Yes, it's very pretty. But pretty much useless as well as obsolete, like the Shuttle.

Investigations on cosmic radiation, plant reproduction and other space physics can be accomplished on unmanned satellites and platforms.

These brave volunteers risk their lives for the sake of learning the effects of long durations in space.

And some personnel conduct missions that are not revealed to the public. (DoD missions)

Beyond that....

Onboard systems are failing and can't be upgraded to new technology as it's design prevents easy retrofitting.

Electrical as well as other systems hardware would need to be completely replaced throughout the station.

What I believe is; Its main mission is secret and a pick-up point for other missions kept under wraps as well.

A Home Depot in space...supplying food, fuel and other equipment to space stations, platforms and craft on clandestine missions.

I believe what we see on TV is a "public program" only.

And the trillions of dollars missing from the US Treasury Dept. is being used for black projects.

Of course I can't prove this yet but there is a paper-trail that supports this theory.

On this page you'll find the "Interface Definition Document" that's quite revealing.

It describes in detail, operational procedure of visiting vehicles to the ISS other

than the cargo and crew transports that we know about.

You'll also find one of the DoD budget documents showing the USAF line-item, "other aircraft" budget,

jumping from 2 million dollars in 1991, to half a billion in 1992 and 1993, each.

Coincidentally, new patents on space craft and other space stations and receiving platforms

were approved at this same time, (also below).

There is a large amount of consumables, material and equipment that are sent to the station on a regular basis.

And far more food that three people would need or use.

I concede some of the equipment is for the station expansion and to maintain it's integrity.

It needs to stay operational until another system goes online or this one is replaced.

This is one of my ongoing research projects so follow-ups are frequent.

Look at what The NASA Channel and web site are showing about it's mission.

All you ever see is short, selected external video of the station orbiting the Earth in one minute segments.

And internal video of personnel banging away on computers or eating Jell-O and M&M's in micro-gravity. Some organic experiments on vegetation growth and seed reproduction.

Studies on insect behavior. And EVA's to expand, repair and maintain the station.

As far as the ISS being an "ideal environment" for medical studies is pure fantasy.

The ISS is a "bacterial haven" because of it's closed system and human habitation.

Farther down the page, you will also find documents about the Life Support Systems.

Major problems are mold, human biological secretions (odor, sweat, skin flakes and other impurities), chemical body secretions, (methane, ammonia, acetone, methyl alcohol etc) just to mention a few.

Any "clean room" on Earth can control impurities much better and be the size of a Blimp Hanger.

The Lab Module on the ISS is limited to a few square feet for a "clean room" box, about the size of a small dog house.

Most of their precious time is devoted to staying alive!

Here is Dr. Foust's quote from The American Enterprise magazine;

"...ISS astronauts now spend 85 percent of their time on construction and maintenance alone."

Dr Jeff Foust is an aerospace analyst, journalist and publisher.

He is the editor and publisher of The Space Review and has written for Astronomy Now and The New Atlantis.

He has a Ph.D in planetary sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a bachelor's degree in geophysics from the California Institute of Technology.

NASA has been spouting about the new High Definition Television cameras on the station and the Shuttle, pointing to different areas and Earth.

Well, why don't they have a Hi-Def channel for us to see this amazing footage? Or even broadcast any footage?

NASA does broadcast the Shuttle launches and interviews at the ISS in HD on the HDNet channel but...we never get to see any Shuttle footage when it reaches orbit insertion, on it's way to the station or on it's way back.

Why?.....Because they're seeing and doing things they don't want us to see.

Whether it be other space craft rendezvous, docking at "other" space stations/platforms and probably,...UFO footage.

More on this farther below.

Russian Progress M class cargo transport:

According to Russian and American Space agencies, all the cargo transports are de-orbited and burn-up upon re-entry.

These transports are large. This would be seen re-entering and would not burn-up completely before slamming into the ocean.

I haven't heard or seen any reports of them being observed on re-entry but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

And I'm sure the inhabitants of the South Pacific would have something to say about this practice.

Especially New Zealand and South America.

Location of Space Graveyard

(163Kb) jpg

I believe, and will try to prove, some of these cargo transports are being re-used for other missions.

Stay tuned.

Russian Launches to the ISS in January, May & August 2007:

Now it seems to me, this is an extraordinarily large amount of food and water for three people.

How would they keep fruit and vegetables from spoiling? You can't freeze fresh fruit and vegetables.

Well, you can...but freezing would ruin them. And it was fresh, not dehydrated, cooked or freeze dried.

Source references to the fresh fruit are in the articles below.

Progress-M 59...

Do you know how long it takes a manned mission to reach the Moon?

Saturn V Launch Vehicle: 9 minutes to reach Low Earth Orbit (LEO) after lift off.

Two days to reach the Moon after they leave Low Earth Orbit.

And this was Apollo 17, in 1972.

The Shuttle also reaches LEO in about 9 minutes.

So why does it take 4 days to reach the ISS which is also in LEO?

In the case of Progress M-65, seven days.

Reusable Agena Space Tug pdf (1.3Mb) /U.S. Version

Lockheed-Martin 1974

Section I

INTRODUCTION

The Shuttle /Agena Upper Stage interim tug concept which is emphasized in this summary report is based on a building block approach. These building block concepts are extensions of existing ascent Agena configurations.

Several current improvements incorporated or in development since 1970, have been used in developing the Shuttle/Agena Upper Stage concepts.

5.5 SPECIAL MISSION CONSIDERATIONS

A servicing mission involves the replacement of expended components on four widely separated spacecraft at synchronous equatorial positions, as shown in Fig. 5-13.

This figure presents a typical mission profile for a servicing mission accomplished by the Agena Upper Stage core vehicle (no SOT option) with 351 pounds (159 kg) of rendezvous equipment and a 300 pound (136 kg) servicing module containing 1800 pounds (815 kg) of replacement components.

The Agena rendezvous with each spacecraft in turn, and replaces 450 pounds (204 kg) of components at each spacecraft. The mission requires twelve days to accomplish, including phasing time between spacecraft.

The Agena program was originally a 2nd stage for Atlas

 launch vehicles. It's design was modified and reconfigured

for an orbiting space tug. This was done from what's called the

building-block concept as described in the above pdf. What's interesting about this is the vehicle has never been announced as being part of the payload on any Shuttle

missions. The above pdf describes in detail how it can fit in the Shuttle bay

and still have more than half the bay for other cargo.

Does anyone find this fact interesting?

AGENA-D Mission Capabilities and Restraints Catalog Vol. II  pdf  Large (28Mb)

The last monthly report on AGENA before conversion.

Marshall Agena Systems Office.

operating responsibility on January 28, 1963, and therefore, all future

Agena reporting will be generated and distributed from Lewis Research

Center, Cleveland, Ohio

amr_jan_1963.pdf (1.14Mb)

Russian Segment of ISS Life Support System

Neither the Russian nor Americans have ever mentioned fresh fruit & veggies.

The table below shows part of the LSS about the food storage.

Below the table is the complete documents on the Russian LSS.

The Russian LSS is in two parts. Pay attention in Part 2, page 13 & 14.

That is Section 5 about the food storage and preparation.

Everything is in packets. Most is dehydrated. Some is pre-cooked.

But none of it is fresh.

In Humans, methane and carbon dioxide are produced in the intestines, and ammonia is created by the breakdown of urea in sweat. Humans also emit acetone, methyl alcohol, and carbon monoxide, as the byproducts of metabolism through urination and breathing. Currently, activated charcoal filters are the primary method by which these chemicals are removed from the air.

Note: Remember Tareyton cigarettes in the 60's? It's main selling point was the "activated charcoal filter."

I don't think I would depend on these filtering impurities too well.

U.S. segment ECLSS pdf (270Kb)

A Parable

There is a story about a man who left this Earth and was taken on a tour of the inner realms.

He was shown a room where he saw a large group of hungry people trying to eat dinner,

but because the spoons that they were trying to eat with were longer than their arms,

they remained frustrated and hungry.

"This," his guide told him, "is Hell."

"That's terrible!" exclaimed the man.

"Please show me Heaven!”

"Very well" agreed the guide, and on they went.

When they opened Heaven's door, the man was perplexed to see what looked very much like the same scene:

there was a group of people with spoons longer than their arms.

As he looked more closely, however, he saw happy faces and full tummies,

for there was one important difference: the people in Heaven had learned to feed each other.

From: The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore,

by Alan Cohen

From:

Chapter 7: Upper Stages

The space tug will have the capability to deliver and retrieve payloads to high altitude, particularly geosynchronous orbit, to inject payloads into planetary trajectories and to conduct in-orbit servicing of payloads. It is being designed to be recoverable and reusable.

(21Kbs) JPG

The Parom Orbital Space Tug & Ferry/Russian Version

Source: http://www.russianspaceweb.com/parom.html

"The concept of the spacecraft, which would later evolve into Parom, apparently originated at the turn of the 21st century, when Russia first pondered the possibility of launching space station modules, originally designed to ride into orbit onboard the US Shuttle. The idea was to have a highly maneuverable space tug parked in orbit or at the space station, from where it could conduct multiple sorties to meet with recently launched payloads and then deliver them to the space station. The concept later merged with the Kliper Project and became known as Parom (Ferry)."

Notice it has docking ports at both ends.

Progress GVK or (M-2) Reusable and Re-Entry Vehicle

http://www.russianspaceweb.com/progress_gvk.html

"Although the original Progress cargo ship was designed as a one-way transport, to be destroyed on the reentry into the Earth atmosphere, Russian designers looked at various schemes to give the vehicle the ability to return cargo to Earth."

Jules Verne ATV (Automated Transfer Vehicle)

The ATV is designed to complement the Progress spacecraft, having three times its capacity. Like the Progress, it carries both bulk liquids and relatively fragile freight which is stored in a cargo hold kept in a pressurized shirt sleeve environment so that astronauts can have access to it without putting on a spacesuit. The ATV pressurized cargo section is based on the Italian-built Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM), which is already in service as a Shuttle-carried ‘space barge’ transporting equipment to and from the Station. It is also an autonomous Space Tug.

Each ATV weighs 20.7 tons at launch and has a cargo capacity of 8 tons.

Jules Verne PDF (57 pages)

No larger image

The MSS (Mini Space Station) concept. A Jules Verne ATV evolution proposal under consideration for the future. It proposes multiple ATVs with two docking ports, one at each end. The current version of the ATV is already prepared with a docking port at the back, with the main propulsion system arranged in a cylindrical fashion leaving room for a tunnel through the middle. This concept would allow Soyuz, Progress and other ATVs to dock to the back of the ATV, allowing a steady flow of Russian vehicles using the available docking ports whilst an ATV is docked for an average of around 6 months at a time at the ISS. Source (half-way down the page)

(My Note) The MSS is suspected to be in operation now. The image (far right)

is a photograph, not an illustration.

No larger image

A Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) is a large pressurized container used on Space Shuttle missions to transfer cargo to and from the (ISS). It is carried in the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle and berthed to the Unity Module, where supplies are offloaded and finished experiments and waste are loaded. The MPLM is then re-berthed in the Shuttle for return to Earth.

http://mplm.msfc.nasa.gov/

The modules are provided to NASA under contract by the Italian Space Agency (ASI). Three MPLMs were built and delivered to NASA and have names chosen by the ASI to denote some of the great talents in Italian history: Leonardo, Raffaello, and Donatello. While built by ASI, the modules are owned by NASA. In exchange for building the MPLMs, ASI receives access to U.S. research time on the ISS.

What do you make of the patch/insignia (far right) for the MPLM's?...Ninja turtle?...

...for an Italian product?

This is a little known patch worn on;

STS 28, 33, 36, 38, 39, 44 and 53.

The other DoD and NRO patches below were in other STS missions.

The mission descriptions did not include any information on the DoD segment of the flights because they're classified.

But after checking a few shuttle payload lists, these satellites were onboard;

STS 38...Magnum-3 (NRO-CIA SIGINT) reconnaissance;

USA-66 (GPS) military use.

STS 39...CRO-satellites (Chemical Release Observation) and SDI satellite MPEC (Strategic Defense Initiative) (Multipurpose Release Canister)

STS 44...DSP-16 (Defense Support Program) reconnaissance.

Also, the patch is not seen on any of the group astronaut photo sittings prior to launch.

Most people I've shown this patch to, don't recognize the letters as reading, "DOD", in the smoke plume.

But there is a drawing of the patch that clearly depicts the letters.

(far right image)

Source credit for drawing: http://spacefacts.net/english/flights.htm

(266Kbs) JPG

Sounds like there is more happening up there than is reported.

Another "removed" section in the Code of Federal Regulations

Federal Register  Vol. 56, No. 81

14 CFR Part 1211

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

Extraterrestrial Exposure

Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) 550Kb 9 pages

The USAF project was supposedly cancelled in 1969.

The Air Force had spent 1.5 billion on the project from 1963-1969. (Reported amount)

Including, completion of the of Titan III-M HLV, the KH-10 reconnaissance telescope camera

(codename: Dorian), the modified Gemini B capsule connected to the MOL

and construction of the launch site at Vandenberg AFB.

Curiously, this DoD Directive, S-5200.13 was implemented in March, 1962.

Title: Security and Public Information Policy for Military Space Programs

Excerpt:

A. "Adequate protection of military space programs is vital to the security of the United States. This requires the capability to launch, control and recover space vehicles without public knowledge of the timing of these actions or the specific mission involved."

So... the military can say anything or nothing about it's objectives and missions.

It really pisses me off that anytime the public tries to find out what the government or military is doing, we get the same old rhetoric about it being a matter of "National Security" and you don't need to know!

Under construction 1966, specifically for MOL.

(257Kb) jpg

Today (277Kb) jpg,

The HLV launch complex is also capable of Shuttle launches.

The Air Force has a habit of naming roads with the

missions in mind. So isn't it interesting the road leading to the complex is called, "Lunar Road?" Someone also misspelled the word, Lunar.

Do Black Budget Trillions Support A Secret American Space Program?

Excerpts:

"Michael Schratt has a theory about where all the black budget DOD trillions have been going over the past

60 years: to fund a top secret space program that no citizen in the United States knows about – including most of Congress."

American Space Program

PDF (44Kbs) 9 pages

 LOK-1 pdf (25Kb)

The LOK, which stands for Lunar Orbital Craft in Russian, could be called the Soyuz on steroids. While from the outside it looked like a stretched version of the original (7K-OK) version of the Soyuz, inside the LOK features a number of upgrades and unique systems, which enables it to support manned lunar expeditions.

Source:

http://www.russianspaceweb.com/lok.html

Notice its shape is very similar to Progress also.

The Advanced Crew Transportation System  pdf (148Kb) ACTS, also known as "Euro-Soyuz," emerged during 2006, when Russian company RKK Energia realized that its proposals to replace the workhorse Soyuz spacecraft with the Kliper reusable glider would be too ambitious for the current level of funding of the Russian space program.

As of 2006, Russian Space Agency expected to get nine billion rubles (355 million U.S.) until 2012 for the development of the next generation manned transport, of which, only 500 million (19.7 million U.S.) would be allocated for the task before 2010.

As a result, the agency decided to focus on the development of a modified Soyuz, capable of reaching lunar orbit. Potentially, such spacecraft could serve as a bridge paving the way for Kliper. http://www.russianspaceweb.com/soyuz_acts.html

LKS Project pdf (73Kb)

http://www.russianspaceweb.com/lks.html

At the end of the 1980s, the Russian press revealed that a leading Soviet space designer, Vladimir Chelomei, had worked on a mini-Shuttle, which could be an economical alternative to the heavy US Space Shuttle and Russia's own Buran. However later publications hinted that Chelomei saw his reusable orbiter as the Soviet response to Ronald Reagan's "Star Wars" program. Chelomei's mini-Shuttle, apparently, would be capable of carrying laser weapons and shooting down American ballistic missiles. QuickTime clip: LKS Laser (3Mb)

Black Horse Shuttle pdf (178Kb)

Abstract:

Recent work at the Phillips Laboratory in Albuquerque, NM has focused on a space access concept involving in-flight propellant transfer. The concept is similar in terms of Delta-V to air launch concepts that have been previously proposed, but has some advantages over these concepts in terms of performance, scalability, safety, and operational simplicity.

Black Horse II TAV (Transatmospheric Vehicle) pdf (206Kb)

Excerpt:

The ability to orbit, upgrade, or even retrieve dedicated, special purpose, space support capabilities quickly and (relatively) inexpensively will dramatically change space operations. Satellites will perform navigation and most housekeeping functions autonomously. Central ground sites will monitor, update software, and assist these satellites in identifying repair requirements. Theater forces will task the mission payloads on these satellites directly by using deployable ground systems that require less lift into theater than 1990s communications/data display terminals. The result will be an array of space systems and operations that are fully integrated into global operations.

Black Horse.mov (1.2Mb)

This next document is most compelling and direct evidence of

another type of space vehicle that could be in use today.

The craft already exists, the Shuttle external fuel tank.

In the transporter patent below you can see a

space launch and recovery platform depicted in the drawings.

The following is the abstract of the patent along with the drawings.

Remember the dates in the above DoD budget for; "Other Aircraft"?

United States Patent 5,092,545
Butterfield, et al. March 3, 1992

Method of delivering lunar generated fluid to earth orbit using an external tank.

Abstract
A method and apparatus are provided for delivering lunar generated fluid to Earth orbit from lunar orbit. Transport takes place in an external tank of a shuttle which has been suitably outfitted in Earth orbit for reusable travel between Earth orbit and a lunar orbit. The outfitting of the external tank includes the adding of an engine, an electrical system, a communication system, a guidance system, an aerobraking device, and a plurality of interconnected fluid storage tanks to the hydrogen and oxygen tanks of the external tank. The external tank is then propelled to lunar orbit the first time using Earth-based propellant. In lunar orbit, the storage tanks are filled with the lunar generated fluid with the remainder tank volumes filled with lunar generated liquid oxygen and hydrogen which serve as propellants for returning the tank to Earth orbit where the fluid is off-loaded. The remaining lunar generated oxygen and hydrogen is then sufficient to return the external tank to lunar orbit so that a subsequent cycle of fluid delivery is repeated. A space station in a higher Earth orbit is preferably used to outfit the external tank, and a lunar node in lunar orbit is used to store and transfer the fluid and liquid oxygen and hydrogen to the external tank. The lunar generated fluid is preferably sup.3 He. (Helium-3)

Inventors: Butterfield; Ansel J. (Newport News, VA), Goslee; John W. (Newport News, VA)
Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (Washington, DC)

Appl. No.: 07/520,883
Filed: May 9, 1990

Other References:
Lunar Science Institute, Criswell, copyright 1976.
Vinopal, "Aeroassisted Orbital Transfer Vehicle Sys Tech Study", D180-29222-1 Boeing 1985.

U.S. Patent 5,092,545 PDF (625Kbs)

The above and next patent actually belongs on the Moon Mining page but the same group in the above patent, Bionetics Corporation, conceived this patent from the same Shuttle external tank into a lunar habitat module. Also, the tanks are too be converted in LEO, at a space station other than the ISS, giving one to believe there is more than one station in our orbit.

For these reasons I'm placing it below the transporter.

First, NASA funded the study (4212) for the:

"Single Launch Lunar Habitat Derived From NSTS External Tank" in 1990.

NASA Technical Memorandum 4212 pdf (2.12Mb) 1990

US Patent 5,094,409 pdf (556Kb) 1992

Method Of Providing A Lunar Habitat From An External Tank.

Abstract:

Conveniently, a space station is used to outfit the base structure. Various elements of the oxygen tank and intertank are used in outfitting.

Another Bionetics Corp. design on Advanced Technologies

Space Stations (ATSS) 1988. PDF (17.7Mb) 249 pages.

Fusion Power

Artificial Gravity

Lunar and Planetary Mission Support

On-Station Observatories

Space Craft Transit Center

Transition and Repair Center

NOTE: With respect to the orbit altitude mentioned above, the ISS ranges from 278 to 460 km (150 to 250 n. mi.) at an inclination of 51.6°

Figure A

Hammerhead II side view

7.2.3 Satellite and Spacecraft Servicing and Assembly:

Note: This certainly coincides with the above Interface Definition Document on the ISS.

On a side note, this is one of J.L. Walson's video captures.

The "side view" of the SHARC (above) and the IOSTAR (below) systems, look very much like the craft he recorded through his telescope. (Right)

(40Kb) jpg

A facility of this type should be tailored specifically to accommodate the needs of the base in terms of fuel storage, vehicle maintenance equipment, vehicle hangars, payload transfer equipment, and crew habitats.

It should be designed to allow expandability as traffic to and from the Moon increases, particularly if the production of Lunar liquid oxygen becomes economical.

The orbit of the transportation node should allow a large number of departure opportunities to possible Lunar destinations and be within reach of the launch vehicles, while not requiring excessive fuel to maintain altitude.

(247Kbs) jpg

(23Kbs) jpg

(18Kbs) jpg

(26Kbs) jpg

This next patent is also derived from a Shuttle external tank and converted at a platform in orbit for station structures.

US Patent 4,807,833 pdf (1.16Mb) 1989

A combined space vehicle fuel cell and modular space station structural building component which provides containment of propellants during launch and thereafter provides one of a plurality of modules which can be interconnected once orbit is achieved for constructing a space station or space platform.

The benefits realized through this manufacturing in space vision are significant. The immediate benefit is the in situ repair and fabrication “machine shop” in space for making components and systems. Such a facility can be a key component in saving lives and/or providing a greater opportunity for survivability for astronauts, and space travelers during a mission. Through this concept of manufacturing in space, very large scale space structures call be built thus reducing the cost for launch of such structures.

Also, the canister is preferably standardized such that it can be attached to a wide variety of space platforms.

Autonomous Orbit Transfer Vehicle

US Patent US2003042369A1.pdf (340Kb)

Patent Application Publication  US2006163434A1 pdf (308Kb)

The spacecraft may travel on excursions of extended duration and of great distances, such as, for example to Mars or beyond. The spacecraft may provide an environment that ensures crew comfort for such extended interplanetary and/or lunar travel.

US Patent 7,118,077B1 PDF (850Kb)
Kistler , et al. October 10, 2006
Platform and System for Mass Storage and Transfer in Space

Abstract
A platform for storage and transfer of payloads in space includes a plate for supporting a payload, and a transfer mechanism for transferring the payload to and from the plate. A groove extends diametrically between two edges of the plate for receiving a rail provided on the payload. The rail includes a plurality of teeth, and the transfer mechanism includes a gear which interacts with the teeth for moving the rail. Two platforms may be positioned adjacent to each other for transferring a payload. Docking of the two platforms includes engagement of tapered pins and tapered holes on the platforms. In this manner, the grooves of the platforms are aligned. The rail is passed between the grooves of the platforms for transferring the payload between the platforms.

Inventors: Kistler; Walter P. (Redmond, WA), Citron; Robert A. (Mill Creek, WA), Taylor; Thomas C. (Las Cruces, NM)
Appl. No.: 11/076,950
Filed: March 11, 2005

Oklahoma City, OK, March 29, 2007 – Rocketplane Kistler, Inc. (RpK) announced today that a Space Act Agreement (SAA) has been established with the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to use NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans, LA for the assembly of the K-1 Space Transportation System.

RpK Release pdf (28Kb)

Kistler Launch Vehicle pdf (56Kb)

Industrial Launch Vehicle / Aquila / American Rocket [Amroc]

Chartering American Rocket [Amroc] in March, 1985, George Koopman and his colleagues researched and developed the first working hybrid rockets ever to be tested in the United States. That they managed to do this for only about $10 million over 4 years was a sterling example of how efficient free enterprise can be when allowed to work unfettered. It was also a tribute to George Koopman's driving spirit and to his desire to work for the attainment of his dreams. George Koopman wanted Amroc to be the Federal Express of space.

George Koopman, one of the cofounders of the American Rocket Co., and the president and chief executive officer of Amroc since its creation, died July 19, 1989, of injuries sustained in an automobile accident. He was 44. Mr. Koopman was an example of one of those people who have literally built America--the entrepreneur. It was Mr. Koopman's dream, and the dream of his fellow American Rocket Co. cofounders and financial backers, to found a company that would create affordable access to space.

AMROC officials affirmed that preparations for the company's first space launch, scheduled for August 14, 1989, would continue as planned. The sounding rocket SET-1 (Single Engine Test Flight#1), thrust 324,000N and was launched on October 5th 1989.

An extensive knowledge base was produced by American Rocket Company over its eight-year history. The technical rights, proprietary data and patents produced by AMROC were the result of over $20 million worth of hybrid rocket motor research. AMROC designed and hot test fired a wide variety of hybrid rocket motors of all sizes, utilizing non-toxic storable propellants. AMROC completed approximately 300 hybrid motor tests from 100 to 250,000 pounds of thrust.

In August 1998 SpaceDev, the world's first commercial space exploration company, acquired exclusive rights to intellectual property including the three patents originally issued to American Rocket Company (Amroc) for their hybrid rocket motor technology. In addition, SpaceDev acquired exclusive possession of and access to a large quantity of Amroc engineering documents, plans, designs, test results, manufacturing data, and other materials related to the rocket motors and Amroc launch vehicles.

Source: http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/systems/amroc.htm

OK, AMROC spends $20 million and eight years to perfect Hybrid Propulsion.

Cofounder and CEO George A. Koopman dies in auto crash after 4 years. (Suspicious to me)

AMROC goes belly-up after 8 years. (Government doesn't like to pay for licensed patents)

SpaceDev acquires AMROC and all property including patents. (Typical hostile takeover tactic)

SpaceDev acquires contract for Lunar Lander from International Lunar Observatory Association.

(Refer to above Aug 23, 2007 announcement)

These facts tell me the powers-that-be get what they want, even at the cost of human life.

George Koopman 8 years before AMROC. 1977

The L-5 Society (pdf 1Mb) (First Article in newsletter)

(More on the L-5 Society below)

Pdf of same reference: Koopman (page 5) 85Kbs

Dream Chaser: SpaceDev Advanced Systems  pdf (94Kb)

The entrepreneurial space industry that has been emerging over the past years is changing the course of how space is accessed, explored and utilized. As this paradigm shift occurs, SpaceDev is in a unique position of leading this charge with its broad technology base, its depth of capability, and its entrepreneurial roots. The Advanced Systems group is chartered with developing the advanced systems and technologies that are supporting this sea-change in our industry.

A primary current focus of the Advanced Systems group is an overall space transportation system based on the NASA HL-20 lifting body spaceplane. Christened the Dream Chaser^TM, it is being designed to carry passengers and cargo in the sub-orbital and orbital flights regimes, including flights to and from the International Space Station.

Leveraging the work performed on the NASA HL-20, the Dream Chaser will provide a safe and affordable, solution for commercial space operations, will launch vertically and land horizontally on conventional runways. Leveraging the work performed on the NASA HL-20, the Dream Chaser provides a safe and affordable solution for commercial space operations.

Dream Chaser Video http://www.spacedev.com/

Click on "Videos", scroll down and click on "COTS ISS"

3 crew- "Space Ship One", 2004

with SpaceDev Hybrid Propulsion

Laser Plasma Thruster pdf (930Kb) U.S. Patent 6,530,212

March 11, 2003

the same physical principles.

L-5: A Place In Space

by T.A. Heppenheimer

L5 is the Fifth Lagrangian Libration Point. But what are libration points? They are locations where a spacecraft may be placed so as always to remain in the same position with respect to the Earth and the Moon. (See diagram at right)

The Italian-French mathematician, Joseph Louis Lagrange, in 1772, showed that there are five such points. Three of them lie on a line connecting the Earth and Moon; these are L1, L2, and L3. They are unstable; a body placed there and moved slightly will tend to move away, though it will not usually crash directly onto the Earth or Moon. The other two are L4 and L5.

They lie at equal distance from Earth and Moon, in the Moon's orbit, thus forming equilateral triangles with Earth and Moon. The Sun is in the picture, and it disturbs the orbits of spacecraft and colonies. It turns out (from an extremely messy calculation done only in 1968) that with the Sun in the picture, a colony could be placed not directly at L4 or L5, but rather in an orbit around one of these points. The orbit keeps the colony about 90,000 miles from its central libration point.

But what has people excited is not what orbit might be used, but rather what could be done there. Space industries in high Earth orbits could manufacture Solar Power Satellites (SPS) from lunar or asteroidal resources. Each SPS could deliver twice as much low cost, environmentally safe energy to Earth, via microwaves, as the Grand Coulee Dam, and forty five of them could meet the total present electrical power needs of the U.S.

This activity would create tens of thousands of jobs in space as well as on Earth within as short a time as 15 years, and getting tens of thousands of us living and working in space is the goal of the L5 Society.

1975-1987 (Click image for web site)

Space Settlements: A design Study pdf (7.1Mb) 1975

Note: I created this pdf from the complete online text and illustrations for more convenient reading. Text reproduced in original order with illustrations added to pages.

Preface:

The following report grew out of a 10 week program in engineering systems design held at Stanford University and the Ames Research Center of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration during the summer of 1975. This program, sponsored jointly by NASA and the American Society for Engineering Education, brought together nineteen professors of engineering, physical science, social science, and architecture, three volunteers, six students, a technical director, and two co-directors. This group worked for ten weeks to construct a convincing picture of how people might permanently sustain life in space on a large scale.

Source: http://www.nss.org/settlement/nasa/75SummerStudy/Table_of_Contents1.html

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