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The "Stealth Space" (as they called themselves when answering the telephone when the channel 7 TV station called) Astra vehicle looks like it may be a complete launch vehicle, not just a first stage test vehicle, if the illustration in the "launch vehicles lineup" comparison chart (in the licensing document they filed with the city of Alameda [shown in the Sky7 video]) is representative of the complete vehicle. The 12-meter height and the 100-kilogram payload to LEO (Low Earth Orbit) figures that are shown on the chart look and sound right for the vehicle shown in the still and video images. Also: It's interesting that the Astra was--judging by the black, "spreading" burn mark on the pavement behind its engines (with it lying horizontal on a test stand)--static fired right there at the Alameda Naval Air Station, next to the distiller's establishment (as the TV station and locals noted with some surprise). Since the rocket was then moved to a nearby "hush house" (an acoustically-shielded jet engine static test building [some can accommodate entire aircraft]) on base, my guess is that the outdoor static firing test--particularly since no one in the neighborhood noticed it--was conducted at minimum or low thrust (it probably sounded like a routine jet fighter engine run-up, to any locals who heard it). In addition: Since the small Astra vehicle's five throttle-able 4,000 lbf engines produce an aggregate thrust of 20,000 lbf at full power, the base's hush house (which accommodates jet engines [and aircraft, judging by its size] that produce considerably higher total thrust) could easily provide for full-thrust static firings of the rocket. Unless that particular Astra round is strictly a ground-test vehicle (I don't think that's likely, but it's possible; the first Black Knight rocket was only ground tested), it is probably the one that will be launched here in Alaska next month. As well: They may not try for orbit on this first flight, but it's possible that they might (although Gunter Krebs says that it will be a suborbital flight, see: http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_lau/astra.htm ), for financial and scheduling reasons. (Unlike government space agencies, start-up companies usually don't have the luxury of being able to fund numerous step-by-step "envelope exploring" test vehicle flights, and they need to start launching revenue-generating satellites [that is the actual meaning of "payload," as Hugh Downs pointed out many years ago in an ABC "20/20" report on the Space Shuttle program :-) ] as soon as possible, to get the quickest ROI--return on investment.) SpaceX and Rocket Lab both attempted to reach orbit on their respective first launches, and the Astra vehicle--like the Falcon 1 and Electron--apparently has two stages, so the unknowns of an "all live" orbital attempt should be acceptable (particularly if the Astra's second stage is a solid rocket motor [and especially if it's spin-stabilized rather than 3-axis stabilized with Thrust Vector Control]). We'll know soon.
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Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see: http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185 http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050 http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511 All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com. NAR #54895 SR |
#12
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Of equal interest is that this will be the first liquid launch from Kodiak. That's a big deal.
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It's going to be a suborbital flight. As *this* http://spacenews.com/alaskan-spacep...mercial-launch/ article (which Gus posted in Reply #7) says, Barry King (Director of Range Operations for Alaska Aerospace Corporation) said that, "...the launch would be suborbital and that, being a commercial launch, would require a launch license from the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation. No launch licenses for any vehicles operating from Alaska are included on a publicly available list of active licenses maintained by the FAA, although it is not uncommon for such licenses to be issued shortly before a scheduled launch." Also:
The "Local Notice to Mariners" issued by the U.S. Coast Guard lists two caution areas. One is in the waters immediately south of the Pacific Spaceport Complex, and the other is several hundred kilometers to the south-southwest. (I apologize for these items slipping my mind; I've been "juggling many balls in the air" for the last few days.) It would be nice if PSC were to run a live webcast of the Astra launch, but given its secretive nature, I wouldn't hold my breath for that; hopefully, a video and/or still pictures will be available after the launch, which will be of the first liquid propellant vehicle flown from Kodiak Island.
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Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see: http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185 http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050 http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511 All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com. NAR #54895 SR Last edited by blackshire : 03-22-2018 at 10:54 PM. |
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__________________
Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see: http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185 http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050 http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511 All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com. NAR #54895 SR |
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