Questions tagged [launch-vehicle]
Questions about a craft used to propel payloads into space, usually a rocket-powered vehicle
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Is there any major difference between acceleration of solid propelled and liquid propelled rockets during launch
Few days ago, ISRO launched its PSLV-C53, which had solid first stage. (Clip here)
Also, the SpaceX's starlink launched on 24th July, 2022, having liquid first stage. (Clip here)
Is there any major ...
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Are there payloads that went to orbit without a protective fairing?
Reading about the Ultralight Starshade Structural Design,
It seems some solution among others could be an umbrella based concept
Since the starshade has to be roughly 100m in diameter, one could ...
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Why did the Hyperbola-1 launch fail in February 2021?
There is no launch video and very little data published about the launch. Considering how the maiden flight was successful, and it does appear that they made any design changes, what went wrong? Why ...
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Insights about launch vehicle engine configuration
When dealing with launch vehicles (specifically heavy lifters), there have been a number of different mindsets in terms of engines. The Saturn V used some absolutely massive engines, which was great ...
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For launch vehicles, during atmospheric stages, are there constraints on the yaw angle?
Most of the literature discusses the pitch angle and constraints on it, namely, trying to keep it zero for load relief. This leads to the gravity turn. I understand that ideal trajectories are within ...
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Atlas V booster appearance change in flight
In the livestream of the latest Atlas V 541 flight launching the GOES-T satelite I saw that the nosecones of the two visible boosters changed the appearance within a few seconds in the flight.
Is this ...
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European orbital rocket companies?
Besides the obvious
Arianespace (France) with Ariane 5/6
Avio (Italy) with Vega/Vega C
I found a few other new companies that haven't launched yet (to my knowledge), such as
RFA (Germany)
Isar ...
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Cost breakdown of launch companies
One thing which I recently heard Peter Beck say in an interview with Tim Dodd was that the cost of running a launch company isn't primarily driven by the rocket itself, but the operations required to ...
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Is the SS-520-5 both a floor wax and a desert topping? Can it be considered both a sounding rocket and an orbital vehicle?
The answer to If there "won't be" rockets to launch individual cubesats, then why did JAXA build exactly that? (SS-520-xx) begins
The SS-520-5 launcher is not intended to be an ...
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What is this black smoke coming from an all solid fueled Epsilon rocket?
I saw a clip of a recent (Nov. 5th, 2021) JAXA Epsilon launch on Instagram (link). Shown differently here in a YouTube video @~0:23s:
It's an entirely solid fueled ...
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Material used in LOX propellant tank
Most launch vehicles use aluminum alloy AA2219 for LOX propellant tanks, has anyone used AA6061 with additional coating instead?
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Evolution of Saturn V for JFK's Man on Moon mission
While reading about history of Saturn family of rockets, I read that all the Saturn rockets were initially designed to meet defense requirements for heavy lift vehicles. I was reading a NASA ...
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How is a launch vehicle aligned to the hold down post when assembled and rolled out horizontally?
Launch vehicles like Falcon are rolled out in horizontal position, joined to hold down post and raised by the strongback. How are the misalignments between launch vehicle and hold down pins overcome? ...
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What is that yellow fixture that the launch vehicle is resting on?
What is that fixture called as? I think it is used to support the launch vehicle during integration. Please correct if wrong.
source - https://www.ruaviation.com/news/2019/3/12/13107/?h
here's ...
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Why did Black Arrow have a tail skirt?
Next week marks the 50th anniversary of the UK's one and only satellite launch on one of her own rockets - Prospero, aboard the Black Arrow. In-flight photos of the Black Arrow look odd because there ...
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KARI's homegrown KSLV-II almost hit the target orbit on its very first launch. How many OLVs can boast success on the first flight attempt?
Outdated: KSLV-II is a homegrown South Korean orbital launch vehicle. While KARI's launched the Russian-derived KSLV-I before, KSLV-II (or Nuri) uses only new, domestic, hitherto un-flight-tested ...
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Which pipeline is this, found outside the launch vehicle?
which pipeline is this found on the electron launch vehicle?
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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)
...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 :-)
...
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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 ...
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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?
...
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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, ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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.
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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 ...
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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, ...
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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 ...
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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 - ...
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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?
...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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.
...
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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) ...
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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
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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