Re: Level of Detail?

[damocles@nostromo.gate.net (Randy Vice)]

On Tue 15-Apr-1997  8:36a, bgarmer@tsc.net wrote:

BG> Okay - almost anything is technically possible but you have to make sure
BG> that the launch doesn't attract attention.  The earlier suggestion for a
BG> ComSat that just happened to "fail" meets that goal but the size of
BG> vehicle for the LEO-L5-LEO would attract some serious unwanted attention.
BG> If not from NASA (What the hell or you/did you launch?) then from the
BG> other space power (What the hell did the Americans launch?).

My orginal portion of the old thread talked about having a third party (Proton
export type) launch (say from Australia) a GEO that explodes in orbit during
orbit transfer.  What would happen would be the fake outer layier of the
sat/pam would be blown away by pyrotechnic charges.  Ballons would also be
released and inflated and a stealthy sat/pam would mosey on along out of
prying eyes of NASA/fUSSR.  The NASA/fUSSR would see a typical debrie zinging
off in a typical explosion pattern.  Lyods of London get to pay off the
insurance policy. Using a high output fusion plant on the pam should have
enough propellant to do the LEO-L5-LEO movement since we are substituting
electrical power for the most (not all of course) volume of propellant in a
chemical reaction engine.  Heck, you could use the magnet bottle tech and
create a nozzel by magnet fields so we can crank up the velocity out of a
typical sized 5# thruster.  The sat fusion system could be the low output,
long duration type of the boltholes and could kick the pam's fusion plant back
online once the recall was recieved.  It doesn't need the megawatt output,
since we are talking a relatively few transponder and a camera system or two
plus the onboard computer system and station keeping ion (or plasma) engines.
 

BG> I would have to dig out the figures for the B-Scoop somewhere but the
BG> figure of 100 times the diameter of the comsat would be about right for a
BG> first order quess.  The hydrogen in GEO orbit has a big velocity vector
BG> on it (away from the sun).  You would have to either overcome that vector
BG> or use it (solar sail). 

Which could be another way of transferring comsat around once it's "activated"
in whatever storage orbit it's in.

 This would mean that the accelerating this
BG> hydrogen as a propellent would have this high bias power requirement.  

Well, we are talking megawatts here of unused protential from a MP fusion
plant. :^)

I
BG> don't know if this is clear - I just did my taxes so I am not thinking
BG> straight;).


I'm not saying it would be a *easy* job, I'm just saying there are ways around
this issue using existing MP tech.


BG> Yes but I can pack 8 sats per launcher with each launcher much smaller
BG> than a normal GEO launcher.  So instead of 1-2 launch vehicles I could
BG> have 4-6 launch vehicles and have a much higher redundacy (reliability)
BG> for the post war initial rebuilding period.  In addition, I have a
BG> worldwide surveillance capability that a GEO or Moon options do not give.

That would be ideal once the project was completely underway in a secure CONUS
enviroment.  I'm talking something more immediate and out of the tube use.

: damocles@nostromo.gate.net :   Bruce Morrow,a man before and after his time:
:"The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the     :
:United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms."      :
: - Samuel Adams :  Morrow Project Planning: Looking forward to the end!     :