Here’s a Better Use for Fighter Jets: Launching Satellites

For decades, the human race has been deploying satellites into orbit. And in all that time, the method has remained the same – a satellite is placed aboard a booster rocket which is then launched from a limited number of fixed ground facilities with limited slots available. This process not only requires a month or more of preparation, it requires years of planning and costs upwards of millions of dollars.

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CrazyNeutrino said:

Here’s a Better Use for Fighter Jets: Launching Satellites

For decades, the human race has been deploying satellites into orbit. And in all that time, the method has remained the same – a satellite is placed aboard a booster rocket which is then launched from a limited number of fixed ground facilities with limited slots available. This process not only requires a month or more of preparation, it requires years of planning and costs upwards of millions of dollars.

more…

Seems like an ideal application for the Lockheed SR71 Blackhawk.

blackbird.

M21

“d21 Drone“http://www.sr-71.org/blackbird/d-21.php

Tamb said:

CrazyNeutrino said:

Here’s a Better Use for Fighter Jets: Launching Satellites

For decades, the human race has been deploying satellites into orbit. And in all that time, the method has remained the same – a satellite is placed aboard a booster rocket which is then launched from a limited number of fixed ground facilities with limited slots available. This process not only requires a month or more of preparation, it requires years of planning and costs upwards of millions of dollars.

more…

Seems like an ideal application for the Lockheed SR71 Blackhawk.

Maybe an updated replacement is in the works?

Could they use SR71s aren’t they in retirement?

none are operational. the U-2 is still used by NASA i believe. but they are easier to maintain.

Tthey will probably use drones to do it

CrazyNeutrino said:

Tamb said:

CrazyNeutrino said:

Here’s a Better Use for Fighter Jets: Launching Satellites

For decades, the human race has been deploying satellites into orbit. And in all that time, the method has remained the same – a satellite is placed aboard a booster rocket which is then launched from a limited number of fixed ground facilities with limited slots available. This process not only requires a month or more of preparation, it requires years of planning and costs upwards of millions of dollars.

more…

Seems like an ideal application for the Lockheed SR71 Blackhawk.

Maybe an updated replacement is in the works?

Could they use SR71s aren’t they in retirement?

The Chinook was in retirement as was the Missouri but when need arose.

Boris said:

none are operational. the U-2 is still used by NASA i believe. but they are easier to maintain.

That’s a better idea Boris.

d21 Drone

SR-72

I don’t think you could use the U-2/TR-1.

I think that this satellite launching thing stems from the Anti-SATellite (ASAT) programme of the late ’80s and the ’90s.

I think it was Boeing that came up with an air-launched ASAT missile that depended on an F-15 making a zoom climb to a high altitude, and releasing the missile in a ‘ballistic toss’ from where it could carry itself to low-Earth orbit.

Ain’t no way you’re doing a zoom climb or a ballistic toss with a U-2/TR-1.

ni the U-2 is too lightweight. i just put that in to show as far as that era spy planes this was the only one still in service.

Boris said:

ni the U-2 is too lightweight. i just put that in to show as far as that era spy planes this was the only one still in service.

What about RC-135s?

When they show up in your neighbourhood, you know the Americans are definitrly interested.

RC-135, well i was more commenting on overflying aircraft at very high altitude. i mean we could talk wild weasels and all.

:-)

Boris said:

RC-135, well i was more commenting on overflying aircraft at very high altitude. i mean we could talk wild weasels and all.

:-)

Wasn’t aware that wild weasels had wings.

roughbarked said:

Wasn’t aware that wild weasels had wings.

And, they can launch missiles.

captain_spalding said:

roughbarked said:

Wasn’t aware that wild weasels had wings.

And, they can launch missiles.

off to google.

though the WW weren’t strictly recon they were used in conjunction with the sr-71. they would send one in so that the enemy would fire up their air defence radar which the sr-71 would then record.

roughbarked said:

captain_spalding said:

roughbarked said:

Wasn’t aware that wild weasels had wings.

And, they can launch missiles.

off to google.

problem solved: Wild Weasel is a code name given by the United States Armed Forces, specifically the US Air Force.

Since we’re talking about launching satellites, I put the following graph together earlier today. It’s a plot of all rockets that can launch satellites smaller than 1 tonne into LEO (including one each from Israel, North Korea, Brazil and India). Almost all of them are 3-stage or 4-stage. The smallest is a Japanese rocket 16.5 metres long and 0.74 metres in diameter. That’s possible for a fighter jet – sort of. All other satellite-launching rockets have a diameter exceeding 1 metre.

As for speed, to get a satellite up requires a Delta V of at least 9.3 km/s (on the equator in the direction of Earth’s rotation). The fastest fighter jet is capable of very close to 1 km/s. So it’s clear that almost all of the speed has to come from the rocket.

I’m working together with another forum member on getting into space for less than the FUEL cost of a fighter jet.

mollwollfumble said:

The fastest fighter jet is capable of very close to 1 km/s.

Actually about half that, and that’s with the airframe ‘clean’ i.e. with nothing stored externally.
The SR-71 could do mach 3 or about 1 km per second, but no fighter can go that fast.

PS don’t forget Australian Rocketry’s Thunda Down Under

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-25

2,981.5 km/h over a 500 km closed circuit on 5 October 1967. no payload.

The Wild Weasel programme (motto: YGBSM*) was more for hitting ground-based radars, not shooting satellites into space. They would ‘troll’ in order to get the SAM radars to activate then another aircraft (or themselves) would shoot a missile to destroy the radar (typically a HARM, Homing Anti-Radiation Missile).

The SR-71 never launched the D-21; it was launched by a modified version of the A-12 (which itself is a cousin of the SR-71, thus the confusion). They did a few launches but the crews hated it; one aircraft even collided with it’s D-21 after launch and the programme was cancelled for the A-12 (it continued with the B-52, though).

YGBSM = You gotta be shitting me!