Questions tagged [launch-vehicle]
Questions about a craft used to propel payloads into space, usually a rocket-powered vehicle
153
questions
4
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1answer
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Why were American Apollo-era launch towers red, and why was the reused elements of the Shuttle-era FSS painted over in grey?
This image of STS-8 shows red peeking through the grey of the launch structure. That got me thinking...
Mercury-Atlas launch towers were red (although Mercury-Redstone's towers were yellow, I think)
...
2
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0answers
97 views
Does electric fuel pumping scale well for rockets?
The Electron launch vehicle first stage has nine Rutherford engines In addition to adapting the single-engine-out-friendly nine engine configuration from the Falcon-9, the rocket carries a significant ...
1
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0answers
50 views
Launch excapse system for satellite payloads? [duplicate]
Once a rocket lifts off, there is usually no abort mode that does not involve the destruction of the rocket, and on a satellite launch, the payload.
Therefore, expendeble satellite launchers are quite ...
7
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0answers
77 views
Are launch vehicles or payloads transported through the Suez canal very often? Ever?
There are some comments under How do SpaceX intend to transport their starship/super heavy? referencing rockets in tight places including
whatever you do, don't send it thru the Suez Canal :-)
...
12
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1answer
3k views
Why can solid rockets be both the skinniest and most spherical launch vehicles while liquid fuel rockets have a more limited range of aspect ratios?
Question: Why can solid rockets be both the skinniest and most spherical launch vehicles while liquid fuel rockets have a more limited range of aspect ratios? Are there fundamental engineering ...
3
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1answer
266 views
Most noodle-like (highest aspect ratio) orbital launch vehicle ever?
Just how much can tall skinny rockets bend? (roughly, safely)
Why is Falcon 9's shape so tall and skinny?
If not constrained by underpasses, etc., would Falcon 9 have been less of a flying noodle?
...
2
votes
1answer
178 views
Multistaging and its issues [duplicate]
Multistage rockets have the benefits of trimming dead weight and using different engines for different heights. But do they have some momentum gain benefits too?
For instance, during their detachment, ...
1
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0answers
32 views
What is the safety record of launch vehicles per person-distance traveled, over all time?
Sometimes, the safety of various forms of transportation are compared based on the rate of fatalities (or injuries or other unplanned destructive accidents) per person-mile or person-kilometer ...
4
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2answers
159 views
Specific impulse and delta-v in Tsiolkovsky's rocket equation
According to Tsiolkovsky's rocket equation, it is possible to calculate the delta-v of a multistage rocket if you know the characteristics of each stage of the rocket. In my case, the only ...
27
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5answers
9k views
Why has a rocket system like Starship never been proposed before? It does not seem to use any new science, materials or fuels
I wonder why nobody ever proposed a space launch system like Starship. Methane as a fuel and all the theory behind are well known, so why?
Is it solely because of IT progress that made returning the ...
3
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0answers
75 views
How does Starship/Superheavy system compare with the hypothetical successor of Soviet Energia/Buran system, "Uragan"?
The both were meant to be fully reusable and have comparable scale.
0
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1answer
475 views
who decided Saturn V configuration [closed]
Saturn family of rockets were designed to launch heavy payloads into orbits. After 25th of May, 1961, who conceived the idea that various Saturn vehicles can be put together in series to create a ...
5
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1answer
132 views
How to select appropriate orbital rocket stage thrust?
I’ve been working on a preliminary design of a small-lift launch vehicle capable of sending a small satellite into LEO. Given the required $\Delta v$ (~9 km/s for LEO), the mass distribution, ...
2
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0answers
82 views
Why are fins located on stage 2 of Iranian rocket Zol Janah?
Iranian launch vehicle Zol-Janah has fin like structure on the second stage of the vehicle. Does aerodynamic characteristics of vehicle improve with fins near the centre of mass? Also will the fins ...
0
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0answers
102 views
Liquid fueled suborbital rockets?
Which suborbital (sounding, balistic, amateur or else) rockets use or used liquid fuel?
I could find (with help from A. Rumlin)
New Shepard - Blue Origin - RP-1
Spica - Copenhagen Suborbitals - ...
2
votes
1answer
102 views
Does Falcon 9 perform static fires before every launch?
Before launching every Falcon 9 rocket, is SpaceX performing a Wet Dress Rehearshal (WDR) and a static fire?
If not before every launch then is it doing it before every first launch of a new booster?
...
3
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0answers
78 views
Largest number of successful consecutive launches by rocket model?
Which orbital rocket model has the largest number of successful consecutive missions?
Active and inactive models.
Falcon 9 just reached 77.
Delta II reached 100.
Is there any other model with a better ...
5
votes
2answers
2k views
Are submarine launches horizontal?
Are the rockets launched from submarines in a horizontal or vertical position?
I mean for the space launches like Volna and Shtil.
This article says
By reaching orbit, LauncherOne has become the first ...
2
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0answers
101 views
Can ten (or more) rockets be used together to launch one massive object?
With computer flight controls where they are today, what would stop us from building a relatively large space station on earth, but then using 10 or 20 or even 100 falcon heavy or Starship or SLS ...
-1
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1answer
246 views
New Shepard payload capacity to orbit?
If the current Blue Origin New Shepard were modified as little as possible to work as the first stage of a two-stage rocket, what would be its maximal LEO payload?
To put it in other words: out of all ...
1
vote
1answer
138 views
Do you know a rocket for launching femto and pico satellites smaller than the SS-520?
The question has already been asked here why no one has built a rocket to launch one CubeSat.
Why isn't there a rocket to launch a single cubesat?
If there "won't be" rockets to ...
9
votes
2answers
650 views
Falcon 9 TVC: Which engines participate in roll control?
Stage 1 of Falcon 9 uses its gimballed engines during launch to control roll, pitch, and yaw.
Only the eight peripheral engines can be used for roll control since the center engine couldn't possibly ...
2
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0answers
41 views
Small satellite launcher to LEO dedicated launch vehicle [duplicate]
well today i was thinking, why nobody do something like the SS-520 but comercial? a small rocket entry dedicated to launch a cubesat, that probably go to have a lot of adventages and probably is realy ...
3
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0answers
95 views
Will you be having rubber or wax with your peroxide? (hybrid engine fuel tradeoffs)
Hybrid engines offer some practical advantages and some budgetary ones that can offset lower ISP, including potentially safer solid fuel to store and non cryogenic storage of some oxidizers like ...
1
vote
1answer
44 views
What is the maximum payload in terms of mass delivered to LEO by launch vehicle which used pressure fed cycle in all stages?
Launch vehicles can use pressure fed cycle in any stage of the rocket, but here i am interested for those vehicles which used this cycle in all stages. What is the current record in terms of mass of ...
4
votes
2answers
354 views
Rockets with boosters firing before first stage?
Is there any rocket where the first stage is ignited after the boosters? Say at least 30 seconds after the boosters.
Because in general the first stage is ignited in the same time with the boosters.
...
3
votes
1answer
132 views
Is the Ceres-1 the first Chinese rocket that was given an official Romanized name?
The news feed in the The Pod Bay links to NASA Spacelfight's 2020-11-08 news item Introducing China’s new commercial rocket, Ceres-1.
China’s latest commercial rocket, the Ceres-1 (Gushenxing-1) ...
3
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0answers
115 views
Smallest orbital rocket by diameter?
Which orbital rocket has the smallest diameter?
Without fins.
Related question:
Smallest orbital rockets by height?
Smallest orbital rocket by mass
Smallest launch vehicle by dry mass
3
votes
1answer
238 views
Smallest orbital rockets by height?
Which orbital rocket is the smallest in height (or length) that ever launched?
Would be nice to know the second and third place too.
Similar questions:
Smallest orbital rocket by diameter?
Smallest ...
5
votes
0answers
84 views
Low-pressure pump-fed rocket engine?
I saw the above suggested in LEO on the Cheap. In P.130 it says:
A compromise between high-performance/lightweight pump-fed vehicle designs
and cost-optimized pressure-fed vehicles with heavier ...
7
votes
2answers
1k views
In what ways is helium used on modern launch vehicles?
Helium is a fairly rare material and does not remain in the atmosphere.
I'd like to know the uses of helium on modern launch systems?
Do most launch vehicles use helium in several different ways, or ...
2
votes
1answer
331 views
Did the Perseverance rover's Atlas 5 really "leap off the pad"? If so, was it because the payload is tiny, or because it's going to Mars?
Spaceflight Now's ULA’s Atlas 5 is NASA’s go-to rocket for nuclear-powered space probes quotes Tory Bruno, president and CEO of United Launch Alliance:
“This rocket is going to leap off the pad with ...
1
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1answer
213 views
Would an airship-launched rocket be practical?
This is essentially a mix of the rockoon (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockoon) and air launch to orbit (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_launch_to_orbit) concepts. A rockoon is a rocket that's ...
7
votes
1answer
337 views
What kind of rocket will ESA(?) launch from Mars? Who will build it?
The NASA-credited images below are from the BBC News article Europe pushes ahead with 'dune buggy' Mars rover which explains that it will drive around quickly on it's big 70 cm wheels (see article for ...
2
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0answers
93 views
What parts of a rocket are particularly cheap or inexpensive?
Related: What is the most expensive part of a rocket?
What parts of a launch vehicle, if any, are particularly inexpensive?
This can mean "similar in cost to common commercial-grade analogues", "...
7
votes
6answers
680 views
Has any rocket been launched into orbit from a plain flat surface?
Related: Why will Superheavy/Starship have a landing pad so close to the launch pad?
Most launch vehicles are launched from somewhat complex launchpads with towers, erectors, flame trenches or ...
6
votes
1answer
654 views
How could the landing date of Perseverance Rover be fixed irrespective of 26 days launch window?
I am very much aware of this question from 2018 by @uhoh - Why would InSight's arrival date at Mars be fixed, and independent of the launch date?. I was led here by a similar question which arose in ...
3
votes
1answer
246 views
Is SLS capable of launching the core stage into LEO?
After watching the Hazegrayart video If Rockets were Transparent I realized that I didn't really have a clear idea what the Space Launch System (SLS) is capable of doing.
Question: Is SLS capable of ...
6
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1answer
141 views
Who started conducting multiple-payload launches routinely, and on which vechicle?
I know multiple-payload launches are routine these days, and everyone seems to have their own reignitable kick-stage. But who were the first to start doing that?
This is similar to this question, but ...
3
votes
1answer
105 views
Could any modern launch vehicle have put Ulysses in it's polar heliocentric without going to another planet first?
This answer to Why aren't satellites launched into a Polar LEO to get into Polar Heliocentric Orbit? leaves me wondering if it could be done today without the trip to Jupiter.
Could a replica of the ...
4
votes
1answer
123 views
What criteria influence launcher aspect ratio?
One factor when designing a launcher is the total $\Delta V$ required. For a given $\Delta V$, engineers can define the propellant quantity. From this quantity they can define the volume of the ...
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0answers
79 views
Missing Launch Vehicle
Early Soviet era launch vehicles had a variety of designations, e.g. the well known Vostok launcher and its derivations have been known as the R7, 8K72, Semyorka, SS-6, Sapwood, A-1 and SL-3 .
I'm ...
2
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0answers
79 views
Would the 6.5 ton capable Blue Moon lander fit in New Glenn?
As the 2 massive projects of the same company, are they designed to be compatible for NASA's CLPS program ? New Glenn's said to have a 7 m payload fairing diameter but as far as I know, Blue Moon's ...
5
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3answers
4k views
Why doesn't the USA use structurally stronger rockets for the more important launches?
Russia uses the R-7 ICBM-derived Soyuz launch vehicle for most of its space launches. The advantage of it is that there's no concern on what the weather is like on launch day and Soyuz launches almost ...
6
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2answers
442 views
How do spherical SRB's compare to long skinny ones? What do their thrust curves look like?
Most SRBs are long and skinny, probably because most are used low in Earth's atmosphere where aerodynamic drag is large.
But here are some very short SRBs, one seemingly spherical except for the ...
2
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2answers
197 views
How many stages were used to put Iran's satellite NOUR 01 (45529) into its orbit?
Fox News' Iran-launched military satellite entered Earth's orbit, US Space Command announces says:
“Iran’s first military satellite, Noor, was launched this morning from central Iran in two stages. ...
11
votes
2answers
613 views
Why are balloon tanks used by so few rocket designs?
Balloon tanks, first used on the MX-774 sounding rocket (the direct, though distant, ancestor of the Atlas family of missiles and launchers), are structurally stabilised by internal gas pressure, ...
2
votes
1answer
276 views
Does NASA really report the power of rockets in horsepower?
On a recent episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson said:
And to this day NASA will still report the power of rockets in horsepower, which is completely absurd, ...
2
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1answer
102 views
Shape of satellite launch vehicle
I was watching videos on YouTube, and I came across a fact that satellite launch vehicle has shape like a nose or you can ogive shape and I search on Google related to that, and I found that it ...
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0answers
71 views
Have studies / worked examples, including mass figures, been published for these reentry methods for reusable upper stages?
(Related: is there a general rule of thumb for thermal protection systems?)
For a fully-reusable launch vehicle to be developed, we need a lightweight thermal protection system and method for (...