We've collected, computed, or inferred important data such as asteroid mass and composition from multiple scientific sources. With this information, we estimate the costs and rewards of mining asteroids.
There were no vehicles announced, no disclosure of customers or investors, no mission plans or detailed slideshows. The prices quoted, while a bargain compared to what's currently being spent on space exploration, were still impossible for anyone except nations and the richest individuals to afford. The new company itself would not be credible if not for the list of companies and luminaries involved, which is lengthy.
Although there appears to be no formal statement publicly available from either NASA or Space Florida, there is much talk in the space community about NASA cancelling its Space Act Agreement with Space Florida for the Nanosat Challenge.
It is highly likely, therefore, that the Nanosat Centennial Challenge is terminated and will not be further pursued.
A neat cartoon cutaway of the Saturn V launch vehicle.
"Asteroid Mining may seem like science fiction, but with resources running short on Earth, mining the sky could be humanity's only hope."
3D printing is beginning to bring changes to producing rocket parts. Several people and organizations have stated publicly that they are using 3D printing to make parts for rockets.
Paul BreedIn his business plan Paul Breed says that he's likely the first person to make a regeneratively cooled combustion chamber using 3D printing. Here are some pictures of his motor:
Trying the 3D print thing again....Rocket Moonlighting blog has shown several motors made using 3D printing:
Plastic RocketsHere's a recent article on using 3D printing for rocket motor parts:
NASA's Space Launch System Using Futuristic Technology to Build the Next Generation of RocketsNASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. is using a method called selective laser melting, or SLM, to create intricate metal parts for America's next heavy-lift rocket. Using this state-of-the-art technique will benefit the agency by saving millions in manufacturing costs.
Turbopump PartsParts for turbines and pumps are already being made using 3D printed technologies
EOS has manufactured turbine nozzle guide vanes as well as turbine impellers:
Aerospace ApplicationsHere's a picture of a turbine impeller:
Turbine ImpellerIn order to get started, here's a basic process:
3D printing is a technology with great promise for making rocket parts. As this Forbes Article states, it's a rapidly growing and large industry. There are many benefits that can be derived by considering using it for producing rocket parts. It can allow the production of small run parts at fairly reasonable prices.
Paul Breed has made his Nanosat Launcher Business Plan available for the public on his website.
Due to “unexpected funding reductions,” the U.S. Air Force is discontinuing work on a prototype reusable rocket design effort that the U.S. National Research Council recently cited as a key steppingstone to an operational system.
Rockwell International used to be a major player in aerospace activities. As part of their systems engineering activities in 1989, they developed a comprehensive plan for space exploration. It is a fascinating plan which details milestones for space exploration/colonization and the impacts of various technologies and activities.
USC’s Space Engineering Research Center (SERC) launched the first “CubeSat”—a miniature satellite built in cubic compartments—with the ability to deploy a parabolic dish and track a point on the surface of the Earth.
Be among the first to access high-resolution images of Vesta! You can assist Dawn mission scientists identify craters, boulders, and other features.
Throughout the history(pdf) of NASA space suits, astronauts had to deal with bulky, hard to move in, non-mobile suits that hindered their work flow as opposed to helped them achieve their tasks and jobs.
That is, until Dava and her crew designed a snug fitting space suit that would allow astronauts to move freely. As you can see from the image below, the suit is significantly smaller than NASA’s Mark III space suit. This will allow wearers of the suit to fit into tighter spaces and work with their hands more freely than ever before.
| VEXIN MOTOR | |
| OF Ratio | 3.16 |
| Oxidizer | Nitric Acid |
| Fuel | Turpentine |
| Chamber Pressure | 255 PSI |
| Sea Level Thrust | 63620 lb-f |
| Vacuum Thrust | 72929 lb-f |
| Sea Level Isp | 203 sec |
| Vacuum Isp | 233 sec |
| wdot | 313 lb/sec |
| Expansion Ratio | 3.6 |
| Length | ~ 72 in |
| Throat Diameter | 15.9 in |
| Nozzle Exit Diameter | 30.2 in |
| Engine Weight | 816 lb |
| Thrust:Weight Ratio | 85:1 |
Swords is designed to address that. In this program, the Army hopes to reduce the price to $1.8 million per launch, including range cost, by making use of commercial grade materials, not aerospace-grade components. And, the design will employ a Tridyne pressure-fed engine, bypassing the need for a turbopump.
The satellites - dubbed PhoneSats - are currently powered by Google's Nexus One, along with external batteries and a radio beacon. The phone is protected by an enclosure that measures 10 x 10 x 10 cm.
An interactive panorama that makes you almost feel like you're on Mars. Go to full screen for best effects.
A penny-sized rocket thruster may soon power the smallest satellites in space. The device, designed by Paulo Lozano, an associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT, bears little resemblance to today’s bulky satellite engines, which are laden with valves, pipes and heavy propellant tanks. Instead, Lozano’s design is a flat, compact square — much like a computer chip — covered with 500 microscopic tips that, when stimulated with voltage, emit tiny beams of ions. Together, the array of spiky tips creates a small puff of charged particles that can help propel a shoebox-sized satellite forward.
Request for Information by September 10, 2012. Responses must be submitted in electronic form no later than September 10, 2012 to Dr. Larry Cooper, Centennial Challenges Program, NASA Headquarters, 300 E Street, SW, Washington, DC 20546–0001. E-mail address: larry.p.cooper@nasa.gov. For general information on the NASA Centennial Challenges Program see: http://www.nasa.gov/challenges.
Now, we are leveraging that background to build and operate a new vehicle designed to give satellite operators a radically better option for carrying their small satellites into orbit. By using much of the same infrastructure originally created to support SpaceShipTwo—in particular, our unique, high-performance mothership, the WhiteKnightTwo –we can keep prices low while accommodating customer needs for launch availability and flexibility. It’s a winning combination, and we are thrilled to bring it to market.
A thriving home-brew community is already putting the credit card-sized PC to use in drones and robots. The device's designer, Eben Upton, wants to see it in rockets and satellites, too.
Mining the plentiful resources of the moon and near-Earth asteroids could alter the course of human history, adding trillions of dollars to the world economy and spurring our species' spread out into the solar system, a new breed of space enterpreneur says.
Physicist and Engineers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory Plasma Physics Division and Naval Center for Space Technology are researching a technique to 'sweep' Low Earth Orbit (LEO) debris from space using an Active Debris Removal (ADR) system of deployed micron-scale dust.
A project at the Surrey Space Centre (SSC) is aiming to dock two cubesats in orbit, with a view to eventually enabling mission upgrades and construction of modular devices.
Piece by piece, parts of the puzzle that may conceivably drive down costs to as low as $300,000 per launch, are falling into place, according to hypersonic researchers at Boeing. Building on these pieces, the company has unveiled a small launch vehicle (SLV) concept aimed at the smallsat market, and it could be in service as early as 2020.
I went out to FAR on 5 May 2012 and took a bunch of pictures of the goings-on.
Friends of Amateur Rocketry, FAR, is a place to test and launch high power, amateur and experimental rockets.
A new company backed by two Google Inc. billionaires, film director James Cameron and other space exploration proponents is aiming high in the hunt for natural resources—with mining asteroids the possible target.
