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Firefly Alpha
Firefly Alpha (Firefly α) is a two-stage orbital expendable launch vehicle developed by the American company Firefly Aerospace to compete in the commercial small satellite launch market. Alpha is intended to provide launch options for both full vehicle and rideshare customers. The first launch attempt was on 3 September 2021 but the vehicle did not reach orbit when one of the first stage engines failed during ascent. A second orbital test flight took place on 1 October 2022 and successfully reached orbit. Alpha deployed 7 satellites, however, due to the lower than intended deployment orbit, most of the satellites re-entered before reaching their intended design life a week after launch. History The initial 2014-vintage design of Alpha was two-stage-to-orbit vehicle with the first stage powered by an FRE-2 methalox engine, which consisted of twelve nozzles arranged in an aerospike configuration. The engine used methane and liquid oxygen as propellants, and completed a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Firefly Aerospace
Firefly Aerospace is an American private aerospace firm based in Austin, Texas, that develops launch vehicles for commercial launches to orbit. The company completed its $75 million Series A investment round in May 2021, which was led by DADA Holdings. The current company was formed when the assets of the former company Firefly Space Systems were acquired by EOS Launcher in March 2017, which was then renamed ''Firefly Aerospace''. Firefly's purported purpose is to increase access to space, similar to other NewSpace organizations. Launch vehicles Firefly Alpha The Alpha vehicle developed by Firefly Aerospace is an expendable launch vehicle with payload capability to low Earth orbit and to Sun-synchronous orbit. The projected launch cost is US$15 million per launch. Alpha is designed to compete with vehicles like the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). It utilizes Reaver-1 and Lightning-1 engines and a lightweight carbon composite structure to reduce launch weight, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
First Stage (rocketry)
A multistage rocket or step rocket is a launch vehicle that uses two or more rocket ''stages'', each of which contains its own engines and propellant. A ''tandem'' or ''serial'' stage is mounted on top of another stage; a ''parallel'' stage is attached alongside another stage. The result is effectively two or more rockets stacked on top of or attached next to each other. Two-stage rockets are quite common, but rockets with as many as five separate stages have been successfully launched. By jettisoning stages when they run out of propellant, the mass of the remaining rocket is decreased. Each successive stage can also be optimized for its specific operating conditions, such as decreased atmospheric pressure at higher altitudes. This ''staging'' allows the thrust of the remaining stages to more easily accelerate the rocket to its final speed and height. In serial or tandem staging schemes, the first stage is at the bottom and is usually the largest, the second stage and subsequ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Firefly Space Systems
Firefly Alpha (Firefly α) is a two-stage orbital expendable launch vehicle developed by the American company Firefly Aerospace to compete in the commercial small satellite launch market. Alpha is intended to provide launch options for both full vehicle and rideshare customers. The first launch attempt was on 3 September 2021 but the vehicle did not reach orbit when one of the first stage engines failed during ascent. A second orbital test flight took place on 1 October 2022 and successfully reached orbit. Alpha deployed 7 satellites, however, due to the lower than intended deployment orbit, most of the satellites re-entered before reaching their intended design life a week after launch. History The initial 2014-vintage design of Alpha was two-stage-to-orbit vehicle with the first stage powered by an FRE-2 methalox engine, which consisted of twelve nozzles arranged in an aerospike configuration. The engine used methane and liquid oxygen as propellants, and completed a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Venture Class Launch Services
Venture may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music *The Ventures, an American instrumental rock band formed in 1958 *"A Venture", 1971 song by the band Yes *''Venture'', a 2010 EP by AJR Games * ''Venture'' (video game), a 1981 arcade game *''Venture'', a strategic card game by Sid Sackson Film * SS ''Venture'', a ship in ''King Kong'' and its 2005 remake * SS ''Venture'', an InGen-owned ship featured in '' The Lost World: Jurassic Park'' Other uses * ''Venture'' (TV series), a Canadian business television show Magazines * ''Venture Science Fiction'', defunct US science fiction magazine * ''Venture'' (magazine), a management magazine Business * Business venture * Venture (department store), a defunct discount department store operating across Australia * Venture Corporation, a Singapore firm * Venture Stores, a former retail chain Transportation * Chevrolet Venture, a General Motors minivan * Yamaha Venture, Yamaha touring motorcycles * Siemens Venture, fam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Launch Services Program
The NASA Launch Services Program (LSP) is responsible for procurement of launch services for NASA uncrewed missions and oversight of launch integration and launch preparation activity, providing added quality and mission assurance to meet program objectives. LSP operates under the NASA Space Operations Mission Directorate (SOMD). Since 1990, NASA has purchased expendable launch vehicle launch services directly from commercial providers, whenever possible, for its scientific and applications missions. Expendable launch vehicles can accommodate all types of orbit inclinations and altitudes and are ideal vehicles for launching Earth-orbit and interplanetary missions. The Launch Services Program was established at Kennedy Space Center for NASA's acquisition and program management of expendable launch vehicle missions. A NASA/contractor team is in place to meet the mission of the Launch Services Program, which exists to provide leadership, expertise and cost-effective services in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SpaceNews
''SpaceNews'' is a print and digital publication that covers business and political news in the space and satellite industry. ''SpaceNews'' provides news, commentary and analysis to an audience of government officials, politicians and executives within the space industry. ''SpaceNews'' details topics in civil, military and space and the satellite communications business. ''SpaceNews'' covers important news in North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and South America from NASA, the European Space Agency, and private spaceflight firms such as Arianespace, International Launch Services, SpaceX and United Launch Alliance. The magazine regularly features profiles on relevant and important figures within the space industry. These profiles have featured numerous government leaders, corporate executives and other knowledgeable space experts, including NASA administrators Richard Truly, Daniel Goldin, Sean O’Keefe, Michael Griffin and Charles Boldin. Founded in 1989, '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bell Nozzle
The bell-shaped or contour nozzle is probably the most commonly used shaped rocket engine nozzle. It has a high angle expansion section (20 to 50 degrees) right behind the nozzle throat; this is followed by a gradual reversal of nozzle contour slope so that at the nozzle exit the divergence angle is small, usually less than a 10 degree half angle. An ideal nozzle would direct all of the gases generated in the combustion chamber straight out the nozzle. That would mean the momentum of the gases would be axial, imparting the maximum thrust to the rocket. In fact, there are some non-axial components to the momentum. In terms of a momentum vector, there is an angle between the axis of the rocket engine and the gas flow. As a result, the thrust is lowered by varying amounts. The bell or contour shape is designed to impart a large angle expansion for the gases right after the throat. The nozzle is then curved back in to give a nearly straight flow of gas out the nozzle opening. The conto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Propellant
A propellant (or propellent) is a mass that is expelled or expanded in such a way as to create a thrust or other motive force in accordance with Newton's third law of motion, and "propel" a vehicle, projectile, or fluid payload. In vehicles, the engine that expels the propellant is called a reaction engine. Although technically a propellant is the reaction mass used to create thrust, the term "propellant" is often used to describe a substance which is contains both the reaction mass and the fuel that holds the energy used to accelerate the reaction mass. For example, the term "propellant" is often used in chemical rocket design to describe a combined fuel/propellant, although the propellants should not be confused with the fuel that is used by an engine to produce the energy that expels the propellant. Even though the byproducts of substances used as fuel are also often used as a reaction mass to create the thrust, such as with a chemical rocket engine, propellant and fuel are two ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liquid Oxygen
Liquid oxygen—abbreviated LOx, LOX or Lox in the aerospace, submarine and gas industries—is the liquid form of molecular oxygen. It was used as the oxidizer in the first liquid-fueled rocket invented in 1926 by Robert H. Goddard, an application which has continued to the present. Physical properties Liquid oxygen has a pale blue color and is strongly paramagnetic: it can be suspended between the poles of a powerful horseshoe magnet. Liquid oxygen has a density of , slightly denser than liquid water, and is cryogenic with a freezing point of and a boiling point of at . Liquid oxygen has an expansion ratio of 1:861 under and , and because of this, it is used in some commercial and military aircraft as a transportable source of breathing oxygen. Because of its cryogenic nature, liquid oxygen can cause the materials it touches to become extremely brittle. Liquid oxygen is also a very powerful oxidizing agent: organic materials will burn rapidly and energetically in liquid o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liquid Methane
Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The relative abundance of methane on Earth makes it an economically attractive fuel, although capturing and storing it poses technical challenges due to its gaseous state under Standard conditions for temperature and pressure, normal conditions for temperature and pressure. Naturally occurring methane is found both below ground and under the seafloor and is formed by both geological and biological processes. The largest reservoir of methane is under the seafloor in the form of methane clathrates. When methane reaches the surface and the Atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere, it is known as atmospheric methane. The Earth's atmospheric methane concentration Methane emissions, has increased by about 150% since 1750, and it accounts for 20% of the total radiative forcing from all of the lo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aerospike Engine
The aerospike engine is a type of rocket engine that maintains its aerodynamic efficiency across a wide range of altitudes. It belongs to the class of altitude compensating nozzle engines. Aerospike engines have been studied for several years and are the baseline engines for many single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) designs and were also a strong contender for the Space Shuttle main engine. However, no such engine is in commercial production, although some large-scale aerospikes are in testing phases. The terminology in the literature surrounding this subject is somewhat confusing—the term ''aerospike'' was originally used for a truncated plug nozzle#In rockets, plug nozzle with a very rough conical taper and some gas injection, forming an "air spike" to help make up for the absence of the plug tail. However, frequently, a full-length plug nozzle is now called an aerospike. Principles The purpose of any engine bell is to direct the exhaust of a rocket engine in one direction, generati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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