s-pogo.htm
Anyone wishing to copy this material may do so freely, though the ideas I've expressed remain mine and I would appreciate the credit. My e-mail address, oglenn@earthlink.net, may or may not continue to be functional.
I would like to thank all the folks out there who've contributed through your comments and questions as well as all the sources I've read. Had there been more of me this is one of the areas I would like to have pursued more.
Glenn
The Pogo concept was first announced nearly two years ago. Continued study of jet engines has shown more potential than first realized. Yet development of the concept has not been explored by NASA, the USAF, or the general launch industry.
On November 8, 1997, while at the Space Frontier Foundation conference in LA, a good friend suggested that I was thinking too large. He suggested that a much smaller version might be more marketable as a demonstrator.
I spoke with one of the amateur rocket groups represented at the conference and was told that there would be a market for launch services provided to the amateur rocket community. During the conference a contest was announced. A prize of $250,000 would be given to the first amateur rocket to take a 2 kg package to 200 miles altitude.
I have reviewed several sources of literature and found that a full range of jet engines can be obtained with thrusts as low as 1 lb.
Thus began the Small-Pogo Project. Considering the above range of engines and the, to date, lack of financial support I have decided to pursue the Pogo concept on my own in a step-wise fashion. The Small-Pogo Project Phase I will be demonstrating the feasibility using model aircraft technologies and hobby rockets. Altitudes of 8,000-10,000 ft and speeds of 250 mph are expected. With this success in-hand Phase II will use small jet engines and amateur rockets. Altitudes of 40,000-50,000 and speeds of Mach 3 are expected. Larger scale work following the Small-Pogo project is expected to lead to altitudes of 80,000-120,000 ft and speeds of Mach 7-9. The amateur rocket community will likely be the first beneficiaries of the Pogo concept.
I gave up on projecting a schedule. Progress is too unpredictable. Rough line drawings of the vehicle layout can be seen here and here and a picture of me holding the vehicle (when it got loose from it's tethers.
An almost daily update on progress.
Airbreathing engines are commercially available in sizes from a few ounces of thrust to tens of thousands of lbs thrust. For the Small-Pogo and near-term follow-on projects available engines have been broken down into large jet engines, small jet engines, and model airplane piston engines.
A variety of ideas being considered as potential alternative propulsion schemes.
Some very low-cost/low-tech launch concepts are emerging from the Small-Pogo study. One of which is the use of ramjets which can be built in any well equipped garage. They are inexpensive to build, operate, and maintain and may be able to provide 40 pct of the speed needed to obtain LEO. Getting them started is looking easier all the time.
This Page Last Updated January 10, 1998