Anonoob writes: Long time reader, first time submitter here. Noticed this article today about a father and son effort to create a small scale (10-50kg payload) re-entry vehicle, progressing further on the concept and funding stages. Thought it might be of some interest to SN readership, as a worthy project for those still enamoured by crowd funding, or merely to generate another discussion on citizens entering the space race. The Project Thunderstruck website has this to say about their goals : There is a commercial opportunity to design and create a winged re-entry vehicle specifically for delicate payloads and experiments that last for more than 4 minutes in a weightless environment (tourist sounding flights to space). These are experiments and payloads that would find a parachute landing too harsh. There is a final output of the work and that is a spacecraft for experiments or even a payload taxi service back to earth. The most important aspect of this work is determining the smallest size of a winged spacecraft that can remain stable during re-entry. There are three stages of the physical testing: 1. Transonic – Project ThunderStruck in 6 months time (April 2015) 2. Re-entry from space (delivered on a sounding rocket – no orbit); 2-3 years away. 3. Re-entry from orbit; 6 years away There are two science components to the upcoming testing over the next 6 months: 1. Stability of a small aircraft at mach 1.5 / 1,800kph / 1,120mph and lower speeds for landing, 2. Testing a new type of surface for high-speed flight. (not a heat shield). Not very new news, given the project was launched back in October, and apparently fell short in earlier funding round. However just before Christmas they announced that the Australian Government, through the Defence Scientific and Technology Organisation (DSTO) has become a sponsor, by providing equipment, test facilities and advice. Read more of this story at SoylentNews.
Posted on: Mon, 29 Dec 2014 21:41:38 +0000