zero2infinity mixes balloons and rockets to launch nanosats
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From gizmag
Test firing the bloostar's engineLaunch sequence of the bloostar nanosat systemTest flight in 2013 of bloostar componentsRendering of the upper stages of bloostar
The idea of a rocket/balloon or "rockoon" is not new. It dates back to 1949, when the astrophysicist James A. Van Allen and others developed the concept as a way of sending sounding rockets to high altitudes without needing the additional fuel to punch their way through the mass of the Earth's lower atmosphere. Though the technology was used until the late 1950s, the inability to steer the balloon during its ascent and the subsequent inability to predict where the sounding rocket would fall made the approach rather unattractive from a safety point of view.
The bloostar takes the rockoon idea and moves it up to the next level, with a fairly simple approach. A helium balloon lifts the nanosat payload and the upper stages of the launcher to an altitude of over 30 km (18.6 mi). This brings it above 99 percent of the Earth’s atmosphere, which means there’s so little air resistance that the launcher doesn't even need streamlining. Once in position, the launcher is dropped from the balloon and a set of simple liquid-fueled engines (that are pressure-fed rather than relying on pumps) are fired, sending the nanosat into orbit.
Zero2infinity states that it's already begun testing with a balloon flight in September of last year of an inflatable flexible pressurized vehicle to an altitude of 27 km (16.7 mi), which will form the basis of the launcher fuel tanks. In addition, the company test-fired a privately developed and funded liquid-hydrocarbon/oxygen rocket engine, which it says is a first for Spain
The company says that it already has US$200 million in pre-sales, and that the bloostar system will be operational by 2017.
The video shows an early test of the system. Click Here to watch the movie
Test firing the bloostar's engineLaunch sequence of the bloostar nanosat systemTest flight in 2013 of bloostar componentsRendering of the upper stages of bloostar
The idea of a rocket/balloon or "rockoon" is not new. It dates back to 1949, when the astrophysicist James A. Van Allen and others developed the concept as a way of sending sounding rockets to high altitudes without needing the additional fuel to punch their way through the mass of the Earth's lower atmosphere. Though the technology was used until the late 1950s, the inability to steer the balloon during its ascent and the subsequent inability to predict where the sounding rocket would fall made the approach rather unattractive from a safety point of view.
The bloostar takes the rockoon idea and moves it up to the next level, with a fairly simple approach. A helium balloon lifts the nanosat payload and the upper stages of the launcher to an altitude of over 30 km (18.6 mi). This brings it above 99 percent of the Earth’s atmosphere, which means there’s so little air resistance that the launcher doesn't even need streamlining. Once in position, the launcher is dropped from the balloon and a set of simple liquid-fueled engines (that are pressure-fed rather than relying on pumps) are fired, sending the nanosat into orbit.
Zero2infinity states that it's already begun testing with a balloon flight in September of last year of an inflatable flexible pressurized vehicle to an altitude of 27 km (16.7 mi), which will form the basis of the launcher fuel tanks. In addition, the company test-fired a privately developed and funded liquid-hydrocarbon/oxygen rocket engine, which it says is a first for Spain
The company says that it already has US$200 million in pre-sales, and that the bloostar system will be operational by 2017.
The video shows an early test of the system. Click Here to watch the movie
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