- This topic has 28 replies, 9 voices, and was last updated 14 years ago by
BEAR.
BEAR.-
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Bruce R. Schaefer
Okay, forget about the motor casing cost… how much is the reload? 😯
Warren B. Musselman
I would bet one of the strap-ons alone would put a couple hundred pounds at least into LEO.
Given that UP Aerospace and Cesaroni both have casually quoted me $50K for a T-class motor, you’d probably be talking at least $10M for the reload and who knows how much for the casing. You’d also need a team of 10 and a crane at the least to assemble the reload.
Bruce R. Schaefer
Doggone it. For 9 million we might be able to do it, but 10? Nope. LEO? Definitely.
Warren B. Musselman
For the brief time it was active, I was a part of the Big Project – a TRA group who was thinking it might be possible to throw something small into orbit on an amateur basis. After almost 2 years, the consensus was good fucking luck with that if you’re not a nation-state.
An example. A USAF project, Blue Scout, was a 2 or 3 stage all-solid sounding rocket that could do 900 miles or thereabouts AGL. It had barely a third of what was needed to reach even a decaying temporary orbit.
From a hobbyist perspective, the issue is guidance – pure and simple. The one thing we’re not supposed to be playing with.
Adrian
I would bet one of the strap-ons alone would put a couple hundred pounds at least into LEO.
Given that UP Aerospace and Cesaroni both have casually quoted me $50K for a T-class motor, you’d probably be talking at least $10M for the reload and who knows how much for the casing. You’d also need a team of 10 and a crane at the least to assemble the reload.
That particular “strap on” is what was going to tear the **** out of the Orion spacecraft, before the Aries-1 was thankfully cancelled. That plus an upper stage, was going to send about 50,000 lbs to LEO. The acoustic and vibration environments would have been worse than any other launch vehicle in history. It’s one big booster, and probably costs around $100M.
BEAR
Does this mean we are not going to try it? 😥
Dave Smith
LEO? LEO?
Once again, I am starting to get a little lost in the thread here. Clearly, the original mission for us here is not LEO, but LMO!
Don’t worry Bear, I got your back!
This is our Priority to do list:
1) Sell LCO duties to the highest bidder
I have recently been contacted by “their people” who describes themselves as a consortium of interested parties (C.I.P). Our initial contact resulted in a handshake deal that will provide enough Motor for a dozen strap-ons. These international shakers and movers have privately indicated to me that they have contractually secured the attendance of the one and only “Elvis”. (yes, the rumors are true!) They are putting together a world-wide marketing blitz announcing the Return of the King.. As fast as I can convey this news to you, C.I.P. has already designed and printed Launch Day Passes that are of Face Value alone worth an excess of a 7 figure sum. Additionally, as the “Host Club”, 25,000 tickets are now in our possession. The Consortium has kindly suggested that several of volunteers from our ranks might privately offer “Same Day Purchase” from the back of the black van that comes to monthly launches. These tickets would be offered to the end consumer at full retail value and a significant handling fee. This Launch Day Event spectator fees will easily finance sufficient payload for our project to exceed 7miles/sec, or in other words; Escape Velocity. The presale of tickets has already secured international bonds that can be converted upon presentation to the help desk at Ace Hardware, (two forms of ids, please).2) Entertain offers of billboard space on the upper stages.
Note: it may well be required that we form an ad hoc committee to filter out unsuitable advertisements that run counter to our club’s heretofore family-oriented reputation.
Not surprisingly, with our project already viral on major social networks, the Home Shopping Channel, and random flyers placed in Lucky Charms cereal, square footage rates have geometrically exploded on this seller’s market. Along with corporate heavyweights such as Mars candies, Energizer batteries (a potential more lucrative placement on the strap-ons is under consideration), and Oscar Meyer’s “Lunchables”, Sponge Bob Square Pants is negotiating to be our first paying passenger. Furthermore, the internationally acclaimed artist “Christo” has secured a 43 million dollar grant from the National Endowment for the Arts should our ad hoc committee (can this decision be made by Clean-Up Day)? approve his brilliant artistic expression of wrapping the SLS in Pink plastic. The cost savings at Ace for the proposed paint job (coffee included) being scuttled alone could satisfy policy conditions demanded by Lloyds off London.
The remaining issue is the one of parking our pink bird (Project “Flamingo”)? in LMO. Considerable collaboration needs to occur from our equation wizards in guidance to solve this conundrum: http://thecosmicparadigm.blogspot.com/2011/03/storing-fuel-in-low-mars-orbit.html
(I cheated and looked at the appendix on this article- it made it all crystal clear)
Warren is right! The issue is pure and simple, The one thing we are not to supposed to be playing with!We’re gonna need bigger launch batteries!
BEAR
And I think, just for the fun, since this could be a memorable event, we should honor our President, (not the club president, (sorry Joe) but El Presidente himself, the POTUS,) should receive the invitation to ride the bird himself, (depending on the size of the nose cone, we might be able to secure places for his family and maybe 20 or 30 of his close friends and associates, wow what an honor!) and be able to plant his/their flag on Mars claiming it for himself/themselves. What do you think? ( You know, that might even help secure additional funding from the VFW and other similar groups like the AFA.) As for timetable, I do not know if I can get the sandpaper by equipment clean-up day. 🙁
Dave Smith
The President?
As one of 300 million americans, I am willing to kick in five bucks for each member of my family to send the entire Congress along with the first family. We can counter the additional payload factor by removing the recovery system. With this kind of funding, NCR can complete this project AND pay off the National Debt!
BEAR
I think I want to feel sorry for the Martians, they did not do anything to deserve this.
Of course in launching this big thing, we might need to slingshot it around the sun to get it to Mars using less fuel and still make it to Mars with this huge payload. IN aiming this thing, what are the odds that we might screw up and accidentlally launch them into the sun instead of slingshotting around the sun? With very limited guidance, I would think this is an unfortunate possibility.
Too bad with the fuel savings, we could not also include the entire POTUS cabinet, and all the administrators of things like the IRS, EPA, OSHA, etc.; they could probably use the vacation, too! 😉
Bruce R. Schaefer
Warren B. Musselman
Adrian
BEAR
Dave Smith
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