Launching Star Wars

 blather, history, Hmm..., nukes, projects, rockets, spacecraft  14 Responses »
May 032014
 

Much of the Strategic Defense Initiative, begun three decades ago, remains murky at best. One little-reported area of study was the launch infrastructure that would be needed to put the vast array of stuff into orbit. Apart from the Delta Clipper, you’d be forgiven for thinking that space launch was nearly forgotten.

However, some study was put into it, as the page below from a 1988 government report shows. Read through it: the SDI needs for space launch would have been *vast.* The total amount of payload delivered to orbit would have ranged from, at the low end, one million kilograms, up to 80 million for the long-range forecast systems.

sdi launch

 

 Posted by at 12:33 pm

DC-1

 books, history, Hmm..., nukes, projects, rockets, science, science fiction, spacecraft, weapons  3 Responses »
May 022014
 

Because Nobody Demanded It, here is a to-scale representation of the DC-1 SSTO with the MOL, the Zenith Star laser testbed and the operational SBL.

mol-zs-dc1-2 mol-zs-dc1-1

This is, of course, in support of my proposed book on the Strategic Defense Initiative. It would include:

Launch systems: Delta Clipper; Millenium Express; Platypus; Zenith Star Launch System; Barbarian; Shuttle-C; NASP

Space-Based weapons: Zenith Star; operational Space Based Laser; Neutral Particle Beam; Saggitar Railgun; X-Ray Laser; Brilliant Pebbles; Space Cruiser

Terrestrial systems: F-15-ASAT; HEDI; ERINT; land-mobile MX; air-mobile MX; Midgetman/HML; Airborne Laser

I *know* I’ve missed a few. Feel free to fill in the blanks.

 Posted by at 3:22 pm

Anyone here work on Delta Clipper?

 blather, history, Hmm..., projects, rockets, spacecraft  3 Responses »
May 012014
 

I’m working on a CAD model of the “DC-1” SSTO follow-on to the DC-X, based on some pretty good diagrams I scored a while back from NASA. But I have a question for anyone who might know what I’m talking about: what was the deal with the cockpit being 45 degrees off-kilter? Re-entry would seem to have been a bit of a nightmare, as would what would pass for the glide afterwards.

Was the crew expected to just suck it up? Would the cockpit have been rotated internally by 45 degrees so that even though it was kinda off to the side, it would have been “right side up?” Would the diagrams simply be wrong, and the cockpit would have actually been at the “top” of the vehicle during entry?

 Posted by at 11:35 pm

HL-20

 aircraft, history, models, projects, spacecraft  6 Responses »
May 012014
 

Turns out the HL-20 mockup built many years ago not only survived, it’s on display at the Wings Over The Rockies aviation museum near Denver. It seems to be in generally good shape, though it appears to be missing its landing gear doors. Sadly, while you can seen up into it, you’re not allowed to go crawling around in it. Would’ve liked to have seen the cockpit.  Well, one day someone will send a camera equipped quadcopter in there, I suppose…

hl-20 3 hl-20 1 hl-20 2 hl-20 4 hl-20 5

 Posted by at 1:57 pm

MOL model

 art, history, models, news, projects, spacecraft  2 Responses »
May 012014
 

This is pretty much the final version of the 1/48 MOL model. If you get this kit – and I recommend that you do, cuz it’ll be awesome – I suggest bonding the “feet” to a walnut or oak board. That should make it good and sturdy. It should be lightweight yet fairly strong due to some simple internal bracing. A new type of locating pin/feature/thingies will be used this time… if successful and popular, I expect to use ’em more.

Image150

Coming soon: a 1/48 Dyna Soar/Adapter/Transtage to go alongside this.

 Posted by at 1:47 pm

BBZZZZAP

 blather, history, models, nukes, spacecraft, weapons  7 Responses »
Apr 262014
 

If you’re gonna do it, overdo it. For example, here’s what an operational anti-missile Space Based Laser might’ve looked like, compared to the Zenith Star experimental laser and the Manned Orbiting Laboratory. Kinda bignormous, with a 50-foot diameter primary mirror. Details on this are shockingly lean, with the model put together using two tiny diagrams and one poorly reproduced bit of artwork… and they don’t agree with each other on everything. So a lot of this is guesswork. It’s not even close to done, but I thought some of y’all might be interested. The “tail end” of the operational SBL has what I’m assuming is an SP-100 nuclear reactor for running non-laser systems. The laser itself would be chemical, not nuclear, with around 80 shots worth of fuel.

MOL-ZS 5

 Posted by at 12:49 pm

1/48 MOL update

 art, books, history, models, news, projects, spacecraft, weapons  2 Responses »
Apr 252014
 

The CAD model for the 1/48 MOL kit for Fantastic Plastic nears completion. It is being modeled to represent the final generic design, without a whole lot of extra parts to keep costs down. However, the design is such so if you want to model one of the more complex versions, this will be easy to do.

Here is the MOL CAD model shown to scale with a Zenith Star CAD model I’ve built. Because… why not?

MOL-ZS 1

The Zenith Star is not planned to be produced as a kit, but rather was produced for the purposes of creating diagrams for a potential book (discussed HERE). Still, it’d make a snazzy – if rather desperately expensive – display model.

The view below shows the planned basic construction of the MOL model. A few external shells supported by internal rigidizing supports.

MOL-ZS 4

 Posted by at 8:38 pm
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