DARPA's STAR (Spaceplane Technology and Research) Space Cruiser
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- Опубликовано: 19 окт 2024
- The fundamental concept behind the STAR program was to maximize efficiency while minimizing cost. To achieve this goal, the craft was designed to be as small and inexpensive as possible, with only one crew member onboard. The crew compartment itself was unpressurized and only large enough for a seated astronaut, who would be required to remain in their spacesuit throughout the duration of the mission. Notably, the craft lacked key features such as hydraulics, an ejection seat, or even landing gear. Instead, it would utilize a parawing to glide back to Earth and touch down on land.
Despite its Spartan design, the STAR was intended to function as an orbital runabout, capable of carrying out a variety of missions. The craft was eight meters in length and only a meter and a half tall at its aft end, tapering down to a fine point at its nose. To optimize its transportability, the nose was designed to fold back at a hinge four meters down from the tip of the STAR, creating a compact package just four meters in length.
In terms of deployment, the Shuttle was expected to lift the STAR into orbit, potentially even multiple at a time, and deploy them from its cargo bay. Once in space, the STAR would set off on its designated missions, either returning to the Shuttle or making its own way back to Earth. If the STAR needed to reach higher altitudes beyond its on-board propellant capacity (which was estimated to be around 1650 kilometers), a truncated Centaur stage equipped with a single RD-10 engine - known as the Centaur-SP - could be attached to the STAR for increased thrust. This configuration would fit into the Shuttle's cargo bay, allowing for transport to geosynchronous orbit and beyond.
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Fun fact! The reason it has a conical shape is because it was derived from the warhead re-entry vehicle for the Polaris missile; the Navy originally intended the Space Cruiser to be a crewed spysat killer that could be submarine-launched. Once it became clear that the vehicle would be far too heavy to be sub-launched, the Navy lost interest, and the project was transferred to DARPA.
First time I've ever heard 'crewed' and 'submarine-launched' in the same sentence!
@@theussmirage Yeah, it was pretty wild!
Crewed, submarine launched!??!?!?!? As in there would be people inside of it, and launched put of a submarine?!?!? Some of their ideas are more wild than my imagination!!
Thank you, I thought this looked weirdly like the sub-launched space-fighter concept!
I did not know that work was continued on it after the Navy dropped it... it makes no sense to retain all the ground launch features if you are going to ferry it up in a shuttle.
@@theussmirage So, i guessed correctly!
Could you imagine reentry with nothing but a space suit to protect you. This is wild!
spacesuit is a human-sized spacecraft
@@memespeech and not all spacecrafts are reentry-able
You should look up MOOSE ('Man Out Of Space Easiest', later became 'Manned Orbital Operations Safety Equipment').
"Just some wind"
"It is advisable to tuck your head before reentering the atmosphere."
This reminds us that Kerbal Space Program is actually a hardcore realistic simulator, so hardcore it can do things real life tried, but didn't dare. x)
I fought the same lol
Ksp has a depressing lack of parawings
@@HALLish-jl5mo since 1.9 you can deploy the kerbals parafoil from a seat so it might work
@@HALLish-jl5mo Am pretty sure there is a mod for this too.
Finally a ride worthy of Jebediah Kerman
I know, right! That even looked like a modded Kerbal Space Center in the last shot.
An utterly mad concept, but rumor has it that Major T. J. "King" Kong volunteered to be the project test pilot and demanded to carry a live nuclear warhead on the first flight.
Great video, as always!
Yanki-Kamikaze! Banzai!
Fantastic video but I've some questions? Everything I've read noted the crew compartment WAS able to be pressurized, (as was the forward cargo compartment just aft of the folding nose cone) it was only when the pilot NEEDED to "see" that it was depressurized and he stuck his head out. (Studies were done also on a 'glass' cockpit where that wasn't really needed but the "head out" was found to be more cost effective overall) Second everything I read showed the nose HAD to be folded back on-orbit due to the location of the RCS direction thrusters. As you show they are located on a bulkhead behind the nose but there was never an option cited for having the nose "extended" to allow them clearance as again simply opening the nose (while it didn't "look" as cool) was the more cost effective option.
I liked the Shuttle Centaur bit which in context was used to reach M/H/GEO and even Cis-Lunar space, and I liked the 'cluster' launch from the Shuttle but I can hope for an 'updated' where you show the "original" launch concept from a ballistic missile submarine :) Also would have like to have seen the actually pretty impressive cross-range of the Space Cruiser. One would think a lack of 'lifting' surfaces would limit it but beings as it's actually a "hypersonic lifting body" it's cross range was quite impressive. (And the more the merrier actually as the math showed a reentry from GEO on the equator gave it enough energy to land in New York!) Some of the variants were quite impressive. Great stuff
This reminds me of "Starship Troopers". The book, not the movie. They drop the soldiers from orbit in what are essential MIRV shells.
That shot from inside the orbiter was really good!
Wow what a wild concept!
Also, I love the attention to detail here and the use of the Smithsonian Discovery 3D scan!
Looks more like a piloted MIRV with a massive warhead than a credible spacecraft or reentry vehicle that's designed to keep the pilot alive to reach the ground safely 😮
astromikaze?
Actually the design IS based on a warhead reentry vehicle but a tested maneuverable one. Part of the trade off is high maneuverability at hypersonic and high supersonic speeds and NO gliding ability :)
Reminds me of that general riding the atom bomb in "Dr. Strangelove". Yeehaw!
The space equivalent of a zodiac rubber boat 😉
That or an SDV
@@basslinedan2 SEAL team Space?
I can imagine that would have freaked the Soviets and the Chinese out. Those things look like oversized re-entry vehicles put on the top of an ICBM. The Soviets were paranoid that the Space Shuttle was intended as an orbiting nuclear bomber and this would only have fed their paranoia.
i wonder how many megatons can those mirvs carry
That paranoia was justified given the absurd capabilities of the shuttle, due to the bizarre process by which it was designed. "Space Bomber" was one of the few concepts that could be imagined that made any kind of sense.
Nice and pointy!
👍 :)
Round is not scary.... Pointy is scary....
Ok Aladeen
Go home, DARPA. You're drunk.
Nice angles of the visuals. DARPA STAR original concept was to launch the craft like through a conceptual rocket withe break away nose fairing . The shuttle wasn’t ready at the time. Then find the nuclear warheads, then fire multiple unguided rockets, then return to earth. Basically a one way trip, especially when firing at nuclear weapons.
Actually haven't seen that concept anywhere. The original idea was a submarine launched, (you'd have to surface and 'assemble' the SC and booster though) orbital survey and satellite interceptor vehicle. None of the stuff I've seen showed any armements though a mention was made of a 'rocket pod' in the forward cargo section the use would have been dicey at best. Never saw any nuclear weapons mentioned. likely because they would mass to much to work on (most) of planned booster concepts.
Now THAT would be a wild ride!
Almost looks like they hollowed a MIRV and stuck a pilot in it.
Looks like 20 megatons for a mirv that size
I'd say that's pretty much it
Considering that it was originally supposed to launch on a Polaris missile, it is pretty appropriate.
A convertible reentry vehicle? 🤯
Finally i can feel the fresh plasma going through my hair!
I don't know what is more ridiculous. The idea that the pilot would spend more than 24 hours in his spacesuit, or carrying a cryogenic stage in the Shuttle cargo bay.
That’s exactly what the Gemini astronauts did on their flight missions.
Two words: astronaut diapers.
You know, you have to wear a space suit for soyuz
And sometimes, it can take more than a day to get to the space station.
@@davisdf3064 I think the cosmonauts remove the Sokol suits for the non-critical cruise phase to the ISS. Unlike American manned spacecraft before Skylab and Shuttle, the Soyuz does have an onboard Waste Management System along the lines of what is onboard the ISS (the modified zero-g camping toilet). Even after the reintroduction of pressure suits for Shuttle astronauts (starting on STS-26), the astronauts had access to a special metal toilet at the launchpad's Fixed Service Structure (near the crew access arm) that allowed them to do Number 1 without messing up the MAG ("Depends") shorts.
24 hours? The Guy in the Centaur/Space Cruiser was expected to stay on-orbit for several days to a week or more. Ya you'd get ripe but as I noted above the design actually has the ability to pressurize the crew compartment so it's more like a Gemini stay rather than in your space suit all the time.
@@randycampbell6307 So it could pressurize? The articles I'd read did not mention that. You'd have to be a special type of crazy to fly those missions. But I've seen worse.
3:36 But how do they slow down? In KSP if a cone like this is going into the atmosphere it does not slow down enough for a parachute deployment
Astronaut's Helmet ? 😅
Probably what that drogue was for that popped off before the parasail came out. Those can handle supersonic if they are small enough.
A lot of the aerodynamic properties of parts in KSP are a little silly. Cones specifically magically have almost zero drag to them.
@@fadel_fdl_ The astronaut sticks their hands up in the air to try and slow down
@@iliketrains0pwned and they use it as aerobrakes
3:16
This is how mw and the boys are gonna pull up to prom
Very cool dude. Nice animations!
DARPA has watched Dr. Strangelove too many times...
Curious. Shuttle usually flies upside down when alone in orbit(I’m sure hazegrayart knows this), but it didn’t in this video. Any specific reason these couldn’t be launched with payload bay facing the earth?
To make it harder for the Soviets to observe what's going on? 😀
I get ODST vibes from this. If those re-entry vehicles can slow themselves down enough before impact, that'll be cool
There's something about this that brings to mind the climactic end to Thomas Pynchon's epic "Gravity's Rainbow".
While the advent of atomic weapons shook the ET community, it was at this moment that they knew humans were batshit crazy.
I couldn’t figure out what the heck I was looking at! I had to go look it up to understand. This thing is totally insane!
DARPA, KSP before there was KSP.
these animations are amazing
*Exceptional*
I just saw the Hazegrayart video posted today about the "U.S. Navy SPACE CRUISER Concept" that uses a similar spaceframe. The animation for both videos is astounding!
As a model builder, this intrigued me. I've determined that it is possible to build a simple representation of this concept using the Estes 6 1/2" conical plastic nose cone from the NC-55 set and - depending on the scale you want - a sitting astronaut figure from the Airfix Astronauts set, or the Revell SR-71 kit #85-5810, for 1/72nd scale, or a astronaut from the iconic Revell Mercury/Gemini set for 1/48th scale, and you've pretty much got what you need.
In 1/72nd scale, the length of the fuselage should be 4 1/2" for a scale 27", and should be used "as is" (but with the body tube adapter cut off) to get 26" in 1/48th scale. This may be extended with a sheet styrene skirt, or built-up with epoxy putty to get the proper 27' length, if desired. The rest is just basic scratch building. Googling "DARPA Space Cruiser" or "DARPA STAR" will provide cutaway drawings, finishing options, and other details.
(I'm currently thinking of building mine on a base with a 'Soviet Spy Satellite' as shown in the more recent "Space Cruiser" video; "Dogfight Double - style" . . . .)
Thanks again to Hazegrayart for the fascinating videos, and the modeling inspiration!
Your channel is now reached 200K subs!🎉
great stuff, what are you using for these fine animations?
Good job with the barely-visible reflection of the guy filming at 2:12
Lawn Darts in Spaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace!
This Video needs Major Tom!
They should have built it! I mean, what could possibly go wrong? This was actually a navy project envisioned as an interceptor designed to destroy Soviet satellites, and it would be launched not by Shuttle but by submarine launched ICBM. Craziness!
And it morphed into the actual STAR which was supposed to be used from everything from hypersonic flight research (using an externally burning ramjet booster air-launched from a C-130 no less) to sub-orbital atmospheric maneuvering tests to flying to the Moon :)
Enjoy your ride in a big MIRV, Mr. or Ms. Astronaut!
Aside from the inexplicability of the space shuttle in this video, there is absolutely no explanation regarding what the hell is going on
This is the most Kerbal thing we’ve ever considered
For anyone that doen's understand what this is or what it is used for whatch the video "U.S. Navy SPACE CRUISER Concept" from this same channel. But basically the concept is a way to easily destroy or disable enemy satellites. This cone ships would fly to the enemy sats and the astronauts would put and SRB or something on the enemy sats to disable them.
Can you do MOOSE reentry? That'd be something to see.
MOOSE is so amazing, but strange
@@tamtamich4 A LOT of strange stuff was designed when The Soviet Union was The Enemy and money was nooooo problem. For Example, A moon landing system that discarded 99% of the vessel.
I would like to see an animation of the Nuclear Thermal Turbo Rocket. It's the only design with real SSTO capability.
Doesn't look plausible with the pilots head sticking out there in "the breeze". But, if it worked, it would be an E ticket ride! Great animation!
As the vehicle coasts to a stop on the runway, the pilot was heard to shout, "Again!"
Well ingormeti0n. Good show.
Well done.
*_"This is Farscape One, I am free and flying."_*
- FARSCAPE 😉
I've always wondered how many extremely classified projects were launched in the Space Shuttles... I guess we'll never truly find out
Which software is used to create these type of animations?
_Rockets_ AND _Parafoils_ -- what's NOT to LOVE?? 😉
For some reason seeing those helmets poking out of that shape just made me think of all this as some US version of the IJN Ohka, only they're driving a nuclear warhead lmao
the design is very human
Reminds me of a scaled down reusable Gemini concept with that parawing.
The inside of the space shuttle crew cabin was noisy AF. They were really cranking that life support system on full.
They have put stars in the background now. Good job Hollywood. Now, they covered all the loop holes so the naysayers can’t deny that we are in space. 😊
Not knowing anything about this, or having read the text, I assumed this was the US dropping kamakazi nukes - on itself!
You used for reentry the skybox you were supposed to use for orbit. How in the world the Earth looks that flat from orbit and then super round during atmospheric entry...
These look like personal escape pods.
Is it for secret agents' operations?
So they say all the NASA shuttles have been retired but still show this sort of thing... So are they retired or not?
This is what we in the biz call "The dumbest idea there's ever been". The biz, in case you're wondering, is imagining dumb ideas.
What is that sound in the space at the beginning? its like a low humm, what is it supposed to come from?
Sure, the pilot’s head is fried off during re-entry testing a supposedly space life boat?!?😅
WEBSTER'S Definition of ASTRONAUT: One Who Possesses Adamantium Testicles.
In today's episode of Space Gear, formerly known as "Fun things to do with a pile of decommissioned nukes and a fat budget":
Is this the new Orbiter?
Hazegrayart You should do an animation on the Skylon ssto. It’s very interesting and I find it to be very possibly revolutionary.
Edit: Just saw he made an animation for it, Nevermind 😅
love it, however i'd like to point out a shine-through port OMS engine around 1:21, no KU-Antenna and missing the Centaur Integrated Support System. Also, engine burns that close to the orbiter - while looking rally cool - would probably never have happened ;-)
They'd have only used a couple of the engine cluster to move away from the Orbiter, essentially RCS levels of thrust. But as you note that wouldn't look as cool :0
I'm weirdly reminded of the Dark Star. From the movie of the same name.
So they developed this back in 2011?
Cuz that's the last time a space shuttle flew.
"Hey let's send people to space in a shuttle with many seats but bring them back in a bunch of modified warheads carried by the shuttle with their EVA helmets exposed so they don't survive re-entry"
Did the military ever consider the idea of procuring their own shuttle for their own use and hiding it in plain sight as part of the nasa fleet?
FOR THE EMPEROR !
This looks like a crewed ICBM re-entry vehicle...
If this was not designed by Will E. Coyote, I don't know what was 😀
Space paragliding!
Oh! It's so small and cute! Midgets fly it?
*COOL.*
Ever heard of the booster frames from the halo franchise (not featured in the games but expanded media) their open cockpit space speeder used by Spartans 😂, that’s the place where I expect a open cockpit spacecraft to appear
During re-entry the pilots face shield would melt like the guy in Prometheus when he got sprayed with some acid by the alien snake then fell into the black goop
Ah, DARPA, spare no expense in the defense of oligarchy.
We couldn't guess this craft. Please include text in your future community posts next time stating the actual name of the craft (I don't want hints).
The post are to hint the next video
There is a standard information box below the video was it not there for you?
@@randycampbell6307 It wasn't there
@@LDTV22OfficialChannel I'll post it here:
"he fundamental concept behind the STAR program was to maximize efficiency while minimizing cost. To achieve this goal, the craft was designed to be as small and inexpensive as possible, with only one crew member onboard. The crew compartment itself was unpressurized and only large enough for a seated astronaut, who would be required to remain in their spacesuit throughout the duration of the mission. Notably, the craft lacked key features such as hydraulics, an ejection seat, or even landing gear. Instead, it would utilize a parawing to glide back to Earth and touch down on land.
Despite its Spartan design, the STAR was intended to function as an orbital runabout, capable of carrying out a variety of missions. The craft was eight meters in length and only a meter and a half tall at its aft end, tapering down to a fine point at its nose. To optimize its transportability, the nose was designed to fold back at a hinge four meters down from the tip of the STAR, creating a compact package just four meters in length.
In terms of deployment, the Shuttle was expected to lift the STAR into orbit, potentially even multiple at a time, and deploy them from its cargo bay. Once in space, the STAR would set off on its designated missions, either returning to the Shuttle or making its own way back to Earth. If the STAR needed to reach higher altitudes beyond its on-board propellant capacity (which was estimated to be around 1650 kilometers), a truncated Centaur stage equipped with a single RD-10 engine - known as the Centaur-SP - could be attached to the STAR for increased thrust. This configuration would fit into the Shuttle's cargo bay, allowing for transport to geosynchronous orbit and beyond."
Hope that helps
I wonder what will happen to the astronaut when entering the atmosphere? In Russia, what we get would be shashlykom.
It looks far more like a warhead than a space plane. The astronaut would be decapitated by the atmospheric friction upon reentry. But, that would stop all the embarrassing photographs and questions from the news reporters.
Definitely an open casket space funeral
what is it for?
Hypersonic lifting body originally for short-notice satellite interception and inspection to be launched from a submarine. Later the basis for several high technology test proposals
I thought this concept was supposed to have the astronaut entirely inside, no?
Most of the time yes, but in cases where close maneuvering was needed (aka leaving the Shuttle or coming back to it) the pilot had the option of 'sticking his head out' to see :)
... to where is he going on that one-seat warhead on top of that upper stage??
High Earth Orbit or GEO in most cases but the Centaur had the capability to put the Space Cruiser around the Moon if they wanted. (Looooong trip that one :) )
@Randy Campbell yeah I mean won't that be too long trip for the seat
@@technocracy90 Microgravity most of the way and unlike Gemini you can occasionally "stand up and stretch" but ya, not a trip I'd look forward too :)
@@randycampbell6307 Really wish they had packed him with enough life supports >_>
@@technocracy90 The longer duration missions either had extra life support in the forward bay or added through the Centaur. Really wasn't a good "reason" to use the SC for such longer missions but they were simply showing they could be used. The layout always reminded me the Plane of the Apes spacecraft which I thought could be a more 'advanced' version :)
Why is the sound gone?
They shouldeve called it the shooting star
How are we seeing this?
Thats a bomb
Redbull's new plan
Somebody would have tried to land on the top of the VAB...
Which game is it?
Hold up! They designed it to have the pilot's head sticking out? I know the military isn't the most competent group in the room but please tell me the Space Force is aware of this little thing called SPACE DEBRIS!
The first urban legend on the space station is gonna be the Headless Astronaut 🤣🤦♂
But... why?
Basically manned drones for the Space Shuttle
@@_MaxHeadroom_ isn’t that an oxymoron?
probably to intercept satellites for inspection or to steal data from them
@@metropod what
@@metropod Nope.
When did the space shuttle become the size of an aircraft carrier? Or else where did the Pentagon find astronauts with such tiny heads?
Why is the re-entry vehicle using a needle nosecone? That will burn up immediately. It should be blunt.
You couldn’t pay me enough to do that
They could have called it : Spaceplane Technology and ADVANCED Research - just to fit more neatly on the abreviation, as is usual in Americans. 😄