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| Historic rocket powered by rubber fuel |
| 2004-06-21 |
| EFL Hybrid ingredients easier to use and less toxic ... But the fuel in SpaceShipOne’s tank is about as exotic as the spacecraft’s design. SpaceShipOne, set to be the first nongovernmental crewed vehicle to reach space, uses a combination of rubber and nitrous oxide — also known as laughing gas — as the powerhouse for test flights and an anticipated suborbital spaceshot set for June 21. "These are all state-of-the-art technologies," Jim Benson, founding chairman and chief executive of SpaceDev, said of SpaceShipOne’s fuel process. "It’s a very stable and nontoxic system." Based in Poway, Calif., SpaceDev is responsible for refueling SpaceShipOne after each flight as well as providing crucial elements of its hybrid rocket engine, a cross between traditional liquid and solid rocket motors ... A rubbery fuel Rocket propellants come in two parts, fuel and oxidizer, which work together to keep an engine burning. SpaceShipOne burns a material called hydroxy-terminated polybutadiene, or HTPB — a common ingredient in tire rubber — as fuel, with nitrous oxide serving as the oxidizer. According to press statements by Scaled, the combination was chosen for SpaceShipOne after a lengthy study into potential engine systems. The propellant comes together in an 8-foot (2.4-meter) combustion chamber, where the liquid oxidizer is converted into a gas, then ignited by small pyros to start the engine. SpaceShipOne pilots can shut down the vehicle’s engine by closing a valve through which nitrous oxide enters the fuel chamber. And a lusty cheer for these aerospace pioneers. Such skill and engineering prowess is a delight to behold. If ever the old cliché was called for, it is now: ONLY IN AMERICA! |
| Posted by:Zenster |
| #11 If you want rocket stuff see http://www.aeroconsystems.com You can get a computer program to design your own hybrid motors. |
| Posted by: bruce 2004-06-21 8:33:03 PM |
| #10 Damn straight Bruce! I need motors! If you won't sell them to me I will build the damn things and you won't like that! Ima no call FAA anymore unless BATF makes nice. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-06-21 5:34:11 PM |
| #9 Blame the BATF, you see when they started to play with the High power rocket people somebody started to play around with hybrid motors. You see when they said APCP was a regulated explosive the race was on to find something unregulated. Hybrid motors will burn about anything that burns. My personal favorite was when some folks in CA used a salami as fuel. |
| Posted by: bruce 2004-06-21 5:28:11 PM |
| #8 Fred MacMurray wasn't hanging around, was he? |
| Posted by: mojo 2004-06-21 3:43:11 PM |
| #7 Cheap fuel that works? NASA may have just found a way to cut expenses. |
| Posted by: Charles 2004-06-21 2:51:10 PM |
| #6 Follow the link for the story & comments page vice the main rantburg page. The ads change often. |
| Posted by: Zpaz 2004-06-21 2:40:10 PM |
| #5 Ads? I've got "Everything Cincinnati", "Dancin' James Brown Doll", an ad for the audio version of "Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot", and one simply titled "News". |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2004-06-21 2:25:18 PM |
| #4 -------> LOL. Check out the ads. "Low prices on rockets." "Hmmm, got any Saturn V's in the back Charley?" "Dunno, Lemme check...Nope, but I can strap a couple of Redstones together, will that do her?" |
| Posted by: Zpaz 2004-06-21 12:56:18 PM |
| #3 Nitrous Oxide. Coming to a lawnmower near you. |
| Posted by: Zpaz 2004-06-21 12:49:49 PM |
| #2 The system also touts a somewhat cleaner way to reach space. Its byproducts — water vapor, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitrogen.. Uh oh. Watch out, CARB will probably have to decide whether the vehicle should undergo a Smog Check before each flight... ;) |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-06-21 12:43:26 PM |
| #1 Brought to you by American Small Business. Now I hope to see the private Canadian, Texan, English, Romanian, Russian, and Argentine groups get their crafts into the air in the next few weeks. |
| Posted by: Secret Master 2004-06-21 12:14:01 PM |