The Space Show: interview now available for download

 bomber, Dyna Soar, future projects, launch vehicles, nukes, research, rockets, spacecraft, spaceplane, VTOL  1 Response »
Dec 032013
 

Seemed to go reasonably well. Some reports later that my audio faded in and out… I can only assume that my phone was either on the fritz, or perhaps the phone line itself was a bit screwy. Anyway, you can download it in MP3 format here:

http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/2134-BWB-2013-12-02.mp3

If you have a question raised specifically by the interview, you can ask it either here, or at the Space Show blog:

http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com/2013/12/03/scott-lowther-monday-12-2-13/

One minor correction: I was asked what the first US bomber was. I seemed to recall that the US dropped bombs from biplanes during the Pancho Villa expeditions of 1916; I was close, as there were Curtis biplanes modified to drop small incendiaries sent to Mexico, but the bombs were not dropped.

 Posted by at 12:43 pm

Aerospace Projects Review, Volumes 4 and 5

 bomber, Dyna Soar, fighter, future projects, hypersonic, jetliner, launch vehicles, nukes, Recon, research, rockets, space shuttle, spacecraft, spaceplane, stealth, transports, VTOL  2 Responses »
Nov 212013
 

The complete rework of APR from the original release a decade ago is going a lot slower than I’d planned. A lot of people have asked for the original versions of the as-yet-unreleased issues of APR to be made available. I’ve been hesitant to do so, but… it’s just taking too long. So, I’ve taken the original Word files for the six issues of Volume 4 and the six issues of Volume 5, and made two PDF files from them. I’m making them temporarily available as two bulk sets. When the issues are re-released, these full-volume sets will be withdrawn. So, Volume 5 might remain available till the sun explodes, I dunno…

If you’re dying to get hold of the old-school APRs, here’s your chance. Remember, these are the *original* files from around 2002-2004, without any updates, edits or other changes. Errors, crappy formatting and all. A bunch of the individual old articles remain available as well.

APR Original Run Volume 4 downloadable PDF: $30

 

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APR Original Run Volume 5 downloadable PDF: $30

 

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Here are the contents:

 

Volume 4:

The X-15 Research Airplane Competition: The Bell Aircraft Proposal by Dennis R. Jenkins
First in a series of articles describing the competitors for the X-15

Lockheed Model L-153 Part 2 by Bill Slayton
Immediately post-war M-wing jet fighter designs

Cobras Of The Field by Scott Lowther
Modified helicopters for ag duty

Lockheed Model L-153 Part 3 by Bill Slayton
Immediately post-war swept-wing jet fighter designs

The X-15 Research Airplane Competition: The Douglas Aircraft Proposal by Dennis R. Jenkins
The Douglas competitor for the X-15

The Martin “Spacemaster” by Scott Lowther
An unconventional design competitor for the Shuttle

Radial Engine P-51 Mustang by Scott Lowther
A little-known modification to the supreme WWII fighter

The X-15 Research Airplane Competition: The Republic Aviation Proposal by Dennis R. Jenkins
The Republic competitor for the X-15

Boeing Super Clippers, then and Now by Scott Lowther
Truly grand aircraft

The X-15 Research Airplane Competition: The North American Proposal by Dennis R. Jenkins
The winning competitor for the X-15

The HFB 530 Ranger by Mike Hirschberg A German VTOL strike/recon design

Lockheed Model L-153 Part 4 by Bill Slayton
Early Post-war variable geometry fighters

Sonic Cruiser Update by Scott Lowther
New drawings of a new aircraft

LARA Craft: COIN Raiders by Scott Lowther
A long way to go for a bad pun for some tough aircraft

English MUSTARD by Scott Lowther
An early 1960’s British fully reusable Space Shuttle

The NACA’s First Jet by Scott Lowther
The last gasp for ducted fans prior to the turbojet

Addendum to Issue V4N5
Ooops.

The Hopeless Diamond by Scott Lowther
The first cut of the stealth fighter

Sea Dragon by Scott Lowther
A giant, dirt-cheap launch vehicle

North American NA-116 by Scott Lowther
A long-range bomber

Multibody Designs From Lockheed by Scott Lowther
Unconventional yet fuel efficient designs

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Volume 5:

Editor’s Gratuitous Additions: Republic XF-103
A little bit of extra info.

Republic XF-103 by Dennis R. Jenkins
About as sleek as an aircraft can get.

Boeing’s Advanced Multipurpose Large Launch Vehicle by Scott Lowther
Perhaps the most powerful space launcher ever seriously conceived.

McDonnell Douglas GRM-29A by Scott Lowther
Just about the coolest spaceplane ever… but would it have worked???

The Rockwell XFV-12A V/STOL Prototype by Dana E. Lubich
It came close…

XFV-12A Followons by Scott Lowther
The end of the program wasn’t the end of the concept

Hawker Siddeley HS 141 by Scott Lowther
VTOL jetliner concept

Bell/Boeing Armed XV-15 by Scott Lowther
A tilt rotor with a mission

Lockheed Sea Sitter by Scott Lowther
A seaplane to conquer the oceans

Early Atlas Missile Designs by Scott Lowther
Evolution of America’s first ICBM

Boeing’s Air-Launched Micro-Fighters by Scott Lowther
The fighter needed for a flying aircraft carrier

Chrysler SERV by Scott Lowther
An SSTO Space Shuttle design

Soviet Seaplane Jet Bombers by Thomas Mueller and Jens Baganz
A counterpoint to American efforts

4,000 Ton Orion by Scott Lowther
Recently declassified data on a large nuclear pulse propulsion craft

Mart Model 262 by Scott Lowther
A mysteriously delayed article on VTOL fighters…

NASA Langley High Speed Civil Transport by Scott Lowther
Mach 3 and Mach 4 transports from the late 1980’s

Convair/Canadair Tilt-Wing Close Support Aircraft by Scott Lowther
VTOL gunship

Spacejet by Scott Lowther
Spaceplanes with dropable jet engines

Handley Page All-Wing Airbus by Scott Lowther
A British flying-wing transport from the 1960’s

Convair NX-2 Nuclear Powered Bomber by Scott Lowther
A well known but – until now – poorly documented nuclear powered aircraft project

Technology Needs for High Speed Rotorcraft Part 1 Sikorsky and Bell by Scott Lowther
Tiltrotos, tiltwings, fan-in-body designs

Lockheed-Martin ICE by Scott Lowther
An experimental tailless stealth fighter design

Raumwaffe, 1946

Boeing WS-110A

X-Wings

Dash-On-Warning

 Posted by at 3:23 pm

More on XS-1

 bomber, future projects, hypersonic, launch vehicles, nukes, rockets, spacecraft, spaceplane  No Responses »
Sep 182013
 

Experimental Spaceplane Shooting for “Aircraft-Like” Operations in Orbit

To help address these challenges, DARPA has established the Experimental Spaceplane (XS-1) program. The program aims to develop a fully reusable unmanned vehicle that would provide aircraft-like access to space. The vehicle is envisioned to operate from a “clean pad” with a small ground crew and no need for expensive specialized infrastructure. This setup would enable routine daily operations and flights from a wide range of locations. XS-1 seeks to deploy small satellites faster and more affordably, while demonstrating technology for next-generation space and hypersonic flight for both government and commercial users.

“We want to build off of proven technologies to create a reliable, cost-effective space delivery system with one-day turnaround,” said Jess Sponable, DARPA program manager heading XS-1. “How it’s configured, how it gets up and how it gets back are pretty much all on the table—we’re looking for the most creative yet practical solutions possible.”

DARPA seeks ideas and technical proposals for how to best develop and implement the XS-1 program. The agency has scheduled an XS-1 Proposers’ Day for Monday, October 7, 2013. The agency also plans to hold 1-on-1 discussions with potential proposers on the following day, October 8, 2013. Advance registration is required; more information is available at http://www.sa-meetings.com/XS1ProposersDay. Registration closes on Tuesday, October 1,2013, at 12:00 PM EDT. For more information, please email DARPA-SN-14-01@darpa.mil.

The DARPA Special Notice describing the specific capabilities the program seeks is available at http://go.usa.gov/DNkF. A Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for XS-1 is forthcoming and will be posted on the Federal Business Opportunities website.

XS_1a

Note that the DARPA artwork depicts the XS-1 here in a global strike configuration, equipped with an upper stage and a warhead, either a conical MIRV_style, or perhaps a lifting HTV-type. In either event, the basic layout sure seems familiar… hmmm…

 

 

 Posted by at 11:46 am

Textron AirLand Scorpion

 bomber, fighter, future projects  5 Responses »
Sep 162013
 

A new ground attack plane is actually being built in the US:

http://www.scorpionjet.com/

Seems like a reasonable design for a subsonic bushfighter, though the decision to have the engines in nacelles *that* close to the wings, but not faired into them, seems odd. That area looks draggy. At first glance it would seem that fairing that spot over wouldn’t increase drag but would decrease weight.

It has six underwing hardpoints and an internal payload bay. first flight is by the end of the year, pretty quick by normal aerospace standards (development began in early 2012). With the DoD buy a combat aircraft that was not developed to their specifications?

Aircraft Length 43 ft 6 in
Wingspan 47 ft 4 in
Height 14 ft 0 in
Standard Empty Weight 11,800 lbs
Max Takeoff Weight 21,250 lbs
Max Internal Fuel Load 6,000 lbs
Max Internal Payload Bay 3,000 lbs
Thrust ~8,000 lbs
Max Speed 450 KTAS
Service Ceiling 45,000 ft
Ferry Range 2,400 NM

TAL-Build-2

TAL-Cover3

Scorpion-Front Scorpion-Side Scorpion-Rear Scorpion-Bottom Scorpion-Top

 Posted by at 8:55 pm

US Bomber Projects #04 Available

 bomber, Dyna Soar, hypersonic, launch vehicles, nukes, rockets, spacecraft, spaceplane, stealth, US Bomber Projects  1 Response »
Sep 112013
 

Issue number 4 of US Bomber Projects is now available (for background, see HERE). This issue includes:

McDonnell System 464L: McDonnell’s entry into the initial Dyna Soar contest, 1958
Lockheed-Martin Falcon: A recent design for an unmanned hypersonic global range bomber
Lockheed Senior Peg: Lockheed’s competitor to the Northrop B-2
Boeing Mobile Missile Carrier: A giant hydrogen fueled amphibian
Boeing Model 701-273-4: A very asymmetrical supersonic predecessor to the B-59
Lockheed Cruise Missile Carrier: A large nuclear-powered cargo plane converted to carry 90 cruise missiles
Boeing Model 462-5: A six-turboprop B-52 ancestor
Martin Model 223-4: A twin-fuselage design on the road to the B-48

USBP#04 can be downloaded as a PDF file for only $4.25:

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usbp04ad

 Posted by at 8:30 pm

US Bomber Projects #03 Available

 bomber, Dyna Soar, hypersonic, jetliner, launch vehicles, nukes, rockets, spacecraft, spaceplane, transports, US Bomber Projects  No Responses »
Sep 112013
 

Issue number 3 of US Bomber Projects is now available (for background, see HERE). This issue includes:

  • Rockwell D 645-4A: A compact stealthy flying wing
  • Lockheed System 464L: Lockheed’s entry into the initial Dyna Soar program, 1958
  • Convair Mach 4 “Rollover:” A Mach 4 seaplane with a unique approach
  • Boeing Model 701-273-3: An asymmetrical supersonic precursor to the B-59
  • Boeing HSCT Model 1080-854: A late 1980’s missile carrier derivative of a commercial supersonic transport
  • Martin Model 223-3: A canard antecedent to the B-48
  • Boeing Model 462: A large six-turboprop ancestor of the B-52

USBP#03 can be downloaded as a PDF file for only $4.25:

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usbp03ad

 Posted by at 8:29 pm

MC-747

 bomber, jetliner, nukes, rockets  No Responses »
Sep 112013
 

A Boeing artists impression of a 747 modified to launch ICBMs (probably Minuteman IIIs). Dates from 1974. Missile load appears to be at least 4. Given how far aft the missiles are dropped, there would likely be an impressive pitch even upon drop.

From an old ebay auction.

mc-747 a

mc-747 b

 Posted by at 7:35 pm

US Bomber Projects #02 Available

 bomber, launch vehicles, nukes, rockets, spacecraft, spaceplane, stealth  No Responses »
Jul 202013
 

Issue number 2 of US Bomber Projects is now available (for background, see HERE). This issue includes:

  • Rockwell D 645-1: LH2:: A variant of the low-cost missile carrier using liquid hydrogen for fuel
  • NAA High Performance Penetrator: a 1963 design for a supersonic bomber, led in part to the B-1
  • Boeing Model 701-273-1: Second in a series on the evolution of the XB-59
  • Lockheed GL-232: A subsonic nuclear powered bomber
  • Boeing Space Sortie: A small unmanned spaceplane
  • Martin Model 223-2: Second in the series on the development of the XB-48 – a wartime turbojet powered medium bomber
  • Boeing Model 461: Second in the series on the development of the B-52… an early postwar turboprop heavy bomber
  • Northrop Low Altitude Penetrator: A competing idea for what became the B-2

USBP#02 can be downloaded as a PDF file for only $4:

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usbp02ad

 Posted by at 7:30 pm
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