed. Currently, 200 people have reserved tickets and 95% of them have passed the 6-8g centrifuge tests, a test where it determines the ability to resist 0 gravity. The Scaled Composites expected the price of one seat of SpaceShipTwo would be around $200,000. The New Mexico government have funded for Spaceport America, the launch site of the SpaceShipTwos. Another spaceport is under construction in Mojave, California. These two spaceports will start being used after commercial launches begin.Many people have wanted to go to space but without being an astronaut, it was nearly impossible. However, the Virgin Galactic Spaceline Company gives the opportunity for people to visit space just like touring the Eiffel or hiking Mt. Everest. People now have a chance to visit outside our atmosphere with commercial spacecraft such as SpaceShipOne and Two. Although beforehand, passengers must pass the G-force test whether or not passengers are capable of resisting zero gravity. As many other companies such as the Rutan Aircraft Factory or the Scaled Composites Company are developing and helping with commercial spacecraft. As these privately owned companies expand their research and commercial spacecraft constructing abilities, I, in my opinion, believe that space tourism may occur one day.Information from www.wikipedia.org, www.aerospace-technology.com, www.space.com, and www.virgingalactic.com. Branson on model seats of the SpaceShipTwo. Virtual images of a flight on the SpaceShipTwo. Note the circle shaped windows that allow observations of Earth.

Scram Jets

crazykid — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:37:34 +0000

As the 21st century began, scientists began to create supersonic combustion ramjets or “scramjets” in short. These high-altitude jet vehicles such as the X-43A are designed primarily for speedy transportation. Researchers predict that scramjets can reach 15 times the speed of sound where an 18-hour trip from Tokyo to New York City becomes a 2-hour trip. In my opinion, if scramjets were used for commercial purposes, I believe that reaching Europe or Asia(from Costa Rica) wouldn´t be as long however it may be very expensive. The technology behind this fast-moving vehicle is very similar to a rocket. A rocket burns its fuel by using a combustion chamber therefore, it creates a significant large amount of weight. In a combustion chamber, an oxidizing substance is used to burn the fuel and both the oxidizing substance and fuel is very expensive because of its large quantities. However, a scramjet burns its fuel by collecting air from atmospheric altitude without the need of a combustion chamber. This, therefore, brings less weight on the vehicle, becomes faster, and much much cheaper than a rocket. During the Apollo Program,(program to produce rockets to reach the moon) the Saturn V rocket(most powerful rocket in history) reached the speed of Mach 3, three times the speed of sound. On the contrary, the U.S. Air Force SR-71 is a currently used manned aircraft that reached 3.4 Mach, 3.4 times the speed of sound. Currently, scramjets are being tested unmanned and the U.S. Air Force SR-71 is an example of a manned scramjet. NASA’s Hyper-X Phase 1 is a project conducted by the Langley Research Center located in Hampton, Virginia. Phase 1 will take seven years and will cost about 230 million dollars for research on flight-validate scramjet propulsion, hypersonic aerodynamics, and design methods.

On June, 2007, The Australian Defence Science and Technology Organization(DSTO) tested their scramjet engine and reached 10 Mach, 10 times the speed of sound. HyCause is Hypersonic Collaborative Australia/United States Experiment where the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and DSTO are researching and testing together in Australia. This success is the key for a 2-hour trip from London to Sydney, Australia. Not only are the U.S. and Australia working on scramjet projects but Japan and Italy are researching and developing scramjets. If this hypersonic engine is used for commercial purposes, long-durated plane trips may no longer be a problem and some military leaders are considering scramjets for military purposes as well. They have concluded that military scramjets would send too much infrared to be detected by satellite and be followed by a heat-guided missile. However, they have realized that there is no such missile that can reach Mach 10 and its speed may be the key for its defence.

Personally, I think that scramjets is a big success in the aerospace industry because it may change the speed in aerial transportation. While you are reading, aerospace engineers are researching and developing scramjet engines at this moment. At the same time, scientists are researching the propulsion and lots of other people are having different roles in the creation and development of scramjets. Currently, aerospace engineers are working on NASA´s Hyper-X Phase 1 at the Langley Research Center at Hampton, Virginia.

Information from: wikipedia.org and nasa.gov

The link underneath has a video about the X-43A scramjet. Note: The rocket you see falling from the plane is not the scramjet. The scramjet is strapped on the rocket to increase its speed because it needs a specific speed to start absorbing atmospheric air. After the rocket lets go of the scramjet, it would be hard to locate it on camera since it´s too fast.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6652339530072290462

Aerospace Engineers & Transportation

crazykid — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 02:57:16 +0000

Aerospace engineers have lots of different roles in the creation of aircraft, spacecraft, missiles, and many other high-altitude vehicles. Although aerospace engineers know the basics of aircraft and spacecraft (both vehicle’s science are very similar), most engineers are specialized in either one of them. Engineers specialized in aircraft are aeronautical engineers while focusing on spacecraft are astronautical engineers. Without them, space travel and traveling to distant countries are impossible. For example, if there were no spacecraft, our way of sending television through communication satellites would be impossible therefore, our entertainment through television must depend on the country. Costa Rica, for example, produces Canal 7 and Teletica. Imagine if you had no choice but to entertain yourself by viewing the channels produced in Costa Rica and couldn’t view other channels such as ESPN or HBO since there were no communicating satellites. Even if there were, how will people send them to space? Aerospace engineers can do the job and produce rockets or space shuttles in order to allow astronauts to take it to space. In addition, perhaps you wanted to see your grandmother or friend in a distant country and if there were no airplanes, how will you get there? For example, if you were living in the U.S. and wanted to visit France or China, will you take a boat if there were no airplanes? Basically, these engineers create beneficial products to help the human population.

According to my tone and information, it seems that aerospace engineers make all the aircraft and spacecraft. However, aerospace engineers work in teams made up of mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, and other engineers where each of them has an important individual role in the creation. The teamwork and cooperation results in the creation of a full aircraft or spacecraft which is then, used differently. Specifically, aerospace engineers create or develop small or big components in the vehicle, supervise the creation of the components, or even create guidance systems and controls, usually for missiles. As I said before, aerospace engineers cannot produce vehicles without teamwork and cooperation and individuals are useless in the aerospace industry.

I feel that aerospace engineers are very important to many people who use vehicles as transportation or to astronauts who transports satellites into space because without them, many luxuries such as ESPN, CNN, or HBO could not have existed in Costa Rica. Also, visiting countries across oceans could not have been possible without aerospace engineers (on vacation, long journey on boat may be possible) since airplanes allow fast journeys to a location. For these reasons, I think that aerospace engineers have great power over humans where the extinction of these engineers may become a problem in the next generation.