MSimon wrote:Motors operate on current. There is a trade off in winding density between more wire in a slot vs insulation. So you are probably going to want a voltage down converter. Adding weight and efficiency concerns.
Electro
magnetic motors, yes. Jefimenko-style electro
static motors? (No coils.)
MSimon wrote:Now a down converter with SC coils might work.
Please elucidate.
93143 wrote:Just in case you haven't heard of it:
TAN = Thrust Augmented Nozzle...
I have. I'm seeking a paradigm beyond chemical propulsion, but any assistance yielded by chemicals is still appreciated.
93143 wrote:As for the situation I described lowering ozone production, it might - the combustion product of H2 and O2 is H2O, and... yeah. Possibly...
Cool. Maybe just a little H2O would help here and there, but low atmosphere cruise should be done with air only to minimize propellant mass, if possible.
93143 wrote:Who says it has to be external motors? I was thinking a couple of big engine ducts integrated into the airframe, running right past the reactors on either side. The fans would have to be far enough forward to be capable of feeding deflector ducts for VTOL. (Unfortunately the logistics of rotating nacelles aren't very good; I've reluctantly decided to go with dedicated downward-thrusting rockets for lunar/Mars VTOL, at least for the forward thrust axis - it's possible the back end nozzles could gimbal enough to do double-duty... a vertically-oriented strut-landing rocket shape wouldn't have this problem, but it has other logistical issues...)
I don't want to think about SSTA until SSTO is whupped. By "external" I meant external to the vacuum chamber, not necessarily external to the fuselage. My vehicle baseline is sort of a blend of Pye Wacket
and X-33
![Image](http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Gallery/Photo/X-33/Small/ED98-44831-4.jpg)
,
with redundant, embedded vertical lift fans (8?) and forward-thrusting turbines (4?), whose inlets are
maybe integrated with the intake ductwork for QED/ARC. All upper/lower surface intakes/exhausts sealable for reentry. Metallic TPS.
93143 wrote:I can't imagine your rotary power transmission scheme being lighter or less bulky than a handful of well-isolated UHVDC power lines completely internal to the vehicle.
"Complicated. Bulkier." That's sort of why I brought up direct heating via alphas. Here are some well-isolated UHVDC power lines for 800KV:
kunkmiester wrote:why bother with VTOL, especially at this point?
Because Polywell, if it works, makes it possible (and I'm not getting any younger). Less ground-based infrastructure (runways, launch towers, cryo farms, ...) is very desirable. Hastens the day when peasants like me can own space hoppers.
kunkmiester wrote:Perhaps water would serve as an "afterburner" fuel. It'd be used when taking off to provide extra thrust, and on the start to the orbital run, and in orbit where there's no air. You could do the same with H2 probably. Use it where you need it, but if you have to loiter at all, you'd make sure you'd have enough thrust with air to cruise.
That's pretty much how I see it,
if air by itself is not good enough.
93143 wrote:I'm not sure Earth has any airstrips that could handle a 3000-ton delta-wing spaceplane...
3000 tons -- assuming Polywell gamma emission is as bad as surmised and no improvements in shield technology. I'm hoping for a less gammas and better shields, but I'm just a dreamer.
(EDIT - Fixed dead link)