Vector Wolverine от Vector Space

[tnt22]

Старый пишет:
А что там могло быть в 60-е?

http://spaceportcamden.us/why.php#faqs

1.What is the history of the Spaceport Camden proposed site?

Back in the 1960s, the world's most powerful rocket motor was fired in Camden County on the proposed site of Spaceport Camden. The rocket belonged to the Thiokol Chemical Company, whose purpose was to build solid-propellant rocket motors. The 1976 book titled Camden's Challenge discussed the proposed site and how the area of this launch site was once chosen by the Thiokal survey team over several other sites partly because of its deepwater access to the Intracoastal Waterway.  In addition, the Thiokol rocket test area site was also selected because of its proximity to Cape Canaveral, available labor supply, adequate available land, community attitude, rail and highway transportation system and its five-year record without hurricane damage. These same factors make this an ideal location today for Spaceport Camden.

Thiokol rocket test area

[tnt22]

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-vector-launch-20170804-story.html

In the latest twist for space start-ups, a rocket roars off a country road in Georgia
 

In this frame grab fr om Vector Space System's launch video, the Tucson company's Vector-R rocket lifts off from Spaceport Camden. (Vector Space Systems)

By Samantha Masunaga ∙ Contact Reporter

AUGUST 4, 2017, 1:50 PM

The launch site was the intersection of two deserted roads in a remote, wooded section of southern Georgia. At one point, as technicians tinkered with their rocket, a wild pig sauntered across a nearby field.

The no-frills setup for Thursday's second test flight of the Vector-R rocket by Tucson-based Vector Space Systems shows how small companies are trying to keep costs low in the highly competitive business of launching small satellites.

Спойлер

Vector and some other companies are trying to avoid potential bottlenecks at traditional and popular launch sites — especially if the predicted boom in small satellites results in more launches. They hope that will enable them to cut down on costs and provide faster service to more customers.

To manage operations at Spaceport Camden — a proposed commercial launch site in Georgia near the Atlantic Ocean — Vector brought its own mobile launch platform and a small, white trailer with a satellite connection that served as its mobile launch station.

"The goal is to launch with minimal infrastructure," said Jim Cantrell, chief executive of Vector. "If we can come here and do this, that proves we can go anywhere."

Fellow small-satellite launch firm Virgin Orbit plans to lift small satellites via a rocket that will take off from beneath a modified 747 jetliner, a move that allows the Long Beach company to launch anywhere there's a runway.

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's Stratolaunch will take a similar approach by dropping satellite-bearing rockets from the belly of a specially constructed plane with a 385-foot wingspan.

Vector won't launch from any old concrete slab; Cantrell said the company's orbital missions must lift off from legally approved and licensed launch sites. But Vector's mobile operations allow the company to be less choosy.

That means Vector eventually could launch from commercial spaceports that might have just gotten approval but have not had time to install the kind of infrastructure found at larger and established ranges, such as Kennedy Space Center.

Vector also has looked at building its own ranges.

"To keep costs down, we need to have minimum range infrastructure," Cantrell said.

Vector plans to start sending commercial missions to orbit in 2018 and aims eventually to launch 100 Vector-R rockets a year, he said.

In June, the company announced a $21-million funding round led by venture capital firm Sequoia Capital, bringing Vector's total funding to $31 million.

The company's success hinges on the expected growth in the small satellite market — and within that, an even more specialized subset of tiny spacecraft known as microsatellites.

Small satellites typically get to space by hitching a ride with a larger payload on a bigger rocket, such as SpaceX's Falcon 9 or United Launch Alliance's Atlas V. But hitchhiking has its limits — small-satellite operators often can't choose the exact launch time or orbit because they're a secondary consideration.

Vector also is aiming to appeal to these small companies on price. A launch on the 39-foot-tall Vector-R rocket, which will be capable of lifting about 145 pounds to low-Earth orbit, will start at less than $3 million. SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, which is aimed at a wider launch market, starts at $62 million.

Phil Smith, senior space analyst at consulting firm Bryce Space and Technology, described Vector's progress as "incremental."

"The missions will get more and more complex until they actually achieve orbit," he said.

Vector's executive team comes from a variety of new commercial space firms and traditional aerospace giants. Cantrell was part of the SpaceX founding team, while other executives worked at Sea Launch, Virgin Galactic and McDonnell Douglas.

On Thursday, Vector had clearance from the Federal Aviation Administration only for a low-altitude flight. The rocket carried a prototype imaging spacecraft for small-satellite imaging firm Astro Digital and a biology experiment for a local Georgia organization.

The Vector-R rocket soared somewh ere between 5,000 and 10,000 feet, then returned to the ground beneath a parachute and landed in some trees, Cantrell said.

The rocket's airframe will be replaced, but the company said many of its internal components likely will be reused on a future flight, after an inspection in Tucson.

[свернуть]

Vector's next flight test likely will be in November in Mojave.

[tnt22]

VECTOR‏ @vectorspacesys 4 ч. назад

Agenda next week: another first;2nd stage static engine test this time in Tucson! Busy two weeks for us at Vector stay tuned! #NewSpaceRace

[tnt22]

Из переписки

Just A. Tinker‏ @John_Gardi 5 авг.

Have you recover the vehicle yet? Will you try to reuse it for future test flights?

VECTOR‏ @vectorspacesys 5 авг.

Yep found her about two hours after launch. airframe to be replaced however many key components will be reused after inspection/refurb.

Спойлер

Just A. Tinker‏ @John_Gardi 5 авг.

Way to go! Being able to analyze components post-launch will give you much needed data going forward. Any chance we could get images of it?

VECTOR‏ @vectorspacesys 5 авг.

Nope. We don't share landed photos. We like to imagine her as she was, flying high in the sky.

Just A. Tinker‏ @John_Gardi 5 авг.

Good point! How about letting us see the entire in-flight vid from the rocket cam then? No better way to get attention than the Wow Factor.

VECTOR‏ @vectorspacesys 5 авг.

Stay tuned still editing the 4K vid it's over a terabyte of footage from drones and a slightly singed GoPro    

Just A. Tinker‏ @John_Gardi 5 авг.

A GoPro near the launch pad? Awesome! You should send GoPro some images of the camera. They'd love it! "GoPro... Can survive a rocket launch!"

VECTOR‏ @vectorspacesys 5 авг.

Had several on the rocket and all survived some more medium well done then others    

[свернуть]

[tnt22]

Из переписки

Акакий Башмачкин‏ @camarade87 5 авг.

Когда следующий запуск?

VECTOR‏ @vectorspacesys 5 авг.

Next launch block 0.003 will likely be in Mojave this fall. Stay tuned for updates.

Спойлер

Just A. Tinker‏ @John_Gardi 5 авг.

What will the flight profile be for next launch? Also, what percentage of fuel/oxidizer load was used to get to 10,000ft on this last test?

VECTOR‏ @vectorspacesys 9:46 - 5 авг. 2017 г.

Will be under the same FAA waiver as Camden lots of good engineering can be had at low altitudes. Block 0.003 will feature thrust vectoring

[свернуть]

[tnt22]

VECTOR‏ @vectorspacesys 22 мин. назад

Communications trailer for @vectorspacesys set up in the desert to test remote rocket testing ops in Tucson controlled in Orange County CA

[tnt22]

Jim Cantrell‏ @jamesncantrell 1 ч. назад

T minus 15 minutes to second stage engine test @vectorspacesys engine test site.

[tnt22]

VECTOR‏ @vectorspacesys 1 ч. назад

2nd stage static engine test Tucson: loading fuel now...

[tnt22]

VECTOR‏ @vectorspacesys 1 ч. назад

Lox loading complete...


1 ч. назад

There is no web cast for this test. We are operating test entirely remote and need the bandwidth for operations


1 ч. назад

Orange County controlling engine test 100% remote

[tnt22]

VECTOR‏ @vectorspacesys 33 мин. назад

Success! Our first remote engine test and the first from Tucson, AZ. Stay tuned for photos and video

[tnt22]

VECTOR‏ @vectorspacesys 14 мин. назад

First ever remote test & our very first engine test at the proposed new Vector factory location in Tucson, AZ #Tucson

[tnt22]

VECTOR‏ @vectorspacesys 13 мин. назад

Video of todays successful prototype 2nd stage engine test in Tucson, AZ

Video

[tnt22]

TechTHiNQ‏ @TechTHiNQ 6 ч. назад

Jim Cantrell, CEO of @vectorspacesys telling great #ElonMusk stories and talking software defined #Satellites @aztechcouncil @szylstra – Prescott Resort

[tnt22]

Vector Space Systems Launches the First Rocket from Camden County Spaceport

Under the Radar Drones

Опубликовано: 18 авг. 2017 г.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=4OhdJ6xrxeohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=4OhdJ6xrxeo (1:40)

[tnt22]

VECTOR‏ @vectorspacesys 14 ч. назад

2 B.002 patches avail now celebrating 1st launch @CamdenSpaceport & special Vector friends #LEMANS24 @CorvetteRacing https://goo.gl/hTQLvZ 

Спойлер

[свернуть]

[tnt22]

VECTOR‏ @vectorspacesys 13 сент.

Updated #NASANow @ExploreSpaceKSC exhibit of our Vector-R prototype coming soon including some of these little guys...

Спойлер

[свернуть]

[tnt22]

VECTOR‏ @vectorspacesys 3 ч. назад

Just arrived our new composite winding machine! It will be used to wind carbon fiber fuel tanks and composite nozzles



3 ч. назад

No quite different more like a fancy sewing machine    example here of a smaller machine

[tnt22]

VECTOR‏ @vectorspacesys 10 ч. назад

Some rocket eye candy for you today - Vector-R engineering/prototype composite fairing.

Спойлер

[свернуть]

[tnt22]

Jim Cantrell‏ @jamesncantrell 6 окт.

Mass manufacturing rocket parts is part of plan to make & fly @vectorspacesys rockets by the 100's. Prototype nozzle in carbon fiber winding

(Кликни фото --> видео работы)

[tnt22]

Jim Cantrell‏ @jamesncantrell 6 окт.

Prototype fairing & payload adapter inside customer delivery case. @vectorspacesys satellite integration takes place at satellite facility for your convenience !