NationStates Jolt Archive

Ceduna Test Facility
Located at least one hundred kilometres from the nearest source of permanent human habitation the Ceduna facility had borne host to every test flight since the nations total inception some forty years ago, the site had changed dramatically since that time though however the goals remained much the same.

Meet the deadlines and produce a platform ready for production.

Although the only major work that had been conducted for nearly two years had been of an upgrading nature a small team had found itself with the task of reducing the enormous costs of space flight, especially manned flight. After minor experimentation in different fuels, more powerful rockets and a few attempts at producing an orbital vehicle that could takeoff like a traditional atmospheric craft the team believed they’d made something of a breakthrough. Working under the designation of 'Jael', which apparently had some reference to the Christian bible and meant 'he that ascends' which was of little concern to those involved.

Executive Committee Space Directive - January 12th 2006
“The continual deployment of space-vehicles is highly intensive of resources more effectively used in other projects, Aerospace Command is hereon directed to proceed with all haste to develop a single-stage Reusable Launched Vehicle of reduced cost to current methods, greater flexibility and superior performance where possible. Cost reduction of launches is of greatest importance”

The only problem being that it would cast serious scrutiny as to how they could of missed such a notion for so long, yet spent billions for little gain, before they could erase their findings the information reached the facility station chief and from then on the future of space flight within the ISTJ seemed destined to change irrevocably.
Gone would be the days of massive fuel tanks, expensive booster rockets and limited launches due to cost, if everything went according to plan this new approach would garner those involved a comfortable existence for their entire lives.
The premise was simple, use a track mounted sled, upon which are several rockets or jet engines the numbers varying as per requirements, an RLV is placed upon the sled. The sled then proceeds to roll along the track in to a declining 2.5 mile long access tunnel, enabling it to gain massive speed simply from gravity, as it reaches the bottom of this access tunnel the sled fires its engines and proceeds up the track at a 70 - 80 degree angle at a speed of Mach 2.
This method cuts down significantly on expensive booster stages, especially when jet engines are used and the launch is conducted at a raised altitude due to significantly less air resistance, a launch site at eight thousand feet would cut air resistance encountered by 25% from that at sea level.

Another discovery the team made was that such a launch method could be used to ignite ramjet engines, the ignition of ramjet & scramjet engines has one of the main problems in developing the technology further. Other applications of the track include being used as a high speed test facility.

The team presented their work personally to the Commander in Chief of Aerospace Command, what follows is largely taken from the documentation they produced:

Studies have been carried our that prove a 600mph assisted launch can reduce fuel requirements by 25% allowing a substantial increase in payload of a single-stage RLV. The launch track will provide a launch angle of 70-80 degrees, the unfortunate need for curves in the track would have to be built in at a stage where the sled is travelling at less than 400mph. A braking mechanism is going to be required unless the sled is intended to become airborne, possible braking methods include spoilers as air brakes, water braking or hooks and cables.
As for the actual sled we have selected a design similar to a railroad flatcar powered by rockets/jet engines, the variation is due to economical issues of rocket reusability and required thrust levels. Initial examples would be similar to the B-1 strategic bomber which is powered by four supersonic jet engines, at 30,000 lbs of thrust each, the final design would include modifying the tail, cut off half the wings, add two more engines on each side, and mount it on rails. The RLV needs to be aerodynamic and of compact shape, just like a missile, however since the RLV is required to glide home to land it requires a lifting body. The best known lifting body is the B-2 strategic bomber, in which the body is so wide it serves as a wing. Yet the RLV would need to be fatter as it must carry more fuel than an aircraft in fact around 80% of its mass will need to be fuel.

The report was large indeed, it covered uses and even delved in to other only marginally related areas. Such was the way with reports to the military, the more it contained the more it obviously needed to be funded.

The choices are to design a sleek pointy body to minimise aerodynamic drag it must be made twice as long to carry as much fuel, which then increases the weight. It also needs to be capable of withstanding air resistance up to Mach 3 until it leaves the atmosphere. The design requires it to be swept back much like a missile and the X-33 is generally considered the ideal design for an RLV, as it compromises between reducing air resistance and total surface area, which gives us a triangular shaped fuel tank which must be launched in to space and then glide home using its lifting body and small stub wings. Of crucial importance is to note that the RLV will be unable to fly like a conventional aircraft whilst loaded with fuel.

Now you have a supersonic sled with can produce 240,000lbs of thrust. Alternative jet engines can obviously produce more thrust per engine than those used on B-1 however they are not designed for supersonic speeds which would limit the sled to Mach and although currently the most powerful supersonic jet engines can reach Mach 2.5+ they only produce 35,000 lbs of thrust with afterburner each, one example are the engines used by commercial 777 airliners on which each engine generates 115,000 lbs of thrust.
However much thrust a jet engine can provide though it will always be outperformed by a rocket engine, the latest Rocketdyne RS-83 hydrogen-oxygen engines produce 640,000 lbs of thrust at sea level. However a jet engine can be used thousands of times, are easier to fuel, the jets suck oxygen out of the air enabling a smaller sled as the need to carry liquid oxygen is removed and can be kept ready for immediate launch which makes them useful in an interceptor role. Yet the key point remains that at least a dozen jet engines providing a thrust of 115,000 lbs of thrust each would be required to launch a single-stage RLV in to orbit, however four-six engines would be sufficient to provide the required speed to ignite ramjet engines on aircraft.

Testing proves that an X-33 size RLV can be launched at Mach 2 and into orbit off a 2.5 mile straight track under 6 Gs. However, finding a 8000 foot rise with a 45 degree slope is not simple. Another option is a curved track, which fits better with typical mountain slopes. It may even begin with a downward free roll from a nearby mountain to provide several hundred mph of free speed from gravity. However, the curve in the track must end well before the RLV reaches Mach to prevent high downward G s. One drawback with a curve is that imposes much more stress on the track and RLV, but nothing catastrophic. Steel "rib" supports may be needed on the sled to reinforce the RLV's fuel tank walls. The free roll downhill also saves fuel so the entire sled is lighter. This also makes return of the empty sled or an aborted launch much easier since it wouldn't have to be lowered, it could just roll back down and the reverse slope would slow it down.

High mountains are not essential if a tunnel track is used. It is possible to dig a two-mile declined tunnel at sea level to launch a rocket up a two-mile inclined Sky Ramp. The mining industry has the expertise to build such things. Any solid mountain can be used as depicted in this diagram, where a downward "blue" access tunnel provides a path a few thousand feet below a mountain. It connects to a perfectly inclined "green" launch tunnel. Some cutting or tunnelling is needed for almost all Sky Ramps since the Earth is unlikely to provide perfect terrain. Tunnels also muffle the launch noise.
http://www.skyramp.org/spacep1.gif
This is a very modest proposal compared to the massive railway tunnels constructed around the world. For example, the Seikan Tunnel in Japan is over 33 miles long. It provides an example of a "V" tunnel variation. A sled could start at a surface support area and simply roll down a 2.5 mile declined tunnel to gain hundred miles an hour just from gravity. As it reaches the bottom, its rockets fire as it curves upward to launch an RLV at a 75 degree angle at a speed of Mach 2. A five mile long space launch tunnel may seem expensive, but it would not make the list of the world's 100 longest railway tunnels. Another advantage of mountain launches is less air density. Air particles in our atmosphere slow spacecraft as they push upward. Few people realize that launching from 18,000 feet cuts the air resistance problem in half, and just 8000 feet cuts it 25%. Nevertheless, we currently insist on launching spacecraft from sea level, it thus presented that the greatest cost savings can be made in rocket fuel required as well as rockets themselves.

The immediate military benefits from the use of sky ramps are both defensive and offensive, sky ramp launched ramjet powered interceptors would be both flexible and cost-effective. Interceptors would be able to travel at Mach5 and although limited to twenty miles, whereas ICBMs travel as high as two hundred miles, however the interceptor would be able to fire long-range air-air missiles, which are already at a production stage and available for modification, another advantage is that the interceptor can be redirected if a target is reclassified and it can fly in a 90 degree arc to reduce the rate of closure from Mach 10 to a more manageable Mach 5. Already we have several air-air missiles with ranges in excess of one hundred miles and at 80,000 ft their range would be doubled due to the lack of air resistance, however they would required the fitting of control jets similar to those used on TOW missiles, overall though these missiles would provide a high flying ramjet powered aircraft to launch multiple low-cost missiles at targets which greatly increases the kill ratio. The only problem would come from an interceptor being forced to land at a location other than the launch site, if it had swept wings like a B-1 it could potentially glide great distances back home or a small internal jet engine could be used to help power flight home.
The use of a Mach 5 capable aircraft would enable untouchable reconnaissance as well as be fitted with JDAM munitions and deploy those with impunity, until now the major problem in achieving such an aircraft has been gaining the near Mach speed required to ignite a ramjet engine, now the solution is clear.

Finally finished with their lecture, an overly large one but unfortunately required to silence those who might cancel the dream, the decision was made at the highest levels.
Advancement of Project Jael will continue to full scale development and production once designing has been completed, the location shall be at the Ceduna Test Facility and adequate funding will be diverted from other space vehicle launch programs to Jael.

Contracts were established quickly with the major national defence companies, such companies had been closely linked to the government since the nations inception almost and for the last ten years the relationship had grown tighter. To an extent that some wondered if they were really private entities and not merely extensions of the governments influence.
The first shipments of equipment and personnel would take at least a fortnight to arrive and even then they couldn’t fully begin construction, surveys needed to be conducted and soil analysis was required to ensure sufficient properties were existent. The Ceduna facility had never been host to so many at any time since its construction and inaugural test flight so many years ago, rabid demands for housing were met with prefabricated expedient shack housing which although sturdy enough to resist the occasional harsh weather encountered were by no means comfortable.

Three weeks since Project Jael’s advancement to full scale development large quantities of personnel had arrived, experts from the mining industry, professors from universities and anyone else that had knowledge deemed crucial to the projects advancement. The transit shaft was begun first, proceeding relatively rapidly those involved at lower levels knew it would at least a year before the tunnel was even finished, let alone ready to receive construction of the track inside and the necessary air extraction vents.

OOC: Bump for an opinion I guess.

Construction of the initial tunnels was completed, track laying was within a few weeks of being ready for testing and the first launch units were already in transit. The entire project had proceeded at an extended pace, which had led to more than a few fatalities including inquisitive members of the populace, the fruits of Jael were not to be underestimated though.

The selection, surveying and initial construction on other launch sites had taken place a few weeks after Jael had achieved its first milestone - a full successful test of the launch unit - once that had been achieved further funding was secured to provide multiple launch sites across the country and potentially in other suitable nations. Though the idea of basing such a highly valued system within the grasp of another nation was truly reviled the need for global launch coverage might prove enough to override forty years of mistrust, relaxation of such ideals had begun several years ago with the acceptance of embassies.

News of the project had been relayed to the Executive Committee on a weekly basis, personal interest was rumoured to be vested in this project and despite being rumours they fuelled stories about the rewards to those who made themselves noteworthy of attention.