Passenger Carrier: Heavy Lifter

Ekkehard Augustin · Posted on: Fri Jun 17, 2005 1:12 pm

This link includes a graphic showing details of a heavy lifter which is a passenger carrier to orbit:

www.spacefuture.com/archive/status_repo ... iety.shtml

According to "The Japanese Rocket Society's Space Tourism Research" ( www.spacefuture.com/archive/the_japanes ... arch.shtml ) this Heavy Lifter

Quote:

has a height of 22 meters, a maximum width of 18 meters, and a take-off mass of 550 tons. The dry mass is 50 tons, and the structure is made largely from composite materials

It has

Quote:

12 main engines, providing redundancy for higher system reliability, comprising 4 booster engines with nozzle expansion ratio of 15, and 8 sustainer engines with nozzle expansion ratio of 40 initially, changing to 80 at altitude using a nozzle extension (6). The reference engines use an augmented expander cycle, and are to have a life of 300 flights, extendable through overhauls and replacement of parts. It is also intended that they should have a reduced number of life-critical parts as compared to existing rocket engines (6).

The vehicle will/would use liquid hydrogen

Up to now it's a reference vehicle for scientific studies which are economical studies largely.

Quote:

A 1/20 scale model was built and has been exhibited at a number of exhibitions including the 1994 Farnborough air-show, 1995 Tokyo international aerospace exhibition, 1995 Paris air-show, 1996 Farnborough air-show and elsewhere. It has also appeared on television both in Japan and abroad.

I haven't found a link to a photo yet.

Dipl.-Volkswirt (bdvb) Augustin (Political Economist)

EDIT: Some more informations are to be found here:

http://www.spacefuture.com/archive/kank ... nual.shtml

Author	Message
Ekkehard Augustin Moderator Joined: Thu Jun 03, 2004 11:23 am Posts: 3745 Location: Hamburg, Germany	Passenger Carrier: Heavy Lifter Posted on: Fri Jun 17, 2005 10:55 am This link includes a graphic showing details of a heavy lifter which is a passenger carrier to orbit: www.spacefuture.com/archive/status_repo ... iety.shtml According to "The Japanese Rocket Society's Space Tourism Research" ( www.spacefuture.com/archive/the_japanes ... arch.shtml ) this Heavy Lifter Quote: has a height of 22 meters, a maximum width of 18 meters, and a take-off mass of 550 tons. The dry mass is 50 tons, and the structure is made largely from composite materials It has Quote: 12 main engines, providing redundancy for higher system reliability, comprising 4 booster engines with nozzle expansion ratio of 15, and 8 sustainer engines with nozzle expansion ratio of 40 initially, changing to 80 at altitude using a nozzle extension (6). The reference engines use an augmented expander cycle, and are to have a life of 300 flights, extendable through overhauls and replacement of parts. It is also intended that they should have a reduced number of life-critical parts as compared to existing rocket engines (6). The vehicle will/would use liquid hydrogen Up to now it's a reference vehicle for scientific studies which are economical studies largely. Quote: A 1/20 scale model was built and has been exhibited at a number of exhibitions including the 1994 Farnborough air-show, 1995 Tokyo international aerospace exhibition, 1995 Paris air-show, 1996 Farnborough air-show and elsewhere. It has also appeared on television both in Japan and abroad. I haven't found a link to a photo yet. Dipl.-Volkswirt (bdvb) Augustin (Political Economist) EDIT: Some more informations are to be found here: http://www.spacefuture.com/archive/kank ... nual.shtml
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campbelp2002 Moon Mission Member Joined: Tue Oct 05, 2004 5:38 pm Posts: 1361 Location: Austin, Texas	Posted on: Fri Jun 17, 2005 1:12 pm This is the Kankoh-Maru vehicle that has been under study for some time as a possible future space tourist vehicle. It is similar to the DC-X except for one big difference; it would reenter tail first. According to http://www.spacefuture.com/archive/desi ... icle.shtml Quote: The preliminary design of the vehicle provides a sliding hatch to cover each nozzle exit. I am not sure that would be safe and reliable enough for routine passenger service, but we won’t know for sure until it is actually tried for a large number of flights. More information is at: http://www.spacefuture.com/cgi/glossary ... koh%2Dmaru
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Ekkehard Augustin Moderator Joined: Thu Jun 03, 2004 11:23 am Posts: 3745 Location: Hamburg, Germany	Posted on: Fri Jun 17, 2005 1:22 pm The design is a couple of years old and would be improved if it would be going to be made reality. The improvemnets would include expereinces and technologies of SpaceX, Scaled Composites and t/Space I suppose - of course it would include more experiences and developments occuring between now and the date when a vehicle like Kankoh-Maru would become reality. Of course it seems that it wouldn't be air launched but it is interesting to look which way it could be modified to be able to use advantages of new technologies and thus undergoing improvements. Dipl.-Volkswirt (bdvb) Augustin (Political Economist)
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NeuronExMachina Spaceflight Trainee Joined: Mon Jun 28, 2004 1:25 am Posts: 28 Location: Pasadena, CA	Posted on: Sat Jun 18, 2005 8:21 am Cool, it's a Mule-class dropship from Battletech.
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Ekkehard Augustin Moderator Joined: Thu Jun 03, 2004 11:23 am Posts: 3745 Location: Hamburg, Germany	Posted on: Sat Jun 18, 2005 4:17 pm I suppose you posted it because it is similar to the Knkoh-Maru. Is it because of the shape or are there other similarities too? Dipl.-Volkswirt (bdvb) Augustin (Political Economist)
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NeuronExMachina Spaceflight Trainee Joined: Mon Jun 28, 2004 1:25 am Posts: 28 Location: Pasadena, CA	Posted on: Sat Jun 18, 2005 11:08 pm Ekkehard Augustin wrote: I suppose you posted it because it is similar to the Knkoh-Maru. Is it because of the shape or are there other similarities too? Oh, I was just being silly and posted it because of the similar shape.
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spacecowboy Moon Mission Member Joined: Tue Feb 10, 2004 2:56 am Posts: 1104 Location: Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA	Posted on: Mon Jun 20, 2005 1:25 pm Forgive him; he apparently has no experience with SF RPG fans. _________________ American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering In Memoriam... Apollo I - Soyuz I - Soyuz XI - STS-51L - STS-107
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publiusr Space Station Commander Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2005 1:25 am Posts: 887	Posted on: Thu Jun 23, 2005 7:50 pm Phil Bono also wanted big plug-nozzle craft like Big Onion/Fat Albert. Husjak wanted tanks made from the huge spheres fabricated for use as storage tanks aboard Liquified Natural Gas Carriers. Nexus was the largest member of this type of craft: http://www.astronautix.com/lvfam/vtovl.htm http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/kanhmaru.htm
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