Author | Patrick J. G. Stiennon, David M. Hoerr |
---|---|
Illustrator | Doug Birkholz |
Cover artist | Doug Birkholz |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre | Science fiction |
Publisher | AIAA |
Publication date | 2005 |
Media type | Print (paperback) |
Pages | 263 |
The Rocket Company is a 2005 science fiction novel, by Patrick J. G. Stiennon and David M. Hoerr, with illustrations by Doug Birkholz about the development of the first successful Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV). The book was originally serialized online at HobbySpace, [1] before publication in paperback by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Peter H. Diamandis, Chairman/CEO of the X PRIZE Foundation, provided the foreword.
Entrepreneur John Forsyth enlists a number of billionaires to fund the development of the DH-1 RLV. The novel sets out the marketing, regulatory, and technical problems encountered.
Critics gave low marks for drama. Jeff Foust, writing for The Space Review, said of the book during its on-line serialization, "Most of the characters introduced in the book to date are less one-dimensional than zero-dimensional: they exist solely to lecture the narrator on the finer points of metallurgy, propellants, and spacesuit design, and then disappear, their function in the book apparently fulfilled." However, he considered the book to hold promise as a means for describing how a RLV could be built. "Nearly every chapter contains a wealth of information about various aspects of RLV design and development, as well as economic and regulatory concerns. The authors know the material well: both worked on a number of launch vehicle projects for companies as varied as Lockheed and Pacific American Launch Systems. They’re not afraid to delve deep into technical details and minutiae to explain why a particular design approach has been chosen." [2]
Mark Mortimer, reviewing the book for Universe Today, wrote, "By using a person in a fictional company to present technical parameters studies, the authors successfully walk a very challenging tight rope. On one side is the chasm of detail. ... On the other side of the rope, the chasm leads to pure fiction. That is, the authors provide a good story but what value is it in actually getting people into space? Skilfully though, the authors place the readers between these two gaping pitfalls and nicely balance the rocket design and business case with the fictional encounters of people living the lives within a fictitious company." [3]
A reviewer for the British Interplanetary Society's Spaceflight magazine wrote, "As the story progresses the technical, financial and even management, issues are presented as discussion by the protagonists. ... This is a brave attempt to do something different in presenting astronautical engineering and is to be applauded. If the subject interests you it is worth a bash." [4]
Programmer John Walker wrote, "This is a very curious book. The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics isn't known as a publisher of fiction, and yet here we have, well, not exactly a novel, but something between an insider account of a disruptive technological start-up company along the lines of The Soul of A New Machine and a business school case study of a company which doesn't exist, at least not yet. [5]
SpaceX CEO and CTO Elon Musk blurbed the book, writing, "This is an interesting approach to the greatest problem in space exploration: the cost of getting there." [6]
Mark Paton developed a DH-1 rocket add-on for the Orbiter simulator. [7]
Robert Zubrin is an American aerospace engineer, author, and advocate for human exploration of Mars. He is also an advocate for U.S. space superiority, writing that "in the 21st century, victory on land, sea or in the air will go to the power that controls space." and that "if we desire peace on Earth, we need to prepare for war in space."
The Centaur is a family of rocket propelled upper stages that has been in use since 1962. It is currently produced by U.S. launch service provider United Launch Alliance, with one main active version and one version under development. The 3.05 m (10.0 ft) diameter Common Centaur/Centaur III flies as the upper stage of the Atlas V launch vehicle, and the 5.4 m (18 ft) diameter Centaur V has been developed as the upper stage of ULA's new Vulcan rocket. Centaur was the first rocket stage to use liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LOX) propellants, a high-energy combination that is ideal for upper stages but has significant handling difficulties.
Armadillo Aerospace was an aerospace startup company based in Mesquite, Texas. Its initial goal was to build a crewed suborbital spacecraft capable of space tourism, and it had also stated long-term ambitions of orbital spaceflight. The company was founded by John Carmack, co-founder and former chief technical officer of id Software.
Astronautics is the practice of sending spacecraft beyond Earth's atmosphere into outer space. Spaceflight is one of its main applications and space science is its overarching field.
Willy Otto Oskar Ley was a German and American science writer and proponent of cryptozoology. The crater Ley on the far side of the Moon is named in his honor.
A spaceplane is a vehicle that can fly and glide like an aircraft in Earth's atmosphere and maneuver like a spacecraft in outer space. To do so, spaceplanes must incorporate features of both aircraft and spacecraft. Orbital spaceplanes tend to be more similar to conventional spacecraft, while sub-orbital spaceplanes tend to be more similar to fixed-wing aircraft. All spaceplanes to date have been rocket-powered for takeoff and climb, but have then landed as unpowered gliders.
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a professional society for the field of aerospace engineering. The AIAA is the U.S. representative on the International Astronautical Federation and the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences. In 2015, it had more than 30,000 members among aerospace professionals worldwide.
A launch vehicle is typically a rocket-powered vehicle designed to carry a payload from Earth's surface or lower atmosphere to outer space. The most common form is the ballistic missile-shaped multistage rocket, but the term is more general and also encompasses vehicles like the Space Shuttle. Most launch vehicles operate from a launch pad, supported by a launch control center and systems such as vehicle assembly and fueling. Launch vehicles are engineered with advanced aerodynamics and technologies, which contribute to high operating costs.
The British Interplanetary Society (BIS), founded in Liverpool in 1933 by Philip E. Cleator, is the oldest existing space advocacy organisation in the world. Its aim is exclusively to support and promote astronautics and space exploration.
Michael Douglas Griffin is an American physicist and aerospace engineer who served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering from 2018 to 2020. He previously served as Deputy of Technology for the Strategic Defense Initiative, and as Administrator of NASA from April 13, 2005, to January 20, 2009. As NASA Administrator Griffin oversaw such areas as private spaceflight, future human spaceflight to Mars, and the fate of the Hubble telescope.
The DH-1 was a circa-2005 reusable two-stage-to-orbit rocket concept proposed in the book The Rocket Company by Patrick J. G. Stiennon, David M. Hoerr, Doug Birkholz. The concept is described in the expired US patent 5568901. The DH-1 was never built, and its manufacturing company, AM&M, is also fictional. The book highlighted and sought to solve many problems of building a cheap reusable vehicle via the DH-1 design.
William H. Gerstenmaier is an aerospace engineer and policymaker who is Vice President, Build and Flight Reliability at SpaceX. He previously served as NASA's Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations between 2005 and July 10, 2019. While in that role, he was described as "arguably the most influential person when it comes to US spaceflight." Prior to being Associate Administrator, Gerstenmaier served as the International Space Station Office Program Manager, at Johnson Space Center, a position he began in June 2002. He spent a total of four decades with NASA.
A balloon tank is a style of propellant tank used in the SM-65 Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and Centaur upper stage that does not use an internal framework, but instead relies on a positive internal pressurization to keep its shape.
Len Cormier worked for many years in the U.S. aerospace industry, in government, large industry, and as a private entrepreneur. He developed many creative proposals for reusable launch vehicles, and was present at several key events of the early Space Age.
The Advanced Cryogenic Evolved Stage (ACES) was a proposed liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen upper-stage for use on a number of different launch vehicles produced by Boeing, Lockheed Martin, United Launch Alliance (ULA). During the last five years of the program, ACES was proposed for eventual use on the Vulcan space launch vehicle designed by the U.S. company United Launch Alliance. The ACES concept had the objective to improve the on-orbit lifespan of current upper stages.
Gadicharla V.R. Rao , D.Sc. was an American aerospace engineer of Indian origin who worked in the jet engine and rocket propulsion fields. Rao worked for General Electric in their Gas Turbine Division department and was a research scientist at Marquardt Aircraft, before working for Rocketdyne, where he designed the optimum thrust nozzle. Often referred to as the "Rao's nozzle", it is part of the standard design for rocket engines. The Rao Nozzle is used currently in rocket, missile, and satellite control systems worldwide. It is taught in universities that offer Aerospace Engineering, including Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), California Institute of Technology (Caltech), and Georgia Institute of Technology.
Robert E. "Rob" Meyerson is an American aerospace engineer and executive.
The Space Rider is a planned uncrewed orbital lifting body spaceplane aiming to provide the European Space Agency (ESA) with affordable and routine access to space. Contracts for construction of the vehicle and ground infrastructure were signed in December 2020. Its maiden flight is currently scheduled for the third quarter of 2025.
Mike Gruntman is a Russian-American physicist, space engineer, and author. He is professor of astronautics and aerospace engineering at the Viterbi School of Engineering, University of Southern California (USC).