On Saturday we got up and left for FAR at 6am. We stopped for a sit down breakfast at 8 am.
We got to FAR at 10:15 We missed the Garvey space launch by 20min. Breakfast so was not worth it.
Historically every liquid test/launch conductor says they will go at 9 am and inevitably it happens around 12 or 1. This was a relaunch of the vehicle they flew two weeks ago and everything went according to plan. It jsut means I'll have to get up earlier next time I go to FAR.
For our test we broke off the fuel feed fitting, probably from all the handling in the last two weeks. We have stopped bringing the kitchen sink with us so we had no spare. A 1.5 hour drive into California city and back nets us a usable fitting and a lunch in air conditioning.
We were very careful in loading propellants to get proper wieghts for the oxidizer and fuel going in and leftover fuel coming out after the test. This should allow me to calculate a good ISP number combined with the load cell data.
The test ran for several minutes and from my perspective was perfect. The motor had a bit more hum than last time, I suspect the cat pack might be getting loose from being compressed, and cooled, but it operated perfectly.
Another test on the May 7th (the next FAR day) and I'll declare the cat pack issue resolved and start working on motor tuning for max ISP.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Totally off topic post
I was having a debate on another blog about the hydrogen economy.
I created this post so the debate could move over here and not clutter up someone else's blog.
for rocket news we will be testing the printed SS motor this weekend, and we will be presenting at space access.
Also good luck to team armadillo and the tube rocket.
I created this post so the debate could move over here and not clutter up someone else's blog.
for rocket news we will be testing the printed SS motor this weekend, and we will be presenting at space access.
Also good luck to team armadillo and the tube rocket.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Plans Modified....
My Son had work to do this weekend and could not go to FAR.
I chose to cancel rocket testing this weekend and work on my GPS project.
I got the Rakon GMM8652 based front end working.
So now that I have a fully working front end the real work starts.
I'm currently routing the raw data into an FPGA , but instead of doing the processing there I'm just using that as a path to record the data. Recording raw data records (4M bytes/sec) and post processing with the FASTGPS open source software GPS program on a PC.
Next Step do the corelator processing in the FPGA. I have that verilog code written, but its mostly untested at this point.
Rough order of events:
and fly that so we have a good raw data set to use for testing and simulation.
I chose to cancel rocket testing this weekend and work on my GPS project.
I got the Rakon GMM8652 based front end working.
So now that I have a fully working front end the real work starts.
I'm currently routing the raw data into an FPGA , but instead of doing the processing there I'm just using that as a path to record the data. Recording raw data records (4M bytes/sec) and post processing with the FASTGPS open source software GPS program on a PC.
Next Step do the corelator processing in the FPGA. I have that verilog code written, but its mostly untested at this point.
Rough order of events:
- Prove the RF and FPGA hardware works. (done)
- Get one correlation channel tracking one sat.
- Get 6 or more channels tracking sats.
- Calculate position, velocity, time (PVT) based on this tracking data.
- Add data delay buffer and feedback from IMU data to aid loop tracking.
- Fly the thing.
and fly that so we have a good raw data set to use for testing and simulation.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Past...Present..Future...Plans (updated)
Past:
On March 5th we watched Garvey space have a perfect flight.
We tested a commercial GPS and out stainless printed motor.
The Motor had cat pack issues,
The peroxide has to flow through the cat pack and not around it.
This is done by adding rings that look like piston rings and expand out against the barrel of the cat pack area and block flow that wants to go around the outside. I disassembled the pack tonight and I had 4 anti channeling rings in the pack. The top ring was fine, the second ring was a bit distorted, the 3rd was badly burnt and thinned and the last one came out in tiny bits. I'm going to try stainless C clips as anti channeling baffles and we will see how that goes.
The GPS stopped updating the moment the motor lit.
Present:
I'm going to use some tougher stainless snap rings as anti channeling baffles.
Today I received my 2nd version of a GPS front end board and hopefully will get to try it this weekend. (rakon grm8652 integrated GPS front end )
The Max2769 eval board is due in on Friday if UPS is to be believed.
Future:
This Saturday we will try firing the small stainless printed motor with modified anti channeling baffles in the cat pack.
Some time in April we might get our first test tank under the Tank development process with we are doing jointly with microcosm.
I have high hopes to have a high dynamics GPS to actually fly by the next FAR outing the first Saturday in April.
My current Plan of record:
1)Work on the small 3D printed motors both stainless and aluminum until I have a viable 3rd stage motor.
2)In parallel work on high dynamics GPS and IMU integration using HPR rockets to test,
3)Tank development continues. (my involvement with this is limited until testing is needed)
4)When I have the high dynamic gps/imu working add some small canard control fins to the
HPR test rocket and see if we can control the trajectory.
This may possibly be done with vanes in the exhaust instead of canard fins.
5)Combine steps 1-4 to see if we can fly a small rocket to 100Km.
On March 5th we watched Garvey space have a perfect flight.
We tested a commercial GPS and out stainless printed motor.
The Motor had cat pack issues,
The peroxide has to flow through the cat pack and not around it.
This is done by adding rings that look like piston rings and expand out against the barrel of the cat pack area and block flow that wants to go around the outside. I disassembled the pack tonight and I had 4 anti channeling rings in the pack. The top ring was fine, the second ring was a bit distorted, the 3rd was badly burnt and thinned and the last one came out in tiny bits. I'm going to try stainless C clips as anti channeling baffles and we will see how that goes.
The GPS stopped updating the moment the motor lit.
Present:
I'm going to use some tougher stainless snap rings as anti channeling baffles.
Today I received my 2nd version of a GPS front end board and hopefully will get to try it this weekend. (rakon grm8652 integrated GPS front end )
The Max2769 eval board is due in on Friday if UPS is to be believed.
Future:
This Saturday we will try firing the small stainless printed motor with modified anti channeling baffles in the cat pack.
Some time in April we might get our first test tank under the Tank development process with we are doing jointly with microcosm.
I have high hopes to have a high dynamics GPS to actually fly by the next FAR outing the first Saturday in April.
My current Plan of record:
1)Work on the small 3D printed motors both stainless and aluminum until I have a viable 3rd stage motor.
2)In parallel work on high dynamics GPS and IMU integration using HPR rockets to test,
3)Tank development continues. (my involvement with this is limited until testing is needed)
4)When I have the high dynamic gps/imu working add some small canard control fins to the
HPR test rocket and see if we can control the trajectory.
This may possibly be done with vanes in the exhaust instead of canard fins.
5)Combine steps 1-4 to see if we can fly a small rocket to 100Km.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
GPS progress....
I built a GPS front end using a MAX2769... alas it does not work and I do not know why. I have it connected to an FPGA (PK70 FPGA blade board) . I spent all day Saturday and Sunday trying to find sats in the data record. So this evening after work I took a working GPS, An old Novatel Superstar II, and wired on some jumpers between the front end and the correlator. When I record that data stream and change my constants for a different Fsample and Fcenter I get Sats! I can ! even compute a positionSo all my basic hardware chain is working, just not the front end that is an exact implementation of a commercial IC reference design. Not the part of the design I expected to be bad. Progress.... now to decide if I want to just shell out 2K for a small
Non COCOM GPS that can do what I want or if I should spend a month or so finishing what I started, and have something to offer the community.
Non COCOM GPS that can do what I want or if I should spend a month or so finishing what I started, and have something to offer the community.
Sunday, February 06, 2011
Saturday Testing...
We went out to FAR on Saturday. It was a normal Saturday at FAR.
- UCLA was fireing a 2Klb Nitrous Hybrid Motor.of their own design. They had a good firing and learned a lot.
- There were several EX solid flights including an M.
- An experimental Steam Hybrid Motor.
- The site next door, RRS fired a large 10K lb (my guess) biprop liquid for a 10 seconds or so a good rumble.
- We fired our small Gasoline/H2O2 regen 3D printed DMLS stainless motor.
- Our Cat pack issue is resolved, it started right up and ran perfectly. It looks like lots of anti channel rings are really important.
- The motor is running a bit lean as the flame was completely transparent.
- We ran for about 60 seconds so we reached thermal equilibrium.
- We are completely paranoid about material compatibility on the H2O2 side of the test stand. It appears we need to be more paranoid about the fuel side as the gasoline ate the seals out of one of our fuel valves.
- I'll try to publish data this week.
- We should also have access to video later this week.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
An open message for Blue Origin.
Blue Origin is Mr Bezos's company and he can run it any way he wants. If he is running it to create a profitable business with maximum advantage for B.O. then the rest of my message has no applicability.
If on the other hand if Mr Bezos has a passion for space and making the human race spacefaring then B.O.'s actions are destructive. Most of the "new space" companies are somewhat open from Space X down to the smallest garage operation. Other companies participate in conferences, they publish their success, the publish their failures, and all involved learn. B.O does none of this. They have access to everyone's information and yet share none.
In addition B.O has started filing patents that restrict the trade space. Today's news of the barge landing patent is a perfect example. Other new space people have publicly talked about barge landing of various vehicles to recover stages. I remember John Carmack talking about barge landing more than 4 years ago. Others have commented to me personally that they have written notes talking about barge landing from more than 5 years ago.
There is a huge on-line discussion base about lower cost space flight and it clearly covers this and other B.O patents. If the patent is challenged the patent will be clearly invalid, but if it is issued it will cost millions to have it declared invalid. This is a huge expense to any small organization that might want to use that technology.
There is a huge on-line discussion base about lower cost space flight and it clearly covers this and other B.O patents. If the patent is challenged the patent will be clearly invalid, but if it is issued it will cost millions to have it declared invalid. This is a huge expense to any small organization that might want to use that technology.
So if Mr Bezos's intent is to help get the human race off of the planet, please don't be evil, try being more open.
Addendum:
I am not anti patent, but the patent needs to actually be innovative.
Addendum:
I am not anti patent, but the patent needs to actually be innovative.
Vacuuming up common sense, not adding anything new, and attempting to patent that, is destructive. This is just a make work patent for patent attorneys. No real new ideas, and if you want to use one of the concepts covered in the claims one will now have to go back and find reference to the prior art, document it, and budget funds to have a lawyer defend your position.
I won't go line by line to refute the claims, that has already been done in several forums by myself and others.
If the patent actually had some new art, say:
I won't go line by line to refute the claims, that has already been done in several forums by myself and others.
If the patent actually had some new art, say:
- A unique way to adjust trajectory to compensate for performance changes and still land on the barge.
- A cool stabilization and retention system that would capture the rocket on a rolling barge and stabilize it.
- An innovative method to incorporate a flame trench or blast diffusion system on a barge.
- Anything that someone "Skilled" in the art would not find obvious to the extreme.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Day at FAR...
Thursday we had a delivery of new clean propellant. So we got up at 5am and drove to FAR.
We waited three hours for the delivery truck who thought the road was still to rough so we met him at the end of the pavement and took the delivery the rest of the way in our truck.
We then set up the test stand and fired the stainless DMLS motor. It was much better than last time, but we still have catalyst issues as we were not getting full decomposition. The beginning and end of the very long run were identical so we are no longer poisoning our cat packs.!!
I think I need to add some anti channel baffles.
The test stand worked flawlessly and set up to fire time was less than 45 minutes with just two of us.
After we finished that I went back and made another attempt on the generator:
I replaced ALL the banjo fitting seals and soft feed tubing. After doing that the prime pump was much more solid and priming was faster and seemed less random. The Motor still did not run.
Then I removed the side panel (Item D in the picture from two posts ago) and tried to figure out what moved when your moved the shutoff lever..... nothing moved.....
Then I removed the fittings and bolts holding block Item 9, from the top of the injection pump.
I discovered that the pump pistons have a little cam arm that comes out and engages a rod that should be moving. One of the injector pistons is stuck in the full up position and will not turn as it should. This jams the rod keeping all of the injector piston cams stuck in the shutoff position.
I freed that piston and reassembled everything.
Now when you move the shutoff lever you could see moment inside the area exposed by cover Item D. When the motor was turned over the outlets made little sequential squirts.!!!!
After fully reassembling everything the Generator started on the second attempt.
We then cleaned up the oily mess inside the generator enclosure from all the bleeding.
We buttoned up all the covers and ran it one more time. We now have a generator!!!!
Many thanks to Dave Weinshenker for the diesel help. He deduced what the problem was and provided me the information I needed to resolve the issue.
I should have data and possibly video of the rocket motor test in the next week some time.
I won't have much time this weekend as my Dad fell down and is in the hospital (Nothing major, he should be out Today) We also have a 99th birthday celebration for my Step Mom's mother this weekend.
We waited three hours for the delivery truck who thought the road was still to rough so we met him at the end of the pavement and took the delivery the rest of the way in our truck.
We then set up the test stand and fired the stainless DMLS motor. It was much better than last time, but we still have catalyst issues as we were not getting full decomposition. The beginning and end of the very long run were identical so we are no longer poisoning our cat packs.!!
I think I need to add some anti channel baffles.
The test stand worked flawlessly and set up to fire time was less than 45 minutes with just two of us.
After we finished that I went back and made another attempt on the generator:
I replaced ALL the banjo fitting seals and soft feed tubing. After doing that the prime pump was much more solid and priming was faster and seemed less random. The Motor still did not run.
Then I removed the side panel (Item D in the picture from two posts ago) and tried to figure out what moved when your moved the shutoff lever..... nothing moved.....
Then I removed the fittings and bolts holding block Item 9, from the top of the injection pump.
I discovered that the pump pistons have a little cam arm that comes out and engages a rod that should be moving. One of the injector pistons is stuck in the full up position and will not turn as it should. This jams the rod keeping all of the injector piston cams stuck in the shutoff position.
I freed that piston and reassembled everything.
Now when you move the shutoff lever you could see moment inside the area exposed by cover Item D. When the motor was turned over the outlets made little sequential squirts.!!!!
After fully reassembling everything the Generator started on the second attempt.
We then cleaned up the oily mess inside the generator enclosure from all the bleeding.
We buttoned up all the covers and ran it one more time. We now have a generator!!!!
Many thanks to Dave Weinshenker for the diesel help. He deduced what the problem was and provided me the information I needed to resolve the issue.
I should have data and possibly video of the rocket motor test in the next week some time.
I won't have much time this weekend as my Dad fell down and is in the hospital (Nothing major, he should be out Today) We also have a 99th birthday celebration for my Step Mom's mother this weekend.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
A Plan for tanks.
The rocket equation has two parts structural efficiency and motor performance. Since the beginning of our project we have spent considerable effort thinking about structural efficency.
Clearly modern composite structures hold real promise for improving structural efficiency. I've dabbled in composite structures but I am very much a beginner. The tanks produced by professionals like Scorpius Launch Systems/Microcosm are both amazingly functional and beautiful. It would take me a decade to acquire that level of expertise. The recent composite coupons I tested for peroxide compatibility were fabricated by Microcosm/Scorpius. I'm currently riding home from a meeting at their facility where we finished the details of a joint development program to build peroxide compatible liner less tanks.
I think this is a win win for both parties Scorpius will get a new product line and we will gain access to world class tanks.
Clearly modern composite structures hold real promise for improving structural efficiency. I've dabbled in composite structures but I am very much a beginner. The tanks produced by professionals like Scorpius Launch Systems/Microcosm are both amazingly functional and beautiful. It would take me a decade to acquire that level of expertise. The recent composite coupons I tested for peroxide compatibility were fabricated by Microcosm/Scorpius. I'm currently riding home from a meeting at their facility where we finished the details of a joint development program to build peroxide compatible liner less tanks.
I think this is a win win for both parties Scorpius will get a new product line and we will gain access to world class tanks.
Saturday, January 08, 2011
Diesel frustration...
I spent the day at FAR trying to get the diesel motor running.
I sent the following note and picture to the vendor I bough the generator from. Any ideas from the peanut gallery? I realize the text is kind of rough, but it is part of an ongoing conversation....
I've attached a picture with parts labeled.
I still don't have it running, so I'll explain.
Today:
First thing I did was fix the return plumbing on top of the injectors.
I did not end up replacing the injectors as when I got the new bolts it all sealed up.
The return line that goes from the right end of the injector string down to the filter was rubber and leaking so I replaced it with the new metal part
I got from you guys.
Between each step below I'm loosening the screws #B and pumping the little pump until I get clear fuel with no bubbles.
I'm treating screw B like one treats a brake bleed, you need to close it while clear fluid is coming out so it does not suck in air.
So after fixing that and priming and bleeding I try to run... nothing.
The I remove the left most injector line nut #A (shown removed in the picture)
when I crank no fuel comes out the empty fitting, nothing not even a drop.
Then I remove all four nuts, and nothing not even a drop from ANY of them.
I open cover #3 and lift up the plate and turn the motor over to make sure gear inside is turning. It is.
So one of the guys says diesel pumps have shear pins and that could be it.
So I remove panel #D and turn over the motor, you can see the plungers moving up and down so the shear pin is probably good.
At this point I text you.
So for the next step I remove the screws #2 and then unscrew the left most two fittings #1 and the one to the left of it.
Inside are little plungers and springs, the plungers may have been stuck but the are now free.
Then I reinstall the springs and plungers and turn the motor over (after bleeding) and noting comes out.
So I remove #1 again and manually operate the prime pump and fuel comes out.
If I only screw #1 in part way the prime pump can make fuel come out. IF I screw it in all the way the prime pump can't
make fuel come out. If I only put number 1 into the point that the prime pump can make fuel come out and crank the motor No fuel comes out.
A couple of comments
The Hose #10 is really stiff and too big for the nipple, I really can't keep it from leaking air.
All of the banjo fittings on the inlet side of the world seem to have non metalic seals that are dried out and leak.
These were some of the seals I asked you for, but I've removed #10 and the banjo fitting behind it and all the fittings going to the first fuel filter,
I've brought these home and I'm going to get new seals and new hose before I go back out.
Some questions:
So at this point I'm lost? The only thing I see that could be wrong is that the inlet check valve into the plunger pump assembly is stuck open?
At this point is seems like I'm down to a fairly simple concept" plunger pump and two check valves.
Where will I find the inlet check valves to unjam?
Can I remove the whole upper pump assembly #9, if so do I just remove the 4 nuts, or do I have to do something else?
#J is fixed and I'm guessing it should not be adjusted?
#H moves all the way counter clockwise when you try to start, I'm guessing that that is the ONLY shutoff the electronics has for the motor?
#C What is this and does it do anything?
It takes be 4 to 4 1/2 hours each way to go the the site.
I've now been to the site 4 times to work on the generator. not counting time on the phone at home or asking researching at home
I've spent close to 50 hours working on this what should I do next?
Did you guys actually run this motor at your office? (based on the way it was packed I'd guess no.)
So realize this motor has NEVER EVER EVER run, so what else could be wrong?
I sent the following note and picture to the vendor I bough the generator from. Any ideas from the peanut gallery? I realize the text is kind of rough, but it is part of an ongoing conversation....
I've attached a picture with parts labeled.
I still don't have it running, so I'll explain.
Today:
First thing I did was fix the return plumbing on top of the injectors.
I did not end up replacing the injectors as when I got the new bolts it all sealed up.
The return line that goes from the right end of the injector string down to the filter was rubber and leaking so I replaced it with the new metal part
I got from you guys.
Between each step below I'm loosening the screws #B and pumping the little pump until I get clear fuel with no bubbles.
I'm treating screw B like one treats a brake bleed, you need to close it while clear fluid is coming out so it does not suck in air.
So after fixing that and priming and bleeding I try to run... nothing.
The I remove the left most injector line nut #A (shown removed in the picture)
when I crank no fuel comes out the empty fitting, nothing not even a drop.
Then I remove all four nuts, and nothing not even a drop from ANY of them.
I open cover #3 and lift up the plate and turn the motor over to make sure gear inside is turning. It is.
So one of the guys says diesel pumps have shear pins and that could be it.
So I remove panel #D and turn over the motor, you can see the plungers moving up and down so the shear pin is probably good.
At this point I text you.
So for the next step I remove the screws #2 and then unscrew the left most two fittings #1 and the one to the left of it.
Inside are little plungers and springs, the plungers may have been stuck but the are now free.
Then I reinstall the springs and plungers and turn the motor over (after bleeding) and noting comes out.
So I remove #1 again and manually operate the prime pump and fuel comes out.
If I only screw #1 in part way the prime pump can make fuel come out. IF I screw it in all the way the prime pump can't
make fuel come out. If I only put number 1 into the point that the prime pump can make fuel come out and crank the motor No fuel comes out.
A couple of comments
The Hose #10 is really stiff and too big for the nipple, I really can't keep it from leaking air.
All of the banjo fittings on the inlet side of the world seem to have non metalic seals that are dried out and leak.
These were some of the seals I asked you for, but I've removed #10 and the banjo fitting behind it and all the fittings going to the first fuel filter,
I've brought these home and I'm going to get new seals and new hose before I go back out.
Some questions:
So at this point I'm lost? The only thing I see that could be wrong is that the inlet check valve into the plunger pump assembly is stuck open?
At this point is seems like I'm down to a fairly simple concept" plunger pump and two check valves.
Where will I find the inlet check valves to unjam?
Can I remove the whole upper pump assembly #9, if so do I just remove the 4 nuts, or do I have to do something else?
#J is fixed and I'm guessing it should not be adjusted?
#H moves all the way counter clockwise when you try to start, I'm guessing that that is the ONLY shutoff the electronics has for the motor?
#C What is this and does it do anything?
It takes be 4 to 4 1/2 hours each way to go the the site.
I've now been to the site 4 times to work on the generator. not counting time on the phone at home or asking researching at home
I've spent close to 50 hours working on this what should I do next?
Did you guys actually run this motor at your office? (based on the way it was packed I'd guess no.)
So realize this motor has NEVER EVER EVER run, so what else could be wrong?
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
PET third stage COTS tank
.
Before:
During
After
Betterbottle makes 5 and 6 gal PET water bottles. I could only find a source for the 5 Gal, so that is what I tested.
Empty 674 gm
MR with water of 29 with peroxide 39!
Burst at 125 PSI.
Long period of plastic deformation at around 100 psi
It burst in the thin center with the ends remaining substantially thicker.
This means one could probably prevent the banana deformation and increase the pressure with a center overwrap.
Before:
During
After
Betterbottle makes 5 and 6 gal PET water bottles. I could only find a source for the 5 Gal, so that is what I tested.
Empty 674 gm
MR with water of 29 with peroxide 39!
Burst at 125 PSI.
Long period of plastic deformation at around 100 psi
It burst in the thin center with the ends remaining substantially thicker.
This means one could probably prevent the banana deformation and increase the pressure with a center overwrap.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Way out of the box presure system...
Another out there concept... this won't work with the muiulti segment tank of the last wild idea, but will work for a single tank.
In a H2O2 rocket 80% of the propellant volume is H2O2, so you need to pay more attention to the H2O2 side than the fuel side.
Leave a small space at the top of the H2O2 tank. In this space put a solid silver screen/catalyst hung from a thermally compatible string. Unwind the string into the tank letting the silver decompose the H2O2 pressurizing the tank, raise and lower the catalyst to control pressure.
Fuel is pressurized with a bladder from the gas in the main oxidizer tank.
Main propellant valve is a simple burst disk.
In a H2O2 rocket 80% of the propellant volume is H2O2, so you need to pay more attention to the H2O2 side than the fuel side.
Leave a small space at the top of the H2O2 tank. In this space put a solid silver screen/catalyst hung from a thermally compatible string. Unwind the string into the tank letting the silver decompose the H2O2 pressurizing the tank, raise and lower the catalyst to control pressure.
Fuel is pressurized with a bladder from the gas in the main oxidizer tank.
Main propellant valve is a simple burst disk.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Way out of the box...
A 3rd stage made of 3L soda bottles surrounding a 3U Cube sat.
3L soda bottles are good to 100PSI with a Mass ratio of > 40 when used with H2O2.
The "goodness" of normal rocket tanks are usually rated by the PV/mass. The best aerospace composite tanks, like the Scorpius pressurization tanks used by Armadillo in the 180sec super mod can have mass ratios of better than 9 at 2200 PSI working pressure. If you could scale this to a 200 PSI tank then you get a water filled tank mass ratio of >80. The fundamental problem is for the small sizes we are talking about you can never get that low. The tank wall would be paper thin. At small sizes the issues are minimum gage not minimum strength. (Hard to beat a soda bottle 0.25mm thick. )
As soon as you go up in size bigger than minimalist nano sat launcher then properly built aerospace quality tanks are a must.
I also suspect that when fighting minimum gage issues going up in pressure for a tiny launcher can have benefits in motors size, expansion ratio, flow path sizes etc....
A big puzzle with too many knobs.
UPDATE:
Here is a link to the specs for high quality aerospace tanks...
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
A salute to the Military etc...
For my U.S. followers remember the Americans that voluntarily offer to pay the ultimate price in defense of this nation. Reguardless of how you view the current conflicts, you can not help but be humbled by the voluntary sacrifce these men and women give in our name.
Give them something, I contribute every year to http://www.lbeh.org/
Give them something, I contribute every year to http://www.lbeh.org/
Sunday, December 12, 2010
List of significant parts....
In trying to determine the scope of a Nano sat launcher project I generated the following list or physical hardware. There is an equivalent scope of work for Ground support, Software, Logistics, Regulatory issues etc...
- Nose cone/aero shell
- Aero shell separation system
- Nano sat mount
- Nano Sat ejection system.
- Avionics:
- GPS/ MEMS IMU Integrated system
- Avionics control
- Telemetry system
- Battery System
- Third Stage
- Tanks (assuming tanks are the structure)
- Valves and Actuators
- Pressurization System
- Motor
- Motor Thrust transfer structure
- TVC Actuators.
- Separation mechanism
- Fill and Drain Umbilical system.
- Roll Control TVC
- Second Stage
- Third Stage Support Structure
- Battery for second stage actuators.
- Tanks (assuming tanks are the structure)
- Valves and Actuators
- Pressurization System
- TVC Actuators.
- Motor
- Motor Thrust transfer structure
- Separation mechanism
- Fill and Drain Umbilical system.
- First Stage
- 2nd Stage Support Structure
- Battery for first stage actuators.
- Tanks (assuming tanks are the structure)
- Valves and Actuators
- Pressurization System
- TVC Actuators.
- Motor
- Motor Thrust transfer structure
- Fill and Drain Umbilical system.
- Launch Hold down mechanism
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
Spacex....
Congratulations to spacex.
The scope and scale of what Elon and his troops have accomplished is just breathtaking.
I am in stunned awe.
I raise a toast to a most unreasonable man!
The scope and scale of what Elon and his troops have accomplished is just breathtaking.
I am in stunned awe.
I raise a toast to a most unreasonable man!
Sunday, December 05, 2010
Testing results... sort of...
We went out to FAR setup the teststand, and the little stainless motor.
The temperature was really cold (45 F) and the cat pack never warmed up. By the time it would have been warm, it was dead, due to contaminated peroxide.
I disassembled the cat pack and dropped the screens in the peroxide dregs from the Jug we loaded from and there was almost no activity.
I then got a jug from a different batch and tried that, no activity.
So I cleaned the screens in 68% nitric acid. I then tried them in both batches of peroxide. Batch #1 killed the screen almost instantly.Batch #2 was reactive, so I let a screen soak in batch #2 after 2 or three minutes the screen was no longer reactive. The only conclusion is that both batches of peroxide were contaminated, batch #2 less so.
As a Final test I took a fresh clean screen and the screen that sat in batch 2 and put both in my beaker of peroxide, there was a big difference in reactivity, something is definitely contaminated. My Peroxide supplier thinks it was phosphate and has redone his proces to remove phosphate.
The end result is that engine tests will have to wait till I can get new peroxide or get my spargeing plant up and running and make my own propellant. The current tall pole in that process is diesel generator problems/waiting for parts.
In the mean time I'm going to work on tank development and some guidance and control electronics.
The temperature was really cold (45 F) and the cat pack never warmed up. By the time it would have been warm, it was dead, due to contaminated peroxide.
I disassembled the cat pack and dropped the screens in the peroxide dregs from the Jug we loaded from and there was almost no activity.
I then got a jug from a different batch and tried that, no activity.
So I cleaned the screens in 68% nitric acid. I then tried them in both batches of peroxide. Batch #1 killed the screen almost instantly.Batch #2 was reactive, so I let a screen soak in batch #2 after 2 or three minutes the screen was no longer reactive. The only conclusion is that both batches of peroxide were contaminated, batch #2 less so.
As a Final test I took a fresh clean screen and the screen that sat in batch 2 and put both in my beaker of peroxide, there was a big difference in reactivity, something is definitely contaminated. My Peroxide supplier thinks it was phosphate and has redone his proces to remove phosphate.
The end result is that engine tests will have to wait till I can get new peroxide or get my spargeing plant up and running and make my own propellant. The current tall pole in that process is diesel generator problems/waiting for parts.
In the mean time I'm going to work on tank development and some guidance and control electronics.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Some thoughts on an orbital launcher.
Assumptions:
MR is down the left side, number of stages is across the top.
The second chart shows the vehicle gross lift off weight given a 1Kg payload and assuming that the empty stages weigh the same as the payload they are lifting.
The two bold numbers are about where I think my notional vehicle will land on this chart. This was a 1Kg nanosat with 1Kg of support structure would have a gross liftoff mass of ~2200 lbs, and the engine performance is a relatively easy ISP of 232 (Easy in vacuume, a bit harder on the first stage) Total Vehicle empty wt would be between 500 and 600 lbs.
you can do some really gross things... like a monoprop 4 stage launcher... MR 6 Glow for 1Kg payload is 40000 lbs.
Assumptions:
- All stages contribute the same DV (Bad assumption)
- 9500 M/Sec Delta V may not be enough for a really small vehicle.
- MR is achieved MR per stage including payload.
- We assume the MR is the same for each stage (again a bad assumption)
MR is down the left side, number of stages is across the top.
| Minimum ISP | ||||
| Stages | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| MR | ||||
| 2 | 349.3 | 465.7 | 698.6 | 1397.1 |
| 3 | 220.4 | 293.8 | 440.7 | 881.5 |
| 4 | 174.6 | 232.9 | 349.3 | 698.6 |
| 5 | 150.4 | 200.6 | 300.9 | 601.7 |
| 6 | 135.1 | 180.2 | 270.2 | 540.5 |
| 7 | 124.4 | 165.9 | 248.8 | 497.7 |
| 8 | 116.4 | 155.2 | 232.9 | 465.7 |
| 9 | 110.2 | 146.9 | 220.4 | 440.7 |
| 10 | 105.1 | 140.2 | 210.3 | 420.6 |
| 11 | 101.0 | 134.6 | 201.9 | 403.9 |
| 12 | 97.4 | 129.9 | 194.9 | 389.7 |
| 13 | 94.4 | 125.9 | 188.8 | 377.6 |
| 14 | 91.7 | 122.3 | 183.5 | 366.9 |
| 15 | 89.4 | 119.2 | 178.8 | 357.6 |
| 16 | 87.3 | 116.4 | 174.6 | 349.3 |
| 17 | 85.5 | 113.9 | 170.9 | 341.8 |
| 18 | 83.8 | 111.7 | 167.5 | 335.0 |
| 19 | 82.2 | 109.6 | 164.4 | 328.9 |
| 20 | 80.8 | 107.8 | 161.6 | 323.3 |
| 40 | 65.6 | 87.5 | 131.3 | 262.5 |
The second chart shows the vehicle gross lift off weight given a 1Kg payload and assuming that the empty stages weigh the same as the payload they are lifting.
| GLOW multiplier | ||||
| 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |
| 2 | 256 | 64 | 16 | 4 |
| 3 | 1,296 | 216 | 36 | 6 |
| 4 | 4,096 | 512 | 64 | 8 |
| 5 | 10,000 | 1,000 | 100 | 10 |
| 6 | 20,736 | 1,728 | 144 | 12 |
| 7 | 38,416 | 2,744 | 196 | 14 |
| 8 | 65,536 | 4,096 | 256 | 16 |
| 9 | 104,976 | 5,832 | 324 | 18 |
| 10 | 160,000 | 8,000 | 400 | 20 |
| 11 | 234,256 | 10,648 | 484 | 22 |
| 12 | 331,776 | 13,824 | 576 | 24 |
| 13 | 456,976 | 17,576 | 676 | 26 |
| 14 | 614,656 | 21,952 | 784 | 28 |
| 15 | 810,000 | 27,000 | 900 | 30 |
| 16 | 1,048,576 | 32,768 | 1,024 | 32 |
| 17 | 1,336,336 | 39,304 | 1,156 | 34 |
| 18 | 1,679,616 | 46,656 | 1,296 | 36 |
| 19 | 2,085,136 | 54,872 | 1,444 | 38 |
| 20 | 2,560,000 | 64,000 | 1,600 | 40 |
| 40 | 40,960,000 | 512,000 | 6,400 | 80 |
The two bold numbers are about where I think my notional vehicle will land on this chart. This was a 1Kg nanosat with 1Kg of support structure would have a gross liftoff mass of ~2200 lbs, and the engine performance is a relatively easy ISP of 232 (Easy in vacuume, a bit harder on the first stage) Total Vehicle empty wt would be between 500 and 600 lbs.
you can do some really gross things... like a monoprop 4 stage launcher... MR 6 Glow for 1Kg payload is 40000 lbs.
Monday, November 15, 2010
My weekend ......Frustrating
We went out to FAR and set up the test stand.
Everything checked out we put in the fuel (gasoline) and
were preparing to load peroxide. When we opened the cap
there was a black substance stuck to the cap, when we open more fittings
there was an unknown black substance. The tank had been a peroxide tank.
It sat in the garage sealed for 2 years. On Friday we hydroed the tank and say no sign of contamination. The rough drive out to FAR dislodged some kind of black/brown powder from the inside of the tank. The powered looks like Iron rust on close inspection and is very reactive with peroxide. So the test was scrapped. It makes me wonder if something is leaching out of the aluminum after being stored for a long period.
We need to add interior visual inspection to the check list for all stored tanks, even if properly sealed and stored.
We worked on the big generator, burning the stale diesel and replacing with fresh. (Still not running)
On the plus side we did get our primary storage container cleaned up.
(As a result the garage at home is in distress once again)
We tested some of the super chemical compatible K190 resin for peroxide compatibility. It responded almost identically to the easier to get Vipel F010. A slight etching of the surface.
We'll see if we can fabricate a new test stand tank this week, and try again next weekend.
Everything checked out we put in the fuel (gasoline) and
were preparing to load peroxide. When we opened the cap
there was a black substance stuck to the cap, when we open more fittings
there was an unknown black substance. The tank had been a peroxide tank.
It sat in the garage sealed for 2 years. On Friday we hydroed the tank and say no sign of contamination. The rough drive out to FAR dislodged some kind of black/brown powder from the inside of the tank. The powered looks like Iron rust on close inspection and is very reactive with peroxide. So the test was scrapped. It makes me wonder if something is leaching out of the aluminum after being stored for a long period.
We need to add interior visual inspection to the check list for all stored tanks, even if properly sealed and stored.
We worked on the big generator, burning the stale diesel and replacing with fresh. (Still not running)
On the plus side we did get our primary storage container cleaned up.
(As a result the garage at home is in distress once again)
We tested some of the super chemical compatible K190 resin for peroxide compatibility. It responded almost identically to the easier to get Vipel F010. A slight etching of the surface.
We'll see if we can fabricate a new test stand tank this week, and try again next weekend.
Friday, November 12, 2010
My Weekend....
I just finished hydroing the test stand and setting the pressure relief valve.
I have to hook up two pressure transducers to the electronics and the Stainless motor is ready to test. We will probably go out to FAR sometime Saturday and test the motor, work on our generator, and clean out our container. The clean out the container part probably means we will be out there overnight Saturday night and return some time Sunday.
I have to hook up two pressure transducers to the electronics and the Stainless motor is ready to test. We will probably go out to FAR sometime Saturday and test the motor, work on our generator, and clean out our container. The clean out the container part probably means we will be out there overnight Saturday night and return some time Sunday.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)