You really have to watch this video to fully grasp just how fast this rocket-sled is going before it literally pancakes the car at the end of the track. [via]
Rocket ship playgrounds by Lauren Orchowski
March 10, 2009 @ 10:52 am
Lauren Orchowski photographed these old-school rocket ship playgrounds using an 8×10 view camera. [via]
Despite the rust and overall lack of upkeep, I’d still want to play in these playgrounds.
Lockheed Martin’s Multiple Kill Vehicle successfully tested
December 10, 2008 @ 6:00 pm
Last week on December 2, Lockheed Martin successfully conducted a test of their Multiple Kill Vehicle-L at the National Hover Test Facility at Edwards Air Force Base in California. The test was conducted to see whether the machine could hover in the air for an extended period of time while locked onto a target. In the end, the MKV-L managed to hover for about 20 seconds at a height of 23 feet while locked onto a target.
At first, I thought the rapid-fire sound was the machine shooting bullets, but upon further viewing, I realized that it was most likely the sound of the rocket that keeps in afloat in the air. In fact, I’m not even sure that this thing is firing any sort of projectile (it’s simply locked onto a target).
Check out the hi-res image of the one above at Lockheed Martin. And below is the test video that was released with the image that shows several different views of the test.
Space shuttle engine ignition in slow motion
May 18, 2008 @ 2:39 am
This is seriously the coolest video I’ve seen all week. The video info has some interesting information about the engine launch sequence.
Several things to note (if you care):
- The “sparks” are igniters meant to burn off excess hydrogen gas during engine start but before mainstage (full power) operation. Without these, a large cloud of explosive hydrogen and air could form under the Shuttle. If it exploded, it could damage the Shuttle structure or knock off tiles. These sparks DO NOT “ignite” the rocket engines. Engine ignition is accomplished by an internal “blowtorch” of fuel and oxidizer in each engine, which is ignited with sparkplugs!
- Notice that the engines start in a sequence which is about 120 milliseconds (a touch more than 1/10 second) apart. They do not start at the exact same time.
- At engine start, the engines are moved (gimballed) away from each other because they jump around during start. If they were too close, they might collide.
- The engine steering hardware is hydraulically “disconnected” from the engines during start so that the engines can bounce around without breaking the “steering linkages”.
- During engine start, before full power is reached, the exhaust (flames) disconnect or separate from the nozzle interior, causing violent thrust vector movements and misalignments. This is what makes the engines jump and wobble during startup.
- After the engines are fully started and running, the hydraulic steering is re enabled and the engines are steered toward proper liftoff angles.
- Once the engines are started, the Space Shuttle tips forward several feet, then springs back. When it is sprung back to true vertical (and if the 3 engines are OK), the two large solid rockets are started, hold down nuts are blown off with explosives and it’s LIFTOFF!
- For comparison, all THREE Space Shuttle Main Engines (not counting the two large, tall tubular solid rockets) generate about as much thrust as only ONE first stage moon rocket engine (the F1) did.
- The propellants for the Space Shuttle Main Engines are all contained in the big central “external tank”. Oxygen on the top 1/4 and hydrogen on the bottom 3/4. The fuel (hydrogen) is so cold it would freeze AIR into a solid “ice” which means fuel lines must be free of all air (they are purged with helium).
Here’s a similar space shuttle engine ignition at regular speed.
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