Star Lab sounding rocket

[blackshire]

Hello All,

A new air-launched sounding rocket called Star Lab (see: http://starlab-suborbital.com/Suborbital.html ) is now undergoing testing in Florida in preparation for its first flight, which is scheduled for next year. The vehicle, which is designed to carry payloads of up to 32 kg to altitudes between 80 km (47 miles) and 120 km (70 miles), will be launched from an F-104 Starfighter (see: www.americaspace.org/?p=10050 ). The flights will originate from the Shuttle Landing Facility runway at the Kennedy Space Center.

[jdbectec]

Wow! That's pretty cool! Click here and scroll down for some pics..............

http://starlab-suborbital.com/Secondary%20pages/Project_news.html

Looks like a good Sport-Scale subject.

[jetlag]

Both of those F-104 Starfighters came here for an air show at Shaw AFB just up the road. It was the first time I had ever seen one in the flesh, let alone two of them. The J79 afterburning turbojet engine in those has an absolutely amazing sound. The pilot, as he taxied, would work the throttle and make the engine 'talk'.
Very cool!
The F-4 Phantom uses 2 of those engines!

Allen

[tbzep]

The F-104 is one of the most beautiful planes ever built. :cool:

[Leo]

To me the F-104 is the most beautiful jet ever created and my all time fav.
Before the cold war ended the F-104 would fly over our house every 3 or 4 times a month.
I could never take any photos because as soon as I would hear them they'd already be gone past us.

[tbzep]

To me the F-104 is the most beautiful jet ever created and my all time fav.
Before the cold war ended the F-104 would fly over our house every 3 or 4 times a month.
I could never take any photos because as soon as I would hear them they'd already be gone past us.
One of the old military videos that I found on the archive website I linked for you is called "Leading from Strength". It said the F-104 was the best plane in the world. Unfortunately and ironically, we didn't keep many for our air force. At least you guys (W. Germany) got to enjoy a bunch of them for many years.

[blackshire]

One of the old military videos that I found on the archive website I linked for you is called "Leading from Strength". It said the F-104 was the best plane in the world. Unfortunately and ironically, we didn't keep many for our air force. At least you guys (W. Germany) got to enjoy a bunch of them for many years.I heartily agree. I once read that the F-104's tenure in the USAF was short because the military brass and the politicians never understood it (it was designed to do just one thing, and do it very well--go fast, shoot down its adversaries, and return to base--period). Their lack of understanding was largely due to their experiences flying back-seat in the two-seat F-104B, which sacrificed about 20% of its fuel capacity for the extra seat. The Squadron Signal Publications book on the F-104 quoted one of its pilots as saying (I'm going from memory):

"Naturally, everyone [the generals, Congressmen, and other VIPs who went for back-seat demonstration rides in F-104Bs] wanted to go Mach 2, so they would go out someplace and then head back to base at full throttle, spending the chemical energy to get the kinetic energy to go doublesonic. When they entered the approach pattern the low fuel warning light was on, and they would say, 'Hel.l, this airplane doesn't carry enough gas to fly for an hour!'" Such unrepresentative experiences incorrectly colored the military decision-makers' perceptions of the plane. Also:

There was an attempt (similar to the German Luftwaffe's attempt with the Me-262 jet fighter in World War II) to turn the F-104 into a low-flying ground attack aircraft by hanging bombs and rocket pods from all of its hardpoints, which made about as much sense as using a light, fast, and agile cavalry horse to carry a knight in heavy armor for "smash-through" charges against soldiers (slower and larger heavy horses were far better suited to such attacks in the days before firearms). The F-104 performed best at high speed and high altitude as a fighter or interceptor, carrying a few lightweight air-to-air missiles and a light cannon (I believe it also later carried the Vulcan electric gatling gun). Although it was designed primarily for high speed flight, the F-104 was also remarkably maneuverable; its optional wing-tip fuel tanks actually enhanced the plane's maneuverability by acting as tip plate "fences" to retard airflow from one side of the wings to the other at their tips. A similarly-configured airframe (a slightly up-scaled F-104) built around an F100 afterburning turbofan would likely have similarly spectacular performance.

[chrism]

I'm surprised that NASA still has an F-104, I thought that would have been retired a long time ago.

BTW, I like the F-104 in its RCAF NATO Tiger Meet scheme



http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=F-104+Tiger+meet&view=detail&id=4F2B3E84BC347B886E7E4A7CE6E9ECD3E07BDF63&first=0&qpvt=F-104+Tiger+meet&FORM=IDFRIR

[blackshire]

I'm surprised that NASA still has an F-104, I thought that would have been retired a long time ago.

BTW, I like the F-104 in its RCAF NATO Tiger Meet scheme



http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=F-104+Tiger+meet&view=detail&id=4F2B3E84BC347B886E7E4A7CE6E9ECD3E07BDF63&first=0&qpvt=F-104+Tiger+meet&FORM=IDFRIRThe F-104s that are being prepared to launch the Star Lab sounding rockets are privately owned, I think.

[Mark II]

The F-104s that are being prepared to launch the Star Lab sounding rockets are privately owned, I think.Correct. http://starlab-suborbital.com/Secondary%20pages/Carrier_aircraft.html

Judging from the diagram (http://starlab-suborbital.com/Secondary%20pages/Technical_specs.html) of the sounding rocket, it looks like it is mostly payload. Where's the rocket motor?

[blackshire]

Correct. http://starlab-suborbital.com/Secondary%20pages/Carrier_aircraft.html

Judging from the diagram (http://starlab-suborbital.com/Secondary%20pages/Technical_specs.html) of the sounding rocket, it looks like it is mostly payload. Where's the rocket motor?The photographs on the bottom half of this "screen-page" (see: http://starlab-suborbital.com/Secondary%20pages/Project_news.html ) show the entire Star Lab vehicle. The fins appear to be trapezoidal, but at the unusual viewing angles they could also be clipped delta fins; also, this diagram of the Star Lab flight profile (see: http://starlab-suborbital.com/Secondary%20pages/Project_description.html ) shows clipped delta fins on the rocket.