Mar 102012
 

This design was featured in the F-23 derivatives article in the recent V3N2 issue of Aerospace Projects Review. The unusual geometry was an attempt as radar reflection shaping.

You can download a 15.5 megabyte version of this diagram; the link is HERE. To access it, you will need to enter a username and password. The username: the first word in the body of the text on page 8 of APR issue V3N2. The password: the first word in the body of the text on page 24 of the same issue. Note that both are case sensitive.

 Posted by at 11:19 pm
Mar 102012
 

A Rockwell handout card (late 1980’s to 1990 or so) showing an artists impression of their early NASP configuration. This is the same design as shown HERE, but in painting rather than model form.

You can download 7.9 and 1.1 megabyte JPG files of the illustrations. The links to the JPG files are HERE and HERE. To access them, you will need to enter a username and password. The username: the first word in the body of the text on page 5 of APR issue V1N1. The password: the first word in the body of the text on page 11 of the same issue. Note that both are case sensitive.

 Posted by at 9:04 pm
Feb 282012
 

Another PR card showing an X-30 NASP configuration, this being a 1990 Rockwell configuration. It’s similar to but noticeably fatter than the earlier generic configuration (shown HERE).

You can download 6.7 and 2.2 megabyte JPG files of the illustrations. The links to the JPG files are HERE and HERE. To access them, you will need to enter a username and password. The username: the first word in the body of the text on page 5 of APR issue V1N1. The password: the first word in the body of the text on page 11 of the same issue. Note that both are case sensitive.

 Posted by at 12:31 pm
Feb 242012
 

Another PR card showing an X-30 NASP configuration, this being an early design modeled off of the original du Pont configuration.

You can download 3.15 and 2.2 megabyte JPG files of the illustrations. The links to the JPG files are HERE and HERE. To access them, you will need to enter a username and password. The username: the first word in the body of the text on page 5 of APR issue V1N1. The password: the first word in the body of the text on page 11 of the same issue. Note that both are case sensitive.

 Posted by at 12:03 am
Feb 172012
 

In the days before the web came to domination, aerospace companies and government organizations would stamp out glossy propaganda/PR informational cards by the truckload. The X-30 NASP (National Aero Space Plane) program was no different. Below is one such card released by NASA. Note that first flight was expected by 2000 or so… just slightly behind schedule at this point. The design shown here is the final publicly revealed configuration, with the wide flat “spatula” nose. Not shown in this – or pretty much any – illustration are the rocket engines needed to put the spaceplane into a circular orbit.

You can download 2.7 and 3.5 megabyte JPG files of the illustrations. The links to the JPG files are HERE and HERE. To access them, you will need to enter a username and password. The username: the first word in the body of the text on page 5 of APR issue V1N1. The password: the first word in the body of the text on page 11 of the same issue. Note that both are case sensitive.

 Posted by at 7:49 pm
Feb 162012
 

A NASA illustration of the NERVA nuclear rocket, dated December 1963. Near the top of the engine are two vernier rocket nozzles for thrust vector control.

If NERVA is a subject of interest to you, I have scheduled a trip to Washington D.C the last week of March for the express purpose of spending an entire business week in a NASA archive doing scanning and photocopying and photoing of as much as I can, starting with NERVA, moving to SPS and then to early shuttle concepts. I’ve visited this archive before, always for no more than a day, and that was only enough to show me that they had a lot, not enough to let me actually copy what they had. This time will be different. To help me pay for the trip (travel is *not* cheap these days), I am taking subscriptions or investors or whatever you want to call it. If you give me $100, when I return I will send you DVDs that will include all scans, and scans of all photocopies, and all photos taken at the archive.  This offer is good up to the time I leave; once the trip is underway, it will be closed. If interested, either comment here or send me an email: scottlowtherAT up-ship.com

You can download a 13.4 megabyte JPG file of the illustration. The link to the JPG file is HERE. To access it, you will need to enter a username and password. These are available on the first page of the Aerospace Projects Review V3N2 Addendum (available HERE) Note that both are case sensitive.

 Posted by at 10:54 pm
Feb 052012
 

Conceptual artwork from 1967 depicting a Mach 10 to Mach 14 hypersonic transport. Hydrogen burning scramjets would provide cruise propulsion at an altitude of 110,000 to 140,000 feet. No further data is available apart from what can be determined from the artwork. There are 136 seats, relatively few for an aircraft that is clearly quite large. The general configuration is similar to the hypersonic testbed previously posted HERE, especially the propulsion system & inlet arrangement.

You can download a 9.7 megabyte JPG file of the artwork; the link  is HERE. To access it, you will need to enter a username and password. The username and password are listed on page 2 of APR issue V0N0.  Note that both are case sensitive.

 Posted by at 7:38 pm
Jan 302012
 

Full-color artwork photographed at the archive of the Ira G. Ross Aerospace Museum in Niagara Falls; this original piece was painted on thick matte board. Scanning was not an option, but photography worked pretty well. This is the second of two photos.

You can download a 3.4 megabyte JPG file of the artwork; the link  is HERE. To access it, you will need to enter a username and password. The username and password are listed on page 2 of APR issue V0N0.  Note that both are case sensitive.

 Posted by at 11:58 am
Jan 292012
 

A publicity photo of the BAT (Bell Advanced Tiltrotor), a circa 1984 concept for a one-man attack tiltrotor to complete in the Army scout helicopter program (LHX – Light Helicopter Experimental) that led to the abortive RAH-66 Comanche. Shown here is a full-scale mockup; the prop-rotors as shown are substantially chopped down from the length they’d be on the actual aircraft. The BAT would have outperformed all other competitors except for hover performance; but the Army did not want a fixed-wing vehicle, so the BAT did not progress very far in the competition.

You can download a 3 megabyte JPG file of the artwork; the link  is HERE. To access it, you will need to enter a username and password. The username: the first word in the body of the text on page 6 of APR issue V1N3. The password: the first word in the body of the text on page 23 of the same issue. Note that both are case sensitive.

 Posted by at 12:40 am
Jan 232012
 

Full-color artwork photographed at the archive of the Ira G. Ross Aerospace Museum in Niagara Falls; this original piece was painted on thick matt board. Scanning was not an option, but photography worked pretty well.

You can download a 3.8 megabyte JPG file of the artwork; the link  is HERE. To access it, you will need to enter a username and password. The username: the first word in the body of the text on page 22 of APR issue V1N2. The password: the first word in the body of the text on page 23 of the same issue. Note that both are case sensitive (hint: neither are “Copyright”).

 Posted by at 9:09 pm