ULA wants the public to name its next rocket

[Blue-Vision]

Source: SpaceNews.com | article link

 

ULA Crowdsourcing the Name of its Next Rocket

 

I've got a good one ... Moneypit VI

 

It'll cost 2x the current price of the Atlas V, and take them until 2022 to develop it. Test launch 2024.

 

 

[DocM]

Un-snarky: another Titan, Cronus or Hyperion, or Calypso, a daughter of Atlas.

Snarky: WOMBAT (waste of money, brains and talent)

[Blue-Vision]

I'll do a non-snarky one.

 

Libra -- a nice balance of performance, quality, price, and efficiency. In short, a fresh, stable product line for the company to put its' best foot forward, with a nice marketing and awareness campaign to get the public interested in the product and rooting for them.

 

Exactly what they need to do moving ahead if they want to survive. I sincerely hope they do survive, because those are human beings with families to look after.

[FloatingFatMan]

Is it going to use an RD-180 engine?

 

If so, I vote we call it "Fireball XL5" after the Gerry Anderson show from the 60's!

[ramesees]

Friendship One

[Arachno 1D]

Microsoft Orbital v 1

[DocM]

Is it going to use an RD-180 engine?

If so, I vote we call it "Fireball XL5" after the Gerry Anderson show from the 60's!

No RD-180. Congress has outlawed a Russian engine for military & NRO launches, which is most of their business case.

[FloatingFatMan]

No RD-180. Congress has outlawed a Russian engine for military & NRO launches, which is most of their business case.

 

Darn! There goes a perfectly good name, too!

[Blue-Vision]

And they can't use the RD-181 either, even if it is meant as a drop-in replacement for the 180.

[DocM]

The RD-181 is a drop-in for the NK-33, which is why Orbital is using it in Antares 200.

[Blue-Vision]

I thought it was a drop-in for the 180 as well.

[+Warwagon MVC]

Warwagon!

[DocM]

The RD-181 is a drop-in for the NK-33, which is why Orbital is using it in Antares 200.

I thought it was a drop-in for the 180 as well.

RD-180 has 2 thrust chambers running off 1 common turbopump.

RD-180

RD-181 is 1 thrust chamber running on 1 turbopump.

RD-181

So if you use 2 RD-181 engines to get to 2 thrust chambers there are 2 turbopumps.

[Blue-Vision]

Now I'm seriously confused. It was my understanding that both engines were single, and used the closed-loop turbopump design that boosted the engine power, which was why the 180 was such a revolution in engine design when it was rediscovered in the mid 1990's in that old Soviet-era warehouse? Old M1 moon rocket tech from the late 60's and early 70's that was shelved and ordered destroyed (but never was)?

 

Unless I've got my wires (and history) crossed -- which happens a lot more than I like to admit. 

[Beittil]

Those old moonrocket engines are/were the NK-33's

[DocM]

Now I'm seriously confused. It was my understanding that both engines were single, and used the closed-loop turbopump design that boosted the engine power, which was why the 180 was such a revolution in engine design when it was rediscovered in the mid 1990's in that old Soviet-era warehouse? Old M1 moon rocket tech from the late 60's and early 70's that was shelved and ordered destroyed (but never was)?

Unless I've got my wires (and history) crossed -- which happens a lot more than I like to admit.

Kuznetsov NK-15's were used in the early N1 launches, which were upgraded to NK-33 but never flown. The only 2 N1's with NK-33 engines were scrapped. Those were the first rockets ever built by jet engine maker Kuznetsov.

Energomash RD-180, RD-191, RD-193, RD-181 etc. are derived from the retired RD-170 4-chamber/1 pump engine used in Energia.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/RD-170

[Blue-Vision]

Aha, alrighty then. I stand corrected.

 

Thank you kindly.