Pogo Report
Jet Engine Launch Assist Concept (JELAC) - Pogo
POGO - INTRODUCTION
FORWARD TO WWW VERSION
This report has been edited (from it's original paper version) .
Some format changes were made to suit electronic hypertext as opposed to
paper. Occasional editorial notes have been added.
This author thanks the many people who helped make this study and report
possible.
Original Publishing in Paper Form: April 1996
First Appearing in HTML: November 1996
Author and Typist: Glenn Olson
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- INTRODUCTION
- BACKGROUND
- Advanced Concepts Working Group
- Historical Pogos Identified
- Related Concepts Identified
- STUDY METHODOLOGY
- Approach
- Baseline Vehicles, Five- and Ten-Engine Versions
- Pogo Operations
- Pogo Maintenance and Support
- Postulated Future Generations of Pogos
- RESULTS OF POGO PRELIMINARY CONCEPT STUDY
- Capabilities of Existing Aircraft Systems
- Altitude
- Velocity
- Pogo Lift Capability
- Improved Pogo Performance
- Estimated Performance Benefits to Upper-Stage Vehicles
- Analysis Methodology
- Pegasus
- Taurus
- Notional LOX/LH2 Upper Stage
- Estimated Costs
- Five-Engine Pogo - Pegasus Upper Stage
- Ten-Engine Pogo - Taurus Upper Stage
- Ten-Engine Pogo - New LOX/LH2 Upper Stage
- Cost Comparison and Sensitivity
- Concerns Identified
- CONCLUSIONS
- RECOMMENDATIONS
- REFERENCES
- BIBLIOGRAPHY
- APPENDIX A OTHER POSTULATED USES OF POGOs
- APPENDIX B POSSIBLE VARIATIONS OF POGOs
- APPENDIX C SURVEY OF SUPERSONIC INLETS
LIST OF FIGURES
- Pogo as a Launch-Assist Vehicle - Profiles
- Pogo as a Pegasus Launcher, In-flight
- Early Pogo Configuration With Embedded Engines - 1
- Early Pogo Configuration With Embedded Engines - 2
- Upper-Stage Payload Altitude Sensitivity
- Upper-Stage Payload Velocity Sensitivity
- Cost Comparison - Baseline & Pogo Costs
- Cost Comparison - Pogo Cost Sensitivity
LIST OF TABLES
- Capabilities of Current Aircraft
- Thrust/Weight Estimate for a Five-Engine Pogo With Pegasus
- Upper-Stage Payload Altitude Sensitivity
- Upper-Stage Payload Velocity Sensitivity
- Estimated Costs for a Five-Engine Pogo With Pegasus Upper Stage
- Five-Engine Pogo/Pegasus Unreliability Costs
- Estimated Costs for a Ten-Engine Pogo With Taurus Upper Stage
- Ten-Engine Pogo/Taurus Unreliability Costs
- Estimated Costs for a Ten-Engine Pogo With New LOX/LH2 Upper Stage
- Ten-Engine Pogo/New LOX/LH2 Upper-Stage Unreliability Costs
- Pogo Cost Comparisons
GLOSSARY OF ACRONYMS
- ACWG
- Advanced Concepts Working Group
- C3I
- Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence
- DoD
- Department of Defense
- D&A
- Development and Acquisition
- IHPTET
- Integrated High Payoff Turbine Engine Technology
- Isp
- Specific Impulse
- LEO
- Low Earth Orbit
- LOX/LH2
- Liquid Oxygen/Liquid Hydrogen
- NASA
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- O&S
- Operations and Support
- POST
- Program to Optimize Simulated Trajectories
- Scramjet
- Supersonic Combustion Ramjet
- SST
- Supersonic Transport
- TAV
- Trans Atmospheric Vehicle
- TTC
- Time to Climb
- T/W
- Thrust/Weight
- VTOL
- Vertical Take-off and Landing
INTRODUCTION
The high cost of spacelift is becoming
more of a concern each year because of funding constraints.
At the same time, interest in utilizing space for both military
and civilian activities is increasing. This has raised considerable
interest throughout the world to find ways to dramatically lower
the cost of spacelift. The most common and sought after goal
is a 90% reduction in cost. Over the past few years there have
been several concepts developed to reduce the cost of spacelift.
These range from the USAF's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle,
to the National Aeronautics amd Space Administration's (NASA's)
Reusable Launch Vehicle program, and include a host of small satellite
launch concepts.
The Pogo concept was studied from March through October 1995
as a spacelift launch assist concept. Because of funding constraints
this study received only limited engineering analysis. The Pogo
performance was estimated by comparisons to operational aircraft,
while the upper-stage performance was estimated using well-known
computer modeling software. The opinions of experts in jet engines,
rocket propulsion, and aircraft systems were garnered and included
in this report.
Though many configurations are possible, the physical configurations
depicted in the artists' renditions in Figures 1 to 4 were developed
as points of departure for discussions. Operational Pogos may
or may not bear any resemblance to these.
Figure 1, Pogo as a Launch-Assist Vehicle - Profiles
[editor's note: Color added for WWW]
Figure 2, Pogo as a Pegasus Launcher, In-Flight
Figure 3, Early Pogo Configuration With Embedded Engines - 1
Figure 4, Early Pogo Configuration With Embedded Engines - 2
While not part of the original intent of this study many other
possible uses for the basic concept were identified. Because
of their potentially high value to both the military and industry,
these uses are included in Appendix A. They include special purpose
heavy-lift vehicles for cargo transport and firefighting, very
rapid parcel transport, and others.
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