Google backs private Moon landing, Google is offering a $30m prize pot to private firms that land a |
Google backs private Moon landing, Google is offering a $30m prize pot to private firms that land a |
Sep 14 2007, 08:02 AM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 100 Joined: 11-October 04 From: Oxford, UK (Glasgow by birth) Member No.: 101 |
FROM: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6993373.stm
Firms interested in trying for the prize have until the end of 2012 to mount their Moonshot Anyone fancy a crack at this? Cheers Brian -------------------- "There are 10 types of people in the world - those who understand binary code, and those who don't."
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Sep 14 2007, 05:23 PM
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Merciless Robot Group: Admin Posts: 8785 Joined: 8-December 05 From: Los Angeles Member No.: 602 |
Yeah; I was wondering about opportune piggybacks as well. Also, how many commercial GEO launches are using kick motors (Star-48s, etc.) these days to get there from LEO? Most of the gov ones I know use Hall Effect xenon thrusters, which takes a lot of time & obviously does not impart much dV per sec.
Reason I ask is that the optimum separation time would presumably be after a nice, decisive boost to GEO...but it would have to be well-timed with the primary SV's needs, of course. Can't have the main sat spending station-keeping fuel to traverse 120 deg of longitude or something to get it where it needs to be. -------------------- A few will take this knowledge and use this power of a dream realized as a force for change, an impetus for further discovery to make less ancient dreams real.
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Sep 28 2007, 12:35 PM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 321 Joined: 6-April 06 From: Cape Canaveral Member No.: 734 |
Yeah; I was wondering about opportune piggybacks as well. Also, how many commercial GEO launches are using kick motors (Star-48s, etc.) these days to get there from LEO? Most of the gov ones I know use Hall Effect xenon thrusters, which takes a lot of time & obviously does not impart much dV per sec. Hall Effect xenon thrusters are only used for station keeping and not perigee raising. Kick motors for GTO only exist on Delta II's. Atlas, Delta IV, Proton and Ariane have all liquid upperstages. The last commercial Delta II GTO mission was in 1998. Perigee kick motors have been long gone, liquid systems are used since they are: 1. more efficient 2. left over prop can be used for station keeping 3. more flexible |
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