4 ms·

The phonesats got deployed! I'm happy because I worked on them. This would be a routine flight if it wasn't for the fact that everything was done with a very l

The phonesats got deployed! I'm happy because I worked on them. This would be a routine flight if it wasn't for the fact that everything was done with a very low budget.

tjmc 14y ago
It's also (I think) the first flight to orbit for an NK-33 engine since they were built 40 years ago!
- InclinedPlane 14y ago
  Yup. Soviet moon rocket engines! 120 of those suckers have been lit and running on rockets but none of the engines have ever put anything in orbit, until now!
  - anovikov 14y ago
    Nope. N-1 which have flown 4 times with 30 engines on each first stage didn't use NK-33. It used NK-15, a very different engine with similar thrust. N-1 never flown with NK-33, having been scrapped before NK-33 were ready to fly.
    - InclinedPlane 14y ago
      The NK-33 is enormously similar to the NK-15. It's basically the same engine with modifications for higher chamber pressure which slightly increase thrust and Isp. Also, technically the Antares uses the Aerojet AJ26-58, if you want to get persnickity. Here's a photo comparison of the NK-15 and the NK-33 or AJ26-58: http://i.imgur.com/vwYIwFd.jpg http://i.imgur.com/vwYIwFd.jpg
      - anovikov 14y ago
        Yes and no. NK-33 was developed from NK-15 but had a lot of difference. Mainly, NK-15 could not be restarted (i don't mean in flight, but at all: it could be lighted only once, then it went to the scrapyard). So, it couldn't be TESTED. That's why N-1 had 100% failure rate (another reason was a buggy engine-out management system, which was designed to enable rocket to fly with some engines out, but in fact did the reverse, twice causing it to fail when then failed engines could be simply ignored). NK-33, on the other hand, could be restarted many times, and some copies counted a lot of time on the test stand.
        avmich 14y ago
        Among other things NK-33 has completely redesigned turbopump comparing to NK-15. The pump believed to be the major cause of problems with NK-15.
ritonlajoie 14y ago
can you tell use more about that ? I heard this rocket has put cubesats for radio amateurs communication I think, but I'm not sure about that. Can 'I', if I were a HAM operator, connect to these cubesats ?
- InclinedPlane 14y ago
  Maybe. If you have digital packet radio equipment then you can indeed receive packets from these phonesats. http://www.phonesat.org/packets.php http://www.phonesat.org/packets.php
  - adestefan 14y ago
    There's not even a high cost to the equipment. A $10 rtl-sdr with a $30 home built antenna will be enough to capture the audio data.
- adestefan 14y ago
  Phonesat only has a down link. Anyone can receive that data and decode it. It's pretty simple to do with a simple hand held antenna, a tracking program, and a $10 rtl-sdr device. The only time you need an amateur license is to send on an uplink frequency that's in an amateur band. With a couple weeks of studying you can easily get your tech license which will give you enough privileges to send on the sat frequencies. If you're close to a club that tests under the Laurel VEC [0], then the test will be free. Even the most expensive tests are only $15. [0] http://larcmdorg.doore.net/vec/index.php?pg=Exams13 http://larcmdorg.doore.net/vec/index.php?pg=Exams13

The phonesats got deployed! I'm happy because I worked on them. This would be a routine flight if it wasn't for the fact that everything was done with a very low budget.

tjmc 14y ago

It's also (I think) the first flight to orbit for an NK-33 engine since they were built 40 years ago!

InclinedPlane 14y ago
Yup. Soviet moon rocket engines! 120 of those suckers have been lit and running on rockets but none of the engines have ever put anything in orbit, until now!
- anovikov 14y ago
  Nope. N-1 which have flown 4 times with 30 engines on each first stage didn't use NK-33. It used NK-15, a very different engine with similar thrust. N-1 never flown with NK-33, having been scrapped before NK-33 were ready to fly.
  - InclinedPlane 14y ago
    The NK-33 is enormously similar to the NK-15. It's basically the same engine with modifications for higher chamber pressure which slightly increase thrust and Isp. Also, technically the Antares uses the Aerojet AJ26-58, if you want to get persnickity. Here's a photo comparison of the NK-15 and the NK-33 or AJ26-58: http://i.imgur.com/vwYIwFd.jpg http://i.imgur.com/vwYIwFd.jpg
    - anovikov 14y ago
      Yes and no. NK-33 was developed from NK-15 but had a lot of difference. Mainly, NK-15 could not be restarted (i don't mean in flight, but at all: it could be lighted only once, then it went to the scrapyard). So, it couldn't be TESTED. That's why N-1 had 100% failure rate (another reason was a buggy engine-out management system, which was designed to enable rocket to fly with some engines out, but in fact did the reverse, twice causing it to fail when then failed engines could be simply ignored). NK-33, on the other hand, could be restarted many times, and some copies counted a lot of time on the test stand.
      - avmich 14y ago
        Among other things NK-33 has completely redesigned turbopump comparing to NK-15. The pump believed to be the major cause of problems with NK-15.

ritonlajoie 14y ago

can you tell use more about that ? I heard this rocket has put cubesats for radio amateurs communication I think, but I'm not sure about that. Can 'I', if I were a HAM operator, connect to these cubesats ?

InclinedPlane 14y ago
Maybe. If you have digital packet radio equipment then you can indeed receive packets from these phonesats. http://www.phonesat.org/packets.php http://www.phonesat.org/packets.php
- adestefan 14y ago
  There's not even a high cost to the equipment. A $10 rtl-sdr with a $30 home built antenna will be enough to capture the audio data.
adestefan 14y ago
Phonesat only has a down link. Anyone can receive that data and decode it. It's pretty simple to do with a simple hand held antenna, a tracking program, and a $10 rtl-sdr device. The only time you need an amateur license is to send on an uplink frequency that's in an amateur band. With a couple weeks of studying you can easily get your tech license which will give you enough privileges to send on the sat frequencies. If you're close to a club that tests under the Laurel VEC [0], then the test will be free. Even the most expensive tests are only $15. [0] http://larcmdorg.doore.net/vec/index.php?pg=Exams13 http://larcmdorg.doore.net/vec/index.php?pg=Exams13