UPDATE: Launch scrubbed, min engine trouble. Earliest next launch opportunity is September 2.
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The 2-hour launch window opens at 8:30 AM Monday morning, Eastern time. Should be streamed live here:
Also here:
The SLS is an insanely expensive, ridiculously obsolete design, but damn if I don’t hope it succeeds. I did some work on those boosters back in the day… fifteen friggen years ago. Youch.
Mortons has announced my “Book 3,” They list it as available September 30… but I would expect it to come out a bit later than that. Well before Christmas, though.
This is Volume 1. I’m hard at work on Volume 2. A Volume 3 is *possible,* though uncertain just yet. Volume 1 covers the evolution of and derivative designs from the “official” bomber programs… B-58, B-59, B-68, B-70. B-1, A-5 and F-111. This covers, where possible, designs that competed for the contract. As with all my works, this is heavily illustrated with line diagrams, as accurate as I can make them.
This will eventually also be available through Amazon. THIS appears to be a placeholder for the listing. When released, it should be available directly through Mortons first, but for US buyers Amazon will have lower shipping cost.
The two RD-181 rocket engines on the booster stages are to be replaced with Firefly “Beta” engines.
Roscosmos showed a model of the new orbital station. At present, RKK Energia continues to work on the draft design of the station.#Roscosmos pic.twitter.com/YaBMBLqrSR
— Laks🚀🌌✨ (@laks513) August 15, 2022
Well, after all this time and expense, it had *better* work. Currently scheduled to launch August 29, 8:33 AM eastern time.
As @NASA’s first launch attempt for #Artemis I approaches, teams are completing final checks and closeouts of the @NASA_SLS rocket and @NASA_Orion spacecraft.
NASA is targeting launch on Aug.29 during a two-hour launch window beginning at 8:33am EDT:https://t.co/oCyPZEWgzI pic.twitter.com/MVbBZYbRSX
— NASA's Kennedy Space Center (@NASAKennedy) August 8, 2022
Ebay has recently suggested to me a few Apollo era knickknacks it thinks I need… chunks of Apollo capsule heat shield cast in Lucite. I guess they’re cool and all, and of historical interest, but somewhat outside of my wheelhouse (and finances). Still, looking at them got me thinking.
The Lucite seems to have yellowed with age. Some of this might be cigarette smoke, thus able to be cleaned off. Some might be UV damage to the outer surface, possibly fixable via “retro-bright” process or some similar. But it kinda looks like the Lucite has yellowed or darkened all the way through. If so, if there any possible way to clear that up? Blast it with UV? Gamma rays? Lasers? Boil it? Some sort of solvent to melt the Lucite away, then cast it again in a more modern transparent material that will hold up to time better? Given the prices being asked for these things, the correct answer is doubtless “leave it the frak alone,” but I wonder nonetheless.
Some current examples:
Currently on ebay is a lithograph of the Martin X-23 PRIME (Precision Reentry Including Maneuvering reEntry) subscale lifting body, a mid-1960’s program to build small test vehicles for the full-scale X-24A lifting body. This depiction shows it without the “bump” on the forward fuselage simulating the contours of the cockpit canopy. The seller is rather optimistic with a $1875 Buy-It-Now price, although he will consider offers.
Another copy of the same lithograph, along with a lithograph of an orbital HL-10, sold a few months ago for less than $400. That was too rich for my blood for two lithographs, never mind nearly two grand for one. Shrug. But at least the listing provides a fairly decent photo of the art. I *believe* I’ve only seen it reproduced in B&W.
Currently on eBay is a photo of a to-scale collection of NASA rockets from Redstone to Saturn V. This must date from the early 70’s… late enough to capture the damaged Skylab, early enough not to include Shuttle. The photo is ok, I suppose… what I would have wanted are the actual models. I’ve seen some of these, scattered here and there across museums (of course, more than one of each were made, probably at the Marshal or Johnson model shops), but to my knowledge I don’t think I’ve seen all of them together like this.
The same seller also has a Rocketdyne H-1 manual for sale that I’d snap up in a heartbeat if he didn’t have a four hundred dollar pricetag on it…
It has been a number of years since I’ve added much to the Air & Space Documents & Diagrams catalog (https://www.aerospaceprojectsreview.com/catalog/drawndoc.htm). On the other hand, ever since 2014 I have been sending about three documents and one large format diagram per month to Patrons and subscribers… so that’s a *lot* of stuff! But sometime in the near future I will finally add new items to the Catalog: Air *and* Space, Drawings *and* Documents. Included will be a wide variety of things… but for those interested in space, there will be two sets of SSTO design documents.
I have of late been dealing with a number of things… most relevant of which is finishing up the text of my third book. I hope to have it done in a matter of days. That will be when I’ll really get going on releasing the new Drawings & Documents. Patrons and Subscribers will be notified first… and will have the opportunity to get them at a discount. So if this is of interest, keep an eye on the APR blog, the catalog page linked above, or sign up for the APR Patreon/Monthly Historical Documents Program (https://www.aerospaceprojectsreview.com/monthly.htm). Patrons/subscribers can also get any or all of the “back issues” of monthly collections back to 2014.
Thanks!
PS: Covid does not help the writing process. Just a little heads up for those curious.
Someone has been trying to sell a lithograph on ebay for a *long* time without apparent success… probably because they want $650 for it. Move that decimal place to the left, and I would stand a decent chance of buying it… but for $650, it has to be the *original* art. No way for a *small* lithograph.
The listing is:
It’s not from the 1960’s, but the 1980’s. It depicts a General Dynamics “Midgetman” Small ICBM concept launching from a mobile launcher; a concept the Soviets (and Chinese, and Norks) ran with, but the US never really got behind. The launcher seems very likely to be the artists fantasy; these vehicles were designed to withstand a reasonably nearby nuclear strike, and one of the ways they did that was by not having a huge single piece canopy.
