Paging Heralds

[selenite0]

Blue Origins just released some info about their prototype vehicle. I'm thrilled to see it. All their design choices (RLV, VTVL, dense propellants, prototype before fullscale vehicle) are the ones I'd make if someone gave me a billion dollars and told me to go build a rocketship. Except for the part about basing the company in Seattle . . .

This outfit is sufficiently geeky they made up a coat of arms and put it on the vehicle:


Clearly they're not trying to stick to the traditional rules of heraldry. The shield design is an illustration of the different orbit zones. The turtle supporters would symbolize their slow but steady approach. The abstract solar system is lovely and shows the goal.

I'm still left with two questions for my herald friends:

1. The motto is "GRADATIM FEROCITER". I've seen "step-by-step bravely" offered as a translation but there wasn't a consensus. Anyone have a better meaning?

2. The base has a headpiece with an hourglass and wings. Is this a historical symbol anyone recognizes?

Comments

[selenesue.livejournal.com]

1. Close enough. Cognates with Gradual and Ferocious. Off like a herd of turtles! And look, there they are.

The Filker in me cannot help but note that this scans the same as "Guadiamus Igatur."

2. This is a pretty standard torse crest. In the SCA we often see it on top of a helmet, since what a torse is really is a twisted fabric circlet from which they usually hang mantling, the practical use of which is to keep the sun off your metal head. In the Middle Ages and in the SCA, they made fancy crests to [a] show off one's heraldry and [b] play a game of knocking off each other's crests rather than actually hack each other to bits at tourney. Properly handled, opponants are recyclable! [grin]

Looking at the video... hey, it got off the ground, that's more than one could say for a lot of the other Good Tries! Not to mention any of your previous employers by name of course. [innocent look]

[patgund.livejournal.com]

*chuckle* I can't complain about the Seattle part myself.... :-)

[joyeuse13.livejournal.com]

Wouldn't the winged hourglass indicate the fleetingness of time?

The turtles suggest Pratchett's cheleonauts to me... :D

[not-secure.livejournal.com]

I'm glad we're finally catching up with 15 years ago...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_DC-X

Hopefully their prototype won't fall over on landing, ending the program...

[selenite.livejournal.com]

The landing gear are fixed, so no danger of one retracting if someone leaves a hydraulic line disconnected.

[not-secure.livejournal.com]

Good to see SOMEONE was paying attention. besides, this is just the sub-scale prototype if I'm reading correctly?

Saw the video on CNN yesterday while on the bike at the gym. Looks VERY stable and many redundant bright circles beneath it.

[selenite.livejournal.com]

Yes. And I think a sub-scale is a great way to shake the bugs out of the engineering and manufacturing team as well as the design.

(Unless, of course, the team takes the attitude of "This isn't the final design, so it doesn't count, and we can pencilwhip this stuff." Not that I make any accusations against programs I may or may not be working on.)

[not-secure.livejournal.com]

and as long as there aren't scaling issues with turbo pumps, nozzle shapes, and such, similar to the cryo tank issues seen on the X-33 (the thermal-cycle cracking CF LOX tank issue?)

[selenite.livejournal.com]

It was the LH2 tank which failed:
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=4180

Blue Origins seems to be avoiding those issues as well, by going with a vehicle layout which lets them use spherical or cylindrical tanks.

[not-secure.livejournal.com]

One of the benefits of going with a VTOL SSTO design rather than the blended lifting body and trying to contour to all the available space. I assume this design is a pair of stacked cylindrical pressure vessels (why do I always hear Chekhov pronouncing that when I type it? 8^)

[selenite.livejournal.com]

this design is a pair of stacked cylindrical pressure vessels

Dunno--I can see several ways to work it with the volume they have. Multiple spheres (a pyramid-shaped stack) could provide a better fit to the aeroshell while giving room for all the lines and equipment between them. A pair of cylinders would have less total structural mass. But in that case I'd expect the thrusters to be on the edges instead of grouped in the center.

[not-secure.livejournal.com]

Or a torus to allow access down the center

[not-secure.livejournal.com]

oh, and it makes sense it was the LH2 with the deeper temperature cycle, thinking about it... d'oh!

also

[patgund.livejournal.com]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/01/04/goddard_launch/

"Technical details on Goddard and New Shepard are not forthcoming, but the Blue Origin site suggests Bezos is taking his space baby very seriously. The company is hiring and is "particularly looking for experienced propulsion engineers and experienced turbomachinery engineers, as well as a senior leader to head our turbopump group". It adds: Folks with turbopump or propulsion experience on large, modern, cryogenic engines such as the RS-68 are of particular interest. Another high priority for us is an experienced leader for our structures team. Structures experience on large, modern vehicles such as Delta IV or Atlas V is of particular interest.""

Re: also

[selenite.livejournal.com]

Also looking for systems engineers and dynamicists. But in Seattle. :(

[estokien.livejournal.com]

2. Definitely looks like it means time flies to me. Classic rebus really.