丹麦民间飞向太空的自制火箭
xeon2013/01/17喷气推进 IP:江苏
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在第七集的 YouTube 视频系列“Space Oout”《飞向太空》中,“主板”(Motherboard)网站的太空秀登上了 VICE 的 YouTube 视频主页。

任何有能力的人都可以生产属于他们自己的太空飞船。目前说这话的确有点痴人说梦,但一个叫做哥本哈根亚轨道(Copenhagen Suborbitals)的组织正在通过非盈利性的开源项目努力使之成为现实。

去年9月,“主板”网站的编辑赶往丹麦采访这群新一波DIY太空探索热潮幕后的拓荒者们,并见证了这些“家庭制作的”火箭的加工过程。哥本哈根亚轨道组织在2008年由两位业余工程师和企业家 Kristian von Bengston 和 Peter Madsen创办,现在是由20多位专家组成的小团体。他们已经决定制造第一枚民间生产的载人飞船并将其送入地球亚轨道。

如果这次发射顺利,在接下的几年中他们将尝试载人发射。这意味着丹麦将在中国之后成为第四个发射载人航空火箭进入太空的国家。除此之外,如果这一奇迹真能让 Kristian von Bengston 和Peter Madsen给实现了,他们的将使一个小本经营下几十万美元投入的公司足以匹敌有国家财政做靠山的宇航局以及那些富有的私人宇航公司,比如 SpaceX, Virgin Galactic或是Bigelow。

到目前为止,他们的成就足以令人惊叹:他们组装的固液混合燃料火箭,HEAT-1X,是第一枚运载着标准数量的试验假人(完全模拟真人,包括体重组成,关节部分分割)成功升空的“民间”火箭。HEAT-1X不仅仅是目前第一枚圆满完成主引擎截停和熄火命令的火箭,他还是世界上第一枚,由于低预算,在海上一个漂浮发射台发射的火箭。

YBOO.jpg
图为测通过其中的试验假人来测试发射逃生系统和“Tycho”外太空太空舱。

如果你想发射自己的太空舱,你大可不必对其守口如瓶。通过将太空计划的信息公开化,哥本哈根亚轨道组织除了能将难得一见的一手宇宙资料作为交换条件吸引那些痴迷于太空的专家们成为他们的志愿者外,他们还筹集捐款,原材料支持和从他们遍布全球的追随者中听取有建设意义的反馈。虽然他们没有明确公开具体筹集的数目,但估计第一次发射总共花费5万欧元左右,大约6万3000美金。今天,他们仍在通过IndieGogo网站的宣传筹款。

   PLGJ.jpg
这是最新的哥本哈根亚轨道组织设计的“Tycho”外太空2号太空舱素描图。这些公开化的素描设计意在邀请任何有能力的人对现存几何部分和子系统部分提出改进建议。

虽然难以相信,但你家厨房洗菜池上的调节阀可能就是我们火箭所缺少的零件。一个DIY宇宙飞行项目完全开始于一次五金店或是仓库中的精心翻找。通过日复一日不断翻出可用的零件和对系统的修改,哥本哈根亚轨道组织的成员们找到了许多性价比更高的,过程更简单的替代方案来取代原先复杂的系统和昂贵零件。

“与其花大价钱发明我们自己的阀门,为什么不用这个钱去买一比它便宜几百万倍的现成品?”Kristian解释道,他们在第一次火箭测试中为了防止阀门冻结而使用了一个吹风机来加热。

哥本哈根亚轨道组织并不只做他们做得到的事。钱和技术是不会自己送上门的,这成了一个限制。但这些方面的限制对这帮工程专家却是如同塞翁失马,焉知非福。与其为了在NASA研究中心用不属于他们的钱租一个昂贵的离心机,哥本哈根的伙计们选择了当地的游乐园——著名的帝沃力公园,调高了一辆摩托车的马力来测试最终太空飞船发射的重力极限值。

这个组织已经完成了第二次针对以 Tycho Brahe 命名的宇宙飞船飞船的测试,Tycho Brahe 生活在是16世纪丹麦,以他极为准确的天文观测(当时没有望远镜)闻名世界。在2010年一次能量短缺造成一个阀门被冻结,致使发射停止。2011年他们又卷土重来,这次火箭成功的被发射并升空致2.8千米的高空并在之后由于一个不明的异常状况使引擎关闭。

   E1FU.jpg


和轨道飞行不同,亚轨道飞行实际上只是一个抛物线形的过程,他的缩略图看起来像个巨大的倒U行从地球到太空再返回,整个过程大约15分钟左右。

通过每一次失败的发射测试,哥本哈根亚轨道组织即将成功反驳那些持否定态度, 认为太空旅行的技术和研发过于太复杂、昂贵和尖端而不适合一小群民间力量努力挑战的人。测试中的错误和意外对于他们越是危险的,则越有帮助。这就是为什么哥本哈根亚轨道组织强调不间断测试整个系统的价值。“我的们无数次用价格便宜的原型火箭去测试,” Peter 解释,他取消了其他三个潜艇项目的工作。“如果想做的更更好,就要花更多的时间,更高的成本。“基本上,如果质量太高了那么太空火箭将永远也无法完成。

火箭引擎,发射逃脱系统和降落伞构成了整个测试系统。自哥本哈根亚轨道组织抛弃上下级制度和失去联邦政府和商业资金资助的空间项目后, Kristian 解释说,他的团队可以在五分钟内从一个修订后的草图设计出一个改进的原型。这甚至高于他以前效力的公司——NASA的效率,Kristian在那里辅助设计了新的月球探测器并合著了该机构的人类集成设计手册。

R71R.jpg
静态测试中的HEAT-1XP火箭引擎。推力是约7吨。它的推力相当于一头精力充沛的成年大象。

在播出我们的视频之前,我们咨询了 Kristian 最新的航天器研究进展和一个最终载人飞船发射日期。他简短,模糊,撩人地回答了我们:“新太空舱即将到了到来并将更加…”(link)。另一个发动机的测试,和另一个太空舱的制造将在这个月底完成。这个团队还没有确定第一次载人发射的具体日期。而这次发射将把将把 Peter 送入子轨道。在那之前这群人正在竭力放下身份筹集资金以保持研究进度,往好的一面去想。这成为了他们的日常生活。当我们问 Kristian 什么对令他担心时,他想了一会儿。“我恐怕不知道把人送上天后接下来要干什么。”[Arthur viaMotherboard]
+5  科创币    美味的氰化钾    2013/01/17 感谢分享
来自:航空航天 / 喷气推进
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badboy-fly
12年1个月前 IP:未同步
488873
在XX连射都难啊[s:275]
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rong
12年1个月前 IP:未同步
488883
国外民间科技的发展土壤确实是某国八马难追的,沒有好的土壤,那会结出很好的果实?
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回忆
12年1个月前 IP:未同步
488885
发射火箭不难,看你用什么办法发射而已。
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肖阳
11年7个月前 IP:未同步
548151
为大韩民国感到悲哀。。。。。罗号
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blueness
9年9个月前 IP:天津
766245
Anyone with some brains and lots of courage can build their own space rocket using everyday, off-the-shelf products. We recently flew to Denmark to meet the founders of Copenhagen Suborbitals, a non-profit open-source D.I.Y. space endeavor.


Read more here:
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Watch more episodes of Spaced Out here: XXXXXXXXXXXXX/Spaced-Out

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blueness
9年9个月前 IP:天津
766246
Spaced Out: Open Source Outer Space
XAVIER AARONSON
December 18, 2012 // 12:35 PM EST


Anyone with enough brains and balls can build their own rocket and fly it to space. Or at least that’s what the non-profit, open source space project Copenhagen Suborbitals wants to XXXXXXXX September, Motherboard scuttled out to Denmark to meet the pioneers behind this new wave in do-it-yourself space exploration to find out how these backyard space rockets are made. Founded in 2008 by two amateur engineers and entrepreneurs, Kristian von Bengston and Peter Madsen, Copenhagen Suborbitals is now comprised of a coterie of 20-plus specialists determined to create the first homemade, manned spacecraft to go into suborbital flight.If successful--a manned launch is projected for sometime in the next few years--Denmark would be the fourth country in the world, after China, to successfully launch a manned rocket into space. What’s exceptional about such a feat, if completed, will be Kristian and Peter's ability to do so on a shoestring budget of a few hundreds of thousands of dollars, versus the tens of millions of dollars it costs government-funded agencies and the rising tide of private companies like SpaceX, Virgin Galactic or XXXXXXXXXXd so far, their accomplishments are impressive: their solid-and-liquid-fuel rocket, the HEAT-1X, is the first "amateur" rocket flown with a payload of a full-size crash test dummy, and the first to perform a successful Main Engine Cut-Off, or MECO command, and the first launched from a "low budget" sea-based platform. It's also the most powerful amateur rocket ever flown.


TESTING OF LAUNCH ESCAPE SYSTEM AND ITS TYCHO DEEP SPACE CAPSULE WITH CRASH-TEST DUMMY RANDY ON BOARD. (CREDIT: THOMAS PEDERSEN/COPENHAGEN SUBORBITALS)


If you’re trying to go to space, there’s no point in being tight-lipped about it. By making the spaceflight project open-source, Copenhagen Suborbitals were not only able to attract space-crazed specialists to volunteer their human capital in exchange for being part of something new and exciting, but they also raised donations, product support and constructive feedback from avid followers from all over the world. They haven't specifically said how much they need to raise, but they estimate that a typical launch should eventually cost 50,000 Euros, or about $63,000 dollars. Today, they continue to raise donations using an IndieGogo campaign.

THIS IS THE LATEST SKETCH FOR COPENHAGEN SUBORBITALS TYCHO DEEP SPACE II CAPSULE. THESE OPEN-SOURCE SKETCHES AND DESIGN INVITE OTHERS TO SUGGEST AMELIORATIONS TO EXISTING GEOMETRY AND SUBSYSTEMS. (CREDIT: KRISTIAN VON BENGSTON)


One man’s kitchen sink valve is another rocket man’s missing component. A D.I.Y. spaceflight project can start with a good rummage at your local plumbing or hardware store. With everyday, off-the-shelf products, the guys behind Copenhagen Suborbitals found cheaper solutions to expensive, complex systems.“Instead of trying to invent our own valve for instance, why not buy one that’s been produced maybe a million times,” explained Kristian. He said they used a hair dryer in one of the first rocket tests in order to prevent one of the valves from freezing XXXXXpenhagen Suborbitals doesn’t operate within limits but rather works around edges. Money and technology are hard to come by, sure, but limitations can often be a blessing in disguise. Instead of shelling out money they didn’t have in order to rent an expensive centrifuge at a NASA research center, the Copenhagen guys went to their local amusement park, the legendary Tivoli Gardens, and turned up the levels on a mechanical ride in order to test a g-force threshold for the eventual launch of their XXXXXXXXXXXXe pair has twice test launched their Tycho Brahe spacecraft--named after the 16th century Danish astronomer known for his remarkably accurate astronomical observations made without the aid of a telescope. In 2010 a power shortage caused a valve to freeze shut, which prevented launch. In 2011 the rocket was successfully launched, reaching an altitude of 2.8 kilometers (1.7 mi) before the engine was shut off due to an undisclosed anomaly.

AS OPPOSED TO AN ORBITAL TRAJECTORY, A SUBORBITAL FLIGHT IS ESSENTIALLY A PARABOLIC FLIGHT THAT LOOKS LIKE A MASSIVE U-TURN FROM EARTH TO SPACE AND BACK, IN A MATTER OF ROUGHLY 15 MINUTES.


With each failed launch test, Copenhagen Suborbitals get closer to disproving the idea that space travel is too complex, expensive and sophisticated an endeavor for the little guys to take on. Mistakes and accidents are as helpful as they are dangerous, which is why Copenhagen Suborbitals emphasizes the value on continual testing of systems. “My constant fight is to keep the quality low,” explained Peter, who cut his engineering teeth on three submarine projects. “If the work is extra good, it takes extra long, and costs extra more.” Basically, if the quality gets too high, then the space rocket will never get XXXXXXXXXXXcket engines, launch escape systems and parachutes make up the gamut of systems that get tested. Since Copenhagen Suborbitals is bereft of the red tape and regulations characteristic of federally or commercially funded space projects, Kristian explained that his team can go from a revised sketch to an improved prototype, sometimes in less than five minutes. That's far quicker than NASA, of course, where he helped to design new moon rovers and co-authored the agency'sHuman Integration Design Handbook.

STATIC TEST OF THE HEAT-1XP ROCKET ENGINE. THE THRUST IS OF ABOUT 7 TONS. THAT’S LIKE THE POWER OF A CHARGING ADULT ELEPHANT. (CREDIT: COPENHAGEN SUBORBITALS)


Days before airing our video, we checked in with Kristian to get the latest update on the progress of their spacecraft and an eventual date for their first manned launch to take place. He got back to us briefly, tantalizing in his vagueness: “new capsule coming up and much more…” (He's charted CO's progress in 2012 in an elegant, impressive timeline on his Wired blog.)There's another engine test scheduled for the end of the month, and development of another capsule. The team haven't yet set a firm date for the first manned launch, which will send Peter into sub-orbit. Until then, the pair are trying to keep their head down, raise funds, and stay on schedule, just like the pros. It's a routine they clearly relish. When we asked Kristian what scare him most, he thought for a moment. “I’m afraid I won’t know what to do next if this actually works.” TOPICS: spaced out, space, diy, maker, hacker, videos
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只是烟火
9年9个月前 IP:江苏
766264
老外的动手能力真的很强。
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