John Hunter (scientist)
Encyclopedia
John Hunter is a projectile researcher, who developed the 1994 "supergun" Super High Altitude Research Project
(SHARP) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
. The ultimate aim of his research is to shoot payloads into space, at less than one tenth of the cost of unmanned rockets.
to launch payloads into space.
A light gas gun
uses hydrogen
as working gas, and natural gas as fuel for heating the hydrogen, which takes 10 minutes before the shot. Most of the hydrogen is recovered after the shot, to be used again.
The 1100 metres (3,608.9 ft) long gun is for the most part submerged in the ocean. Its horizontal and vertical direction (inclination
and elevation
) can be adjusted.
It gives a projectile an initial speed of 6 km/s. The projectile has a one-stage rocket which ignites some time after launch. The planned payload is a container with fuel to supply a fuel depot
in orbit.
The first phase is a one-year 2 million dollar project to break the record height of 180 kilometres (111.8 mi) for a projectile fired from a space gun, which was achieved in Project HARP
. The second phase is a two-year 10 million dollar project to launch to orbit a 1 kilograms (2.2 lb) payload each time. The third phase is a two-year 50 million dollar project to launch to orbit a 45 kilograms (99.2 lb) payload each time. The fourth phase is a three-year 500 million dollar project to launch to orbit a 450 kilograms (992.1 lb) payload each time.
Super High Altitude Research Project
The Super High Altitude Research Project was a U.S. government project conducting research into the firing of high-velocity projectiles high into the atmosphere using a two stage light gas gun, with the ultimate goal of propelling satellites into Earth orbit...
(SHARP) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory , just outside Livermore, California, is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center founded by the University of California in 1952...
. The ultimate aim of his research is to shoot payloads into space, at less than one tenth of the cost of unmanned rockets.
Quicklaunch
John Hunter is the director of Quicklaunch, a company hoping to use a type of space gunSpace gun
A space gun is a method of launching an object into outer space using a large gun, or cannon. It provides a method of non-rocket spacelaunch.In the HARP Project a U.S...
to launch payloads into space.
A light gas gun
Light gas gun
The light-gas gun is an apparatus for physics experiments, a highly specialized gun designed to generate very high velocities. It is usually used to study high speed impact phenomena , such as the formation of impact craters by meteorites or the erosion of materials by micrometeoroids...
uses hydrogen
Hydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...
as working gas, and natural gas as fuel for heating the hydrogen, which takes 10 minutes before the shot. Most of the hydrogen is recovered after the shot, to be used again.
The 1100 metres (3,608.9 ft) long gun is for the most part submerged in the ocean. Its horizontal and vertical direction (inclination
Inclination
Inclination in general is the angle between a reference plane and another plane or axis of direction.-Orbits:The inclination is one of the six orbital parameters describing the shape and orientation of a celestial orbit...
and elevation
Elevation (ballistics)
In ballistics, the elevation is the angle between the horizontal plane and the direction of the barrel of a gun, mortar or heavy artillery. Originally, elevation was a linear measure of how high the gunners had to physically lift the muzzle of a gun up from the gun carriage to hit targets at a...
) can be adjusted.
It gives a projectile an initial speed of 6 km/s. The projectile has a one-stage rocket which ignites some time after launch. The planned payload is a container with fuel to supply a fuel depot
Propellant depot
An orbital propellant depot is a cache of propellant that is placed on an orbit about the Earth or another body to allow spacecraft to be fuelled in space. Launching a spacecraft separately from some of its propellant enables missions with more massive payloads...
in orbit.
The first phase is a one-year 2 million dollar project to break the record height of 180 kilometres (111.8 mi) for a projectile fired from a space gun, which was achieved in Project HARP
Project HARP
Project HARP, short for High Altitude Research Project, was a joint project of the United States Department of Defense and Canada's Department of National Defence created with the goal of studying ballistics of re-entry vehicles at low cost; whereas most such projects used expensive rockets, HARP...
. The second phase is a two-year 10 million dollar project to launch to orbit a 1 kilograms (2.2 lb) payload each time. The third phase is a two-year 50 million dollar project to launch to orbit a 45 kilograms (99.2 lb) payload each time. The fourth phase is a three-year 500 million dollar project to launch to orbit a 450 kilograms (992.1 lb) payload each time.
External links
- Shooting right for the stars with one gargantuan gas gun - Excerpt from 1996 Smithsonian Magazine on Hunter's work with SHARP. The final paragraph contains the financial assessment.
- SHARP Gun Accelerates Scramjets to Mach 9", by William B Scott, Aviation Week and Space Technology, September 9, 1996, page 63.
- Encyclopedia Astronautica - SHARP
- Video Interview of John Hunter - Gas Station In Space moonandback 2011
- Audio Interview of John Hunter on The space show