Rocket Racing League Getting Closer

[spacelifejunkie]

http://www.airspacemag.com/issues/2007/september/X-Racers.php<br /><br />Favorite quote...<br /><br />"When the gun sounds, their 1,500-pound-thrust rocket engines ignite, hurling the racers down the runway past the fans and throwing back brilliant 10-foot kerosene flames: 0 to 200 in 15 seconds. At the end of the straightaway, the rocketplanes pull vertical and shoot straight up on pillars of fire. At about 3,000 feet, they pitch over inverted, roll, and, engines now off, dive through an invisible gate to follow a course that twists and turns like a roller-coaster track."<br /><br /><br />I am not a car racing fan at all. Going in circles is boring to me. But this is completely different. "Gentlemen, ignite your rocket engines!"<br /><br />http://www.rocketracingleague.com/index.html<br /><br /><br />SLJ

 

[nuaetius]

Given the issues that Scaled just had in NM how are they going to refuel these craft? Has the procedures changed?

 

[spacelifejunkie]

There will always be safety issues with new technology. Auto racing killed multiple drivers per year for a long time. Now it's rare. That being said, RRL racers will use a completely different fuel setup than the situation at Scaled. Kerosene and LOX is certainly an explosive mixture but until we find out what happened with the NO2 transfer we should reserve judgement. I do share your concern, though. I just hope newspace can get off the ground without too much loss of life early on. <br /><br /><br />SLJ

 

[docm]

And lets not forget that there are literally thousands of Nitrous tanks of various sizes filled every day without incident. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[nuaetius]

I guess my question is that all I have read about the racing so far basically says that the "pit stops" will be part of their race time. If that is so are they required to get the pilot out of the plain and do the "crew" have to get behind a barrier while the plane is refueled? Is there a comparable situation in industry where high pressure LOX refuel is done against a clock?

 

[trekkie2007]

There is this extreme air racing event that I forget the name of but these small planes fly around poles over the water at very high angles and speed. Rocket Racing will be similar to this in terms of risk. There is more about rocket racing at www.PlanetSpace.com if you are interested.