EAS 4710 – AEROSPACE DESIGN 2



EAS 4710 – AEROSPACE DESIGN 2

Progress Report – 1

January 18, 2006

Team 1

Program Manager – Morgan Stevens aerodude@ufl.edu

Aerodynamics Specialist – Liana Gregory liana8op@ufl.edu

Propulsion Specialist – Brian Garner bipen@ufl.edu

Trajectories and Orbits – Nathan Kemper nkemper@

Thermal Protection – Ez Hassan ezadel@ufl.edu

Structural Design – Doug Jones dbjones@ufl.edu

First meeting - Friday, January 13, 2006

After first meeting with our group last Wednesday the 11th, we discussed our goals for the Friday group project meeting. The first order was to exchange email addresses and designate one person to design a web page for the group. Doug Jones took charge of the web page where we can continually see our progress. We also have a forum page to which we can post question and replies online, rather than trying to play email tag. This also ensures that every team member can read the same report or design questions that everyone has. Those web pages are:

this page holds updates, news, reports, and tech info

is the forum for questions

On Friday, our goal was to choose a team name and start the task of designing our CEV (crew exploration vehicle). Some clever names were such as Total Eclipse, Spacecraft 6, 6 DOE, Satan’s Chariot, and a few others. The one suggested by Brian was Great Gig in the Sky, in reference to a Pink Floyd song on the Dark Side of the Moon album. We would like to incorporate a number designation corresponding to the year, team members, and seating capacity of the space craft. SIGG-6 is the title song backwards along with the significant number. The name backwards is catchy and relates to how the orbital craft will enter the atmosphere.

The next order of business was choosing between a space plane or space craft. A plane has some advantages as does the orbital pods of past NASA launches. We decided that a plane would be good for landing like the current STS missions. However, the space pod or capsule idea is more feasible for the mission at hand. We discussed the benefits of air breathing take off propulsion verses single rocketry. Hybrid liquid-solid rockets like polyethylene and nitrogen fuel systems. Topics such as heat shielding, aerodynamics for reentry, and the cost of carrying dead weight were what eventually brought us to the conclusion that a space capsule attached to a payload compartment would be the best was to satisfy the mission statement.

Mission Statement

A space transportation system capable of carrying astronauts to rendezvous with and dock at the International Space Station for a given period of time, and then to return the crew safely to Earth

Our design calls for a 6 man space capsule which is attached to a standard pressurized payload compartment. This area will sustain the crew members onboard and is the first option for the craft’s flight. From here, there will be up to three payload compartments that can be attached to the main stage for the transfer of goods up to the International Space Station. The three separate payload sections will only be used to transfer materials up to the ISS then be discarded to burn up on reentry before the capsule comes home. Preliminary design is that the three sections can be 10, 20, or 30 foot long depending on the mission profile. If only supplies and crew need to be sent to the ISS, then the 10 foot section is the most economical to send up. If a major corporation would like research or a new section of the ISS is to be connected, than that piece of the space station can be preassembled in the 30 foot payload compartment, rather than in 2 or more separate shuttle launches. By dropping the dead weight of the payload shell for reentry, the space capsule can return with standard technology and recovery systems. A parachute water landing has been proven time and time again to be very safe and secure. The only waste that the CEV has is the lightweight shell of the payload compartment.

Goals for the Next Week

The work for the next meeting was divided into a market survey of each specialist’s area.

Brian was going to research current rocket and booster design. The goals were to find thrust, weight, height, size, and reusability in current technology.

Doug is researching the proposed skin of the payload sections’ shell. He should find out what is the best height for the diameter and skin thickness. This will help in our preliminary weight estimations.

Liana is studying old capsule design. This will help us find the right size and shape capsule to carry 6 CEV crew members home safely. Some of her research might include the Apollo, Gemini, Mercury, and STS missions.

Nathan should research current docking arrangements for the ISS and proposed CEV. Also, for his astronautics, he was looking into the trust needed for reentry from 400 to 120 KM of earth’s atmosphere.

Morgan’s job is to take the basic design analysis from the specialists and set up preliminary weight estimation for the CEV SIGG-6. This will be assuming 6 crew members, 10, 20, or 30 foot payload section, and one or more booster rockets to launch the vehicle.

This is a good step forward for the design of the CEV. Historical data is handy as market research for a new space craft. What has worked before, should work again.

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