[AR] Re: SSTO fuels (was Re: SSTO)
- From: Henry Vanderbilt <hvanderbilt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: arocket@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 17 Feb 2018 11:15:16 -0700
On 2/17/2018 7:21 AM, Uwe Klein wrote:
Am 17.02.2018 um 14:50 schrieb Henry Vanderbilt:
On 2/17/2018 1:37 AM, Uwe Klein wrote:
Am 17.02.2018 um 06:23 schrieb David Summers:
Of course, if you follow this line of thought too far you see that what
we need to develop is a 100 lb orbital spacecraft. That way the
development funding becomes easy!
External energy source mini Orion propulsion?
Heh. GMTA! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Plumbbob
scroll down to "Propulsion of steel plate cap"
That is the "chocolate-covered manhole cover" story, right :-)
The widespread orbital manhole cover story, yes. A heavy steel tunnel
cap propelled upward at 30+ km/s by a poorly contained nuclear test.
Most likely vaporized before it hit vacuum though. And not
chocolate-covered. (Would the chocolate have acted as an ablative
coating and gotten it through the atmosphere? Probably not...)
What you're probably remembering: "What can You Say About Chocolate
Covered Manhole Covers" is a Larry Niven short-short story. A copy at
https://www.e-reading.club/chapter.php/75689/10/Niven_-_All_The_Myriad_Ways.html
I seem to remember an idea that used an ablative material coated
pocket in the underside of the payload and
ground based laser to ablate material in pulses for propulsion.
The late lamented Jerry Pournelle used that in a story back around 1980,
IIRC, and the late lamented Jordin Kare looked seriously at variations
on that. Don't know who came up with the idea originally; it goes back
a ways. Jerry might even have heard it from the Livermore people.
Don't know, can't ask him now :(
Common thread: Too damn many friends are becoming late & lamented
lately. Stop it, dammit!
Henry V
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