hypersonic – Page 12 – Aerospace Projects Review Blog

Northrop SLOMAR

Dyna Soar, hypersonic, rockets, space shuttle, spacecraft, spaceplane No Responses »

Jan 262016

As some may know, I’ve recently been on a high-rez aerospace artwork kick (as always, if you know of or have any such, let me know). And while I’ve been focusing on high quality stuff, sometimes there are low-quality images that are stuff worth of note.

One such is below, a rendering of the Northrop Corporations “SLOMAR” (Space Logistics, Maintenance and Repair) design circa 1960. Numerous companies worked on that USAF study, producing a range of lifting manned entry vehicles (see the General Dynamics version HERE). Northrop designed a vehicle virtually identical to the Boeing Dyna Soar, though a bit bigger.

USLP #3, Large Format USBP 10-12, 13-15 Now Available

bomber, Dyna Soar, hypersonic, launch vehicles, rockets, space shuttle, spacecraft, spaceplane, stealth, US Bomber Projects, US Launcher Projects No Responses »

Dec 072015

USLP 03

Issue 03 of US Launch Vehicle Projects is now available (see HERE for the entire series). Issue #03 includes:

Juno V/Titan/Nomad: A 1958 concept for a space launcher using an ICBM for upper stages
Convair ATE Nova: A 1963 idea for winged airbreathing boosters
B-70/Gemini: Using a bomber as a booster
Phase II VTOHL Orbit-On-Demand: a 1985 concept for a relatively small two stage to orbit spaceplane
NASA Lewis Saturn Ib/Centaur/Kick Stage: a high energy upper stage
NASA MSC 042B/Titan IIIL6: a straight-winged orbiter atop a large Titan derivative
Heavy Lift Titan: A large diameter Titan core with three Shuttle boosters
Escher “Unshackled”: An unconventional idea for a lunar rocket

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

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Large format USBP drawings, Issues 10-12

The CAD drawings created for USBP reformatted and rescaled for 11X17 collected in a separate volume. Drawings have in some cases been corrected, improved and added to.

USBP 11X17 10-12 collects the diagrams created for issues 10, 11 and 12, including:

Boeing Model 464-34-3, Republic mach 7, Lockheed CL-1301-1, Convair WS-125A, Boeing 484-415, Martin Model 223-10, Boeing Model 814-1010 Dyna Soar, Martin Model 192-5, Boeing Model 464-40, Boeing Model 701-218, Northrop Nuclear flying wing, North American D118, Martin Model 223-11, North American Model 705-00-04, Bell/Martin 464L, Boeing B-1, Boeing Big Bird BB 6800, Boeing Model464-41, Douglas MX-2091-E, Boeing Model 701-238, Martin Model 223-12, Northrop Nuclear Flying Wing, Rockwell MRCC, Lockheed CL-820-8

USBP11x17-10-12 can be downloaded as a PDF file for only $11:
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Large format USBP drawings, Issues 13-15

The CAD drawings created for USBP reformatted and rescaled for 11X17 collected in a separate volume. Drawings have in some cases been corrected, improved and added to.

USBP 11X17 13-15 collects the diagrams created for issues 10, 11 and 12, including:

Ryan Model 162, Boeing Orbital bomb, Northrop Atomic Wing, Consolidated Vultee High Speed Flying Boat, Martin Model 189, Boeing Model 464-046, Curtis F-87C, Boeing Model 701-247, Lockheed WS 464L Dyna Soar, McDonnell WS 464L Dyna Soar, North American WS 464L Dyna Soar, Republic WS 464L Dyna Soar, Convair WS 464L Dyna Soar I, Convair WS 464L Dyna Soar II, Douglas WS 464L Dyna Soar, Northrop N206 WS 464L Dyna Soar, Boeing Model 814-1010 Dyna Soar II, Bell/Martin WS 464L Dyna Soar, Boeing Model 2050E Dyan Soar, Boeing Dyna Soar/ Titan IIIc, Bell D2001 TS-149, Lockheed Harvey; Convair Model 35, Rockwell D661-27, Boeing Model 464-49, Boeing Model 988-123, Boeing Manned Orbital Bomber, Boeing Model 701-251

USBP11x17-13-15 can be downloaded as a PDF file for only $11:
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Three-man A-4 (V-2)

hypersonic, Patreon, rockets, transports 6 Responses »

Dec 072015

Here’s something I have some vague recollection of posting before, but couldn’t find after a cursory search: a sketch of the seating arrangement of a 3-man A-4 rocket (might be the A-8 derivative). This is a scan of a photocopy of a photocopy; the original photocopy was found in the files of a researcher at the NASM twenty or so years ago. It’s thought that the sketch was originally made by Werner von Braun during WWII.

Little data is provided; range is given as 500 km. *Presumably* this would have been a winged, landing-gear-equipped derivative of the A-4; replacing the warhead of the V-2 with just three guys seems like a waste of three guys, as well as a not terribly effective weapons system.

The full-rez scan (such as it is) has been made available to APR Patrons in the 2015-12 APR Extras Dropbox folder. If you’d like to help out and gain access to this and many other pieces of aerospace history, please check out the APR Patreon.

PDF Review: Airbus Almost-Hypersonic Transport Patent

hypersonic, jetliner, Patreon, PDF Review, transports No Responses »

Nov 132015

A few months ago, Airbus Defence and Space Sas received a US patent for a nearly hypersonic passenger transport. The vehicle has a number of different engines… rocket engines for vertical boost and acceleration, ramjets for hypersonic cruise, turbojets for subsonic flight including takeoff and landing. It would take off conventionally with turbojets, fire the rocket to shoot almost vertically to about 35 kilometers altitude (going supersonic in the process), then level off and cruise under ramjet power at Mach 4.5. The extreme altitude, about 3 times higher than normal jetliner traffic, would mean that the sonic boom should be greatly attenuated by the time it got to the surface.

The wingtip fins would rotate through 90 degrees to maintain center of pressure from subsonic through supersonic.

Unusually for a patent, this one provides dimensions. Fuselage length (dimension 11 in Figure 1) is 52.995 meters; overall length (dimension 110, Figure 3) is 57.63 meters; maximum span (dimension 126, Figure 5) is 27.188 meters.

Interestingly, the design looks like a mishmash of WWII-era designs… the “gothic wing” designed by Michael Gluhareff of Sikorsky merged with the wingtips of the Blohm & Voss P.208-2 or Skoda-Kauba SL-6.

This is US Patent 907661B2. At the moment the Google page for this patent seems a little non-functional; the PDF of the patent won’t download for me. Fortunately, the page for the patent application is functioning just fine. You can download the PDF file of the patent application directly from THIS LINK RIGHT HERE.

Some pages of diagrams:

Here is a video description of the design.

The interior views of the vehicle show one of the problems with rocket-boosted transport aircraft: The majority of the interior volume isn’t people and cargo, but propellant.

Much more aerospace stuff is available via the APR Patreon. If this sort of thing interests you, please consider signing up… not only will you help fund the search for obscure aerospace history, you’ll gain access to a lot of interesting stuff, not available elsewhere.

OK… who got these hypersonics reports?

fighter, hypersonic, launch vehicles, Recon, rockets, spacecraft, spaceplane 1 Response »

Oct 052015

In the last few days a stash of Boeing hypersonic reports and diagrams were sold on ebay. I put in good bids, but got beat *bad* and by a number of bidders. If anyone knows who scored these, I’d sure like to be put in touch with ’em.

USBP 16, USSP 03 Now Available

bomber, Dyna Soar, hypersonic, launch vehicles, nukes, Recon, research, rockets, space shuttle, space station, spacecraft, spaceplane, US Bomber Projects, US Spacecraft Projects 4 Responses »

Sep 132015

Now available… two new additions to the US Aerospace Projects series.

US Bomber Projects #16: The B-52 Evolution Special

Boeing Model 444 A: A late war turboprop heavy bomber
Boeing Model 461: An early postwar turboprop heavy bomber
Boeing Model 462: A large six-turboprop ancestor of the B-52
Boeing Model 462-5: A six-turboprop B-52 ancestor
Boeing Model 464-17: 1946 four-turboprop strategic bomber, a step toward the B-52
Boeing Model 464-18: a reduced-size version of the 464-17 turboprop strategic bomber
Boeing Model 464-25: a modification of the 464-17 turboprop bomber with slightly swept wings, among other changes
Boeing Model 464-27: a slightly-swept turboprop B-52 progenitor
Boeing Model 464-33-0: A turboprop B-52 predecessor
Boeing Model 464-34-3: A turboprop B-52 predecessor
Boeing Model 464-40: The first all-jet-powered design in the quest for the B-52
Boeing Model 464-40: The first all-jet-powered design in the quest for the B-52
Boeing Model 464-046: A six-engined B-52 predecessor
Boeing Model 464-49: The penultimate major design in the development of the B-52
Fairchild M-121:A highly unconventional canard-biplane
Convair B-60: A swept-wing turboprop-powered derivative of the B-36
Douglas Model 1211-J: An elegant turboprop alternative to the B-52
With additional diagrams of the B-47, XB-52 and B-52B

USBP#16 can be purchased for downloading for the low, low price of $6.25.

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US Spacecraft Projects #03

Northrop ST-38 Space Trainer: a rocket-powered T-38 for trips to space
“Have Sting:” A General Electric design for a gigantic orbital railgun
JPL Thousand Astronomical Unit probe: A spacecraft into interstellar space
Integrated MannedInterplanetary Spacecraft: A Boeing concept for a giant spacecraft to Mars and Venus
Convair Inflatable Spacecraft: an early spaceplane concept
One Man Space Station: A 1960 McDonnell concept for a tiny space station
Astroplane: A lightweight aircraft for the exploration of Mars
Reactor-In-Flight Test: A Lockheed nuclear-powered stage for the Saturn V

USSP#03 can be purchased for downloading for the low, low price of $5.25.

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PDF Review: European Space Launch projects

hypersonic, launch vehicles, PDF Review, rockets, space shuttle, spacecraft 4 Responses »

Aug 112015

Here’s a presentation describing a number of European space transport concepts, including the HOTOL, Sanger II and Hermes spaceplanes, Automatic Transfer System and a few others. As a presentation, it is loaded with illustration. I have clipped out some of the better Hermes illustrations and included them below.

European Space Transportation System Projects since 1998

Much more aerospace stuff is available via the APR Patreon.

Early Shuttle Launch Artwork

hi-rez, hypersonic, launch vehicles, Patreon, rockets, space shuttle No Responses »

Jul 092015

Rockwell art of an early Shuttle configuration. The full-rez version has been made available for $10-level patrons at the APR Patreon.

While this is broadly much like the STS as actually built, there are a lot of important differences. The spine down the top of the cargo bay… that was to give room for the cargo manipulator arm without putting it actually in the cylindrical bay, taking up valuable cargo space. The booster rockets have teardrop ports on the cylindrical sections just aft of the nosecones… these are the thrust termination ports that, in the event of an abort, would blow out through the forward dome of the rocket motors. This would not only slash the chamber pressure in the motors, it would provide an escape route for the hot gas to go forward, cancelling the thrust from the aft nozzle. The ET is of a slightly simpler geometry; the small cylinder on the nosecone contained the de-orbit solid rocket motor (because the ET would either go into orbit with the Shuttle, or so close to orbit that the splashdown location would be somewhat randomized).

US Bomber Projects #15, Transports #04, Launchers #02 Now Available

bomber, Dyna Soar, hypersonic, jetliner, launch vehicles, nukes, rockets, space shuttle, spacecraft, spaceplane, stealth, transports, US Bomber Projects, US Launcher Projects, US Transport Projects, VTOL No Responses »

Jul 082015

Now available… three new additions to the US Aerospace Projects series.

US Bomber Projects #15

USBP#15 includes:

Bell D2001: A 1957 eight-engined Bell VTOL strike plane for the Navy
Lockheed “Harvey”: AKA the Hopeless Diamond, Lockheeds first design for what became the F-117
Convair Model 35: An early push-pull concept for the B-36
Rockwell D661-27: A nuclear powered strategic bomber
Boeing Model 464-49: The penultimate major design in the development of the B-52
Boeing Model 988-123: A highly agile stealthy strike fighter
Boeing Orbital Bomber: An early concept for a Dyna Soar derivative with eight nukes
Boeing Model 701-251: A twin engined concept on the road to the XB-59

USBP#15 can be purchased for downloading for the low, low price of $4.25.

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US Transport Projects #4

USTP#4 includes:

Boeing Model 473-13: An early twin-engine jetliner
ICARUS Troop Transport: 1,200 marines, anywhere, anytime
Republic Model 10 SST: A little known SST competitor
Lockheed CL-593: A giant, if slow, logistics transporter
Boeing 763-059 NLA: A whole lotta passengers in one place
Fairchild M-534: A B-36 converted into a vast cargo carrier
Lockheed CL-1201: Probably the largest aircraft ever designed
Oblique All-Wing Supersonic Airplane: A supersonic variable-orientation flying wing

USTP#4 can be purchased for downloading for the low, low price of $4.25.

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US Launch Vehicle Projects #2

USLP#2 includes:

Juno V, 4 stage: An early design that became the Saturn rocket
Boeing “Space Freighter”: a giant two-stage spaceplane for launching solar power satellites
Boeing NASP-D: A rare look at an operational National Aerospace Plane derivative
LLNL Mockingbird: The smallest SSTO ever designed
Boeing Model 922-101: A fully reusable Saturn V
NAR Phase B Space Shuttle: a fully reusable two-stage concept
Martin Marietta Inline SDV: A Shuttle-derived heavy lifter
Scaled Composites Model 351: The Stratolaunch carrier aircraft

USLP#2 can be purchased for downloading for the low, low price of $4.25.

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Jun 272015

(Post in progress…)

Click on the images to bring up a larger version…

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