Up, up, and away

Mary K. Campbell Do you have what it takes to make a

space-worthy plane?

JÊÊÊk plane that operates effi-j p ^ R ciently in the air and in

^^F^H space is the current ^ H H ^ f t dream of the U.S. ÊÊT^wÊÊk Defense Department and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Some of the dream sequences include: flying from New York to Australia in thirty minutes, Tokyo in two hours; reduc­ing the expense of transporting mate­rial into space to one tenth the current estimated cost; and the ability to quickly service military space systems. For the U.S. armed forces, particular­ly the United States Air Force (USAF), this second generation aerospace plane is rapidly becoming a "must have" item. The necessity of having this type of versatile aircraft stems primarily from USAF studies done in 1985 whose findings concluded that a more responsive, less expensive air­craft was needed to complement growing military space activities.

While still very much in the devel­opmental stage, government contracts for research and constructing models for testing are taking off. The decision to build and test fly the National Aerospace Plane (NASP) will be made in 1989 according to Brigadier General Kenneth E. Staten, the NASP program manager. An actual ex­perimental plane would possibly be ready for test flight in the 1990s.Staten also stated, "The Air Force could have an operational military aerospace plane by the year 2000, and a commercial transport based on the military version could be possible by 2010." (Aviation Week and Space Technology/Oct. 13, 1986).

Right now, the main focus is on developing propulsion technology that allows single state entry into orbit. The current thrust is towards com­bined or mixed cycle hydrogen engine systems that would ingest air for a large portion of the ascent. The plane would gradually cease breathing air as it increased in velocity and left the atmosphere. Rocket power would then completely take over.

The ability to use air to help propel the plane theoretically would allow the plane to use conventional runways for takeoff and landings. The savings in landing gear and support crew, in comparison to the shuttle, would be enormous. Its flexibility in servicing military space operations would be greatly enhanced. Also, by not hav­ing to lug along huge supplies of cryogenic oxygen to use with the fuel for ascent it would allow more payload to be carried.

Elsewhere in the world The impetus for developing this na­

tional aerospace plane comes in large part from a growing concern to keep up with the Soviet Union. USAF General Robert T. Herres in 1985 stated that the North American Aerospace Defense Command had observed almost 500 Soviet missile and booster launches of various types in 1984. He further explained, "In themselves booster production capaci­ty and its technology base are all by themselves significant measures of a nation's space exploitation capabili­ty." (Aviation Week and Space Technology/Nov. 4, 1985.)

The Soviets are not the only ones to watch out for, however. Europe's Hermes spaceplane, may begin flying as early as the late 1990s to transfer crews and supplies to space stations and provide in-orbit servicing of plat­forms and satellites. The go ahead signal for the preparatory phase of the Hermes program was given last Octo­ber. Of course, Japan is also getting into the act. Japan's Institute of Space and Aeronautical Science is now look­ing into spacecraft to carry out short term experiments and provide analysis of needs for future space vehicles. "Himes" (highly maneuverable experi­mental space vehicle) according to its program's officials could be built using technology already available in Japan.

Getting it down on paper Put together the paper model aero­

space plane on the next page and take a "flight break" from studying. Gain "real world" experience in developing guidance control and lift by testing and refining this paper model. Anyone who can improve this model (not too hard to do) and translate these improvements into a diagram and mathematical gobblegook (that has meaning) can compete for an IEEE T-shirt. (Try to contain your ex­citement.) The fifteen entries with the longest flight times, complete with mathematical equations and post­marked by May 30, will receive an IEEE T-shirt. Just send the material to: IEEE Potentials, 445 Hoes Lane, P.O. Box 1331, Piscataway, NJ 08855-1331. Be sure to also state your T-shirt size~S, M, L, or XL and IEEE member number.

Construction instructions 1. Cut out the aerospace plane

paper model following the solid, black line. (Note: There is a solid, black line within the outline for the plane's tail.)

2. Crisply press all the dashed lines to create the folds. The dotted line is pressed inward. Single dashed lines are pressed outward.

3. Fold the dashed, crisply pressed lines in order of sequence starting with 1. Make sure all folds are sharp and exact. When finished, the model should look something like this:

4. You may want to secure folds with piece(s) of tape. Also, attaching a paper clip somewhere around the nose of the paper model may help.

About the author Mary K. Campbell is the Potentials

Manager. •

MAY 1987 0278-6648/0500-0043$01.00© 1987 IEEE 43

44 IEEE POTENTIALS