ralph@oao.org


	planet earth near space solar system deep space terra firma QuickReach DragonFly New Sheppard CXV SeaDragon AAS OSP SLI FSTS ION-F K2X		While visiting other planets may be the ultimate motivation, it won't happen without practical access to and from space. Leaving the Earth's gravity well is the largest energy expenditure of any space travel. I have been involved in a number of projects trying to define novel concepts to address the problem of practical, affordable, and safe ETO transportation. The other side of LEO activities involves the use of orbiting platforms (satellites and space stations). These are also important components in the continoued expansion of human activities into space.
		QuickReach Small Launch Vehicle My main job at AirLaunch is participation in the QuickReach Small Launch Vehicle deveopment program. The program is funded by USAF, DARPA, and MDA, and has the goal of developing a small launch vehicle capable of placing 1,000 lb into LEO with a 24 hour call-up and under USD $5 million per flight. QuickReach is air-launched from a C-17 cargo aircraft and uses VaPak (vapor pressurization) propulsion systems in both stages. [back] [more] DragonFly RLV Booster While working new projects with HCG, I cooked up this concept in response to a solicitatin by the USAF. The design was focused on the goal of developing a reusable booster that could be used with a variey of upper stages. The concept also tried to learn from Scaled Composites' success of using a pilot instead of software to drastically reduce the development timeline, so it suggested a system that starts as a horizontal take-off concept, which then gradually expands the flight envelope and transitions to a vertical take-off concept as full system maturity is reached. [back] New Sheppard Space Tourism Concept HCG put me on loan to Blue Origin for a while, where I worked as a consultant supporting trajectory analysis and optimization for their New Sheppard space tourism concept. The New Sheppard concept is similiar to the DC-X design (vertical take-off and landing). The Blue Origin New Shepard reusable launch vehicle is a manned rocket which is being developed by Blue Origin, a company owned by Amazon.com founder and billionaire Jeff Bezos, as a commercial system for suborbital space tourism. It's name (New Shepard) makes reference to the first United States astronaut in space, Alan Shepard. [back] Crew Transfer Vehicle (CXV) While I was working as a consultant with HGC, t/Space hired us on to help with the testing of the parachute system of their Crew Transfer Vehicle (CXV) design under the NASA COTS contract. The CXV concept leverages many smart technologies, including airlaunch, VaPak propulsion, and an aerodynamically self-stabilizing reentry capsule. We performed full-scale CXV parachute testing on the coast of Crescent City California, using several helicopters to deploy the capsule. [back] [more] SeaDragon RLV The SeaDragon RLV concept makes use of rocket-powered, horizontal, water-based launch, combined with Wing In Groundeffect (WIG) aerodynamics for return of the booster stage. The design evolved from my understanding of the mass limitations of horizontal take-off RLVs. To effectively achieve high take-off thrust for large HTHL TSTO RLVs, rocket powered take-off is required. However, rocket powered horizontal take-off destroys the runway with each use. Taking off from water solves the problem, since the runway becomes self-healing. The option of using WIG for first stage return is an additional benefit of the concept. [back] [more] Alternate Access to Station (AAS) With the availability of the Space Shuttle diminishing, and the only other means of supplying the ISS being the Russion Progress/Soyuz spacecraft, NASA initiated a program to investigate other means of supplying logistics and spare parts to the ISS. My role in this activity was in the design of the power system for the Commercial Logistics Vehicle (CLV), proposed by Andrews Space. [back] [more] Orbital Space Plane (OSP) In one of its many incarnations, the program to produce a US domestic Shuttle alternative for crew transfer to the ISS was to develop the Orbital Space Plane (OSP). OSP was to be a small spacecraft capable of being launched on an Expendable Launch Vehicle. Andrews Space teamed with Northrop Grumman Corporation in this program, and it was my role to help assess the feasibility of the early concept design in the program. [back] [more] Space Launch Initiative (SLI) / 2nd Generation RLV This NASA program was also meant to result in a replacement for the aging Space Shuttle system. While working for Andrews Space (who teamed with Northrop Grumman Corporation and Orbital Sciences), I was involved with the performance analysis work and design of the many concepts investigated. [back] [more] Future Space Transportation Study (FSTS) This study was prompted in part by the end of the dot-com age and associated dreams of vast constellations of satellites that would fuel the new small launch vehicle market. The aim was to identify traditionally non- aerospace industries that may have an interest in using space-assests. If such companies could be found, and a new transportation system be developed that addresses the needs of these new customers, a market could evolve to sustain the new private launch industry. The study included a survey with a number of companies in the biotechnology, semiconductor, and entertainment industries. The results were hoped to indicate how to solve the puzzle of what needs to come first, the market demand or the transportation service capability. [back] [more] Kistler 2 eXperimental (K2X) The K2X project was initiated in response to a competition announced by Kistler Aerospace to design the next generation of their K1 Reusable Launch Vehicle. Being a system design kind of guy, this was a lot of fun for me, and it truly brought the point home why our department is called "Aeronautics & Astronautics". Designing a vehicle to travel through the Earth's atmosphere as well as near Earth space combined all the fields I have been active in so far; from space environment, to aerodynamics, electronics, rocket propulsion, cryogenics, materials, fluid dynamics, you name it. [back] [more] Ionospheric Observation Nanosattellite Formation (ION-F) ION-F is the name of a formation of small satellites (approximately 10 kg each) which are intended to work cooperatively in LEO to perform ionospheric measurements. The entire ION-F cluster consists of 3 satellites, each one to be build by a different university. [back] [more]

		ralph.open-aerospace.org