From: skunk-works-digest-owner@harbor.ecn.purdue.edu To: skunk-works-digest@harbor.ecn.purdue.edu Subject: Skunk Works Digest V2 #31 Reply-To: skunk-works-digest@harbor.ecn.purdue.edu Errors-To: skunk-works-digest-owner@harbor.ecn.purdue.edu Precedence: bulk Skunk Works Digest Wednesday, 16 December 1992 Volume 02 : Number 031 In this issue: Re: hypersonic tests SR-71 Rumors put to rest Re: Russian/French Scramjet Test (complete info) See the end of the digest for information on subscribing to the skunk-works or skunk-works-digest mailing lists and on how to retrieve back issues. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: dnadams@nyx.cs.du.edu (Dean Adams) Date: Tue, 15 Dec 92 07:17:58 MST Subject: Re: hypersonic tests larry@ichips.intel.com writes: >> Any idea which SAM booster was used in these tests? >No I don't , and in all fairness, there was another column (another page) to >the article that my source neglected to FAX me. He was supposed to FAX it >Friday PM, but it never showed up. >So the French/Russians have achieved a successful airbreathing scramjet test >for approx. 15 seconds, that achieved Mach 5! >No speculation needed guys! We're dorking around speculating about Aurora >being Mach 8, and the Russians and French actually went airbreathing to Mach 5! In case you didn't notice, the 12/7 AW&ST (p.47) also has an interesting hypersonic article. It is about a Sandia program to turn nuclear RV type vehicles into a delivery system for "hypersonic weapons". Some of these could carry projectiles that impact at Mach 14. They would use two-stage boosters and could be launched from B-52s, ships, or ground... Another interesting note was: "Looking further ahead, the Air Force wants to launch hypervelocity missiles, rather than conventional bombs and rockets, from hypervelocity aircraft"... >If anybody gets the full poop, please go ahead and post it. AW&ST normally arrives here on Monday, but the 12/14 issue was a no-show. It should be here on Tuesday. - -dean ------------------------------ From: Ron Schweikert Date: Tue, 15 Dec 92 9:41:42 MST Subject: SR-71 Rumors put to rest Finally, I can add something to the list here! (BTW, I really appreciate the research and postings on Aurora and peripheral issues...) I worked on the SR-71 for 5+ years as a maintenance person. I was stationed at Beale AFB from Feb. 1975 - Sept. 1980. I took 7 two-month TDY tours to Kadena AB, Okinawa, and two tours to Mildenhall. There was nothing magical about Kadena AB, but like someone said, there was a large hump in the middle of the runway. When the SR (or *any*) plane landed, it would "disappear" from view, depending of course on where you were viewing. The hangers that we kept the Habus in were on the "Navy" side of the flight line about halfway down the runway. When viewing the takeoff from the runway end (as crew chief I did this many, many times) the plane could (if the aircrew was showing off) disappear about halfway down the runway (going over the hump) and not be seen again until you saw it's perfect silouette (sp) going almost straight up about 15 seconds later. (He'd take off and hold it close to the runway...suck up the gear and once he'd gotten the speed, pull it almost straight up). This was done usually just on takeoffs over the ocean (one runway end was close to the ocean). Nothing secret either. There is a road that goes between the runway end and the ocean that allows you to get to the "Navy side" of the flightline. If you parked there you could watch all the end of runway preparations for flight. You got an even better view from the golf course as one of the holes overlooked the runway end. I love all the SR rumors. They never ceased to amaze me, especially when the people spreading them were on Kadena as well. All they had to do is drive by and they could see whatever they wanted (regarding the "underground" hangers etc. Regarding "Habu", there were several correct postings. It is an indigenous, poisonous snake, apparently VERY aggressive. In the 9th SRW command office there is a large one in formaldehyde. Wouldn't want to meet it in the jungle! There were patches with the Habu on it that you could buy. We also painted one on one of the planes (975???). It also said "Ichi Ban" (#1) underneath. I'd love to launch the plane one more time... - -- ============================================================================= Ron Schweikert e-mail ron@eatdust.uswest.com U S WEST Information Technologies Denver, Colorado 80202 phone (303) 595-2801 ============================================================================= ------------------------------ From: larry@ichips.intel.com Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1992 17:05:20 -0800 Subject: Re: Russian/French Scramjet Test (complete info) As described in an AW&ST story in the 12/14+21 issue, the Russians and the French have successfully launched an axisymmetric SCRAMJET atop a Russian missile. Russia's CIAM (Central Institute of Aviation Motors) designed the engine, the Soyuz Design Bureau manufactured the powerplant, and the Fakel Moscow Design Bureau modified the SAM missile that carried the test engine (there is a photograph of the launch configuration, with a close-up of the scramjet test package). The SAM missile was modified to give better flight trajectory. The scramjet was an axisymmetric one (a cylindrical-shaped engine with a cone shaped diffuser (inlet spike)) with an 8.9 inch diameter inlet and was 47.2 inches long. I couldn't make out any details of the nozzle (I had a poor FAX copy). The scramjet also incorporated an improved fuel control system that modified the flow rates used in the first successful Russian scramjet test. The successful test occurred Nov. 17 from a site near Priozersk in Kazakhstan. About 17 sec. before attaining a maximum altitude of almost 85,306 ft., at a speed of M3.5, the scramjet achieved subsonic combustion for about 6-7 sec. Immediately following this, about 10 sec. before reaching maximum mission altitude (this gives further proof that SAMs can reach this high and how fast they go at this altitude :) ), and at Mach 5, the scramjet transitioned to supersonic combustion, which was sustained for about 15 sec. The mission maximum speed was Mach 5.5 due to exhaustion of liquid hydrogen and climbing engine temperatures. This beat the old Russian supersonic combustion record of 5 sec. set about one year ago. The modified trajectory of the SAM missile, and the improved fuel controls were responsible for the increased period of supersonic combustion. The scramjet had three sets of fuel injectors and carried about 37 pounds of liquid hydrogen fuel that was also used as an engine coolant, in that the liquid hydrogen was first circulated through the engine to pick up thermal energy, and then injected into the scramjet's combustor as a gas. At the conclusion of the test, the scramjet crashed to the ground, where it remains unrecovered as of last week. They are confident that it will soon be found. U.S. officials estimate that the French contributed as little as $200,000 to the effort. They did not provide any test hardware, nor did they participate in any pre-launch ground tests. The agreement between the Russians and the French was signed last September. Talks began in April. Eight French representatives were present at the launch made up of government and French aerospace company representatives. The agreement gives French aerospace industry access to the data generated by the launch. About 50 parameters were measured in flight, and telemetered to the ground. French nationals are participating in the data reduction and analysis process. Analysis should be completed in two to three months. According to Francois Falempin, manager for hypersonic activities at France's Onera aerospace research agancy (which was the lead French agency in on the agreement and the only French concern directly involved) they are in the very preliminary stages of discussing additional flight tests with the Russians. In the longer term, tests involving a free-flying vehicle that would more closely resemble a real hydrogen fuelled scramjet that could be used for an aerospace plane, that would be almost 20 feet long, would seperate from its rocket booster at around Mach 8, and would fly in scramjet mode for as long as 1 minute (there is a drawing of such a scramjet test package, and also a drawing of how it might be mated to its rocket booster). It's ironic that at the same time as this Russian-French scramjet test, the US X-30 effort is withering. Although we are about 4 years ahead of the competition, the NASP program has been all but abandoned by almost everyone, except the current administration. The replacement program that US officials are now trying to put together includes launching subscale scramjets atop Minuteman 2 missiles beginning in 1994. Larry ------------------------------ End of Skunk Works Digest V2 #31 ******************************** To subscribe to skunk-works-digest, send the command: subscribe skunk-works-digest in the body of a message to "listserv@harbor.ecn.purdue.edu". If you want to subscribe something other than the account the mail is coming from, such as a local redistribution list, then append that address to the "subscribe" command; for example, to subscribe "local-skunk-works": subscribe skunk-works-digest local-skunk-works@your.domain.net A non-digest (direct mail) version of this list is also available; to subscribe to that instead, replace all instances of "skunk-works-digest" in the commands above with "skunk-works". Back issues are available for anonymous FTP from harbor.ecn.purdue.edu, in /pub/skunk-works/digest/vNN.nMMM (where "NN" is the volume number, and "MMM" is the issue number).