Delta IV Heavy

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gladiator1332

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I have drawn up the plans for my Delta IV Heavy. I know of all the components I need, except the nosecones. I need a nose cone that will fit a BT-70 tube, that is 2-3/4" long and is of the ogive shape I believe. Does anyone know where I can get a cone of this shape? It is very close to the Richter Recker nosecone, I saw a nosecone on FlisKits that fit a BT-70, but I am unsure if this is what I am looking for. So if anyone knows of any sites that have a nosecone that fits this description and it is a site that will let me use a credit card, then post it here.

Thanks
 
If no nosecone can be found, I am going to make one out of styrofoam I think, the smooth kind, not the rough kind. It seems the cheapest and relatively easyier to sand. I used styrofoam in a rocket once and I was happy with the results. Does anyone have any methods of making a nose cone that might be helpful to me?
 
Something tells me that it's threads like this one that make Sandman giddy........ ;)

Good luck with your project!
 
This is not the only time I am going to need these nosecones. I really like the Delta IV a lot and especially the Delta IV Heavy, and after making the scale drawing of the Heavy, I said to myself I need to do the whole Delta IV Heavy. So I am going to have a Delta IV Medium, the Medium +'s, and the Heavy. There are 3 medium + Delta IV's the 4,2 the 5,2 and the 5,4. The 5,2 and the 5,4 look exactly alike so I will only make one of them, since I won't be able to tell them a part.

So I'll be doing a lot of business with Fliskits over the next year, buying engine mounts and BT-70 tubes. :D

My dream is to fly the Delta IV Heavy on July 4th, the date when the first real Delta IV Heavy is schedueled to leap off the pad at the cape. Of course the model rocket launch will have to happen before or after the Delta IV launches, I am going to have to watch that launch on NASA TV. It'll be great to launch my rocket on the same day.
 
Don't forget the new NASA Crew Exploration Vehicle in the works. It'll launch on a DIV-heavy. Swweeeet...:D
 
I probably will add a CEV to it. I am making the CEV for Orbiter with a Delta IV, that is where my fascination with the Delta IV Heavy started. The CEV will just be an evolved OSP, that's how I got the CEV project for Orbiter, I was working on an OSP Capsule Add on, and so it had to evolve into the CEV. So I will have to make a CEV capsule to place inside the Delta IV Heavy and when the ejection charge fires the CEV will shoot out and its parachute will deploy. The parachutes in the booster nose cones will deploy and the parachute in the fairing will deploy after the CEV.

Here is the CEV I will be making: (This is actually an OSP design, but it might be what the CEV will look like)

OSP_Capsule.jpg
 
LockMart has a competing design that's pretty cool. It's an elongated cone, flattened at the bottom, with chines that flare out towards the rear (there's a specific term for this shape but I can't recall it - Illini, are you out there?). Of course, I just KNOW that Boeing has the superior design (shamless employer plug).
 
Gladiator, there is a apparently a D-IV Heavy being assembled at Cape Canaveral right now. do you know anything about it? is it possible for tourists to get close to see it?
 
As a fan of the Delta series - especially the Delta 3 - I had heard about the Delta IV series, and was elated that it was rolled out on my birthday Dec 10 at Cape Canaveral. I have all the images in max size from the detailed site at Boeing, and about 20 others that were taken by a close friend of mine who lives near the Cape.

Anyways, though its by the same company, I don't consider it to be a direct descendant in the Delta series because I agree with Kevin Forsyth and his 4 key points listed on his History of the Delta series website.

https://www.kevinforsyth.net/delta/delta4.htm

Does that mean I think any less of it, or that I'm not in the process of creating a detailed Delta IV drawing - like the DMF3-Delta 3 that I did last year?

Absolutely not, because this is a huge step forward for Boeing. I will watch this closely - especially with its launch on July 4.

Cheers,
 
I guess if you are a fan of the old Deltas, the Delta IV isn't the greatest thing to you, but launch vehicles have to evolve. Look at the Atlas V, it looks nothing like the Atlas of the Mercury days, yes there are some things the two have in common, but they are two different launch vehicles, especially since the Mercury Atlas was originally an ICBM. I see the Delta IV as an improvement from the other Deltas. And how it looks, the Delta IV has a great chance of becoming the workhorse of the Delta fleet.

It says in that article that the Delta IV is being launched from a launch site that was originally used for Saturn I and IB rockets, is this the site we see in the pictures of the Delta IV rollout?

One more question, this information will help when I am painting. When later Delta IVs are launched, will they be painted in the Delta colors or will they remain the orange and white? I ask this because in all the pictures I have seen the Delta IV is unpainted, whereas every Delta II launch the Delta II is painted turquiose and white.

The book he has a link to on the site looks really interesting, "To Reach the High Frontier"
 
Gladiator, there is a apparently a D-IV Heavy being assembled at Cape Canaveral right now. do you know anything about it? is it possible for tourists to get close to see it?

I don't live anywhere near the cape, I'm up in the North East, but I was at the KSC in November. From what I know, the only way to even get into the Cape Canaveral Airforce Station is to take the Kennedy Space Center Then and Now Tour (I tihnk that was the name of it) I did not go on this because it was sold out when I got there, but I did do the maximum access tour which takes you to the Pad 39A Observation Gantry where you can see 39 A and B and with binnoculars you can see most of the Cape Canaveral Airforce Station. So if you want an up close view go on the tour that takes you through the airforce station, or if you want to see it from a distance just go on the maximum access tour. Whether you can even see the Delta IV Heavy from these two locations, I don't know, when I was there the Delta IV wasn't out yet. And I didn't go on the airforce station tour so I wouldn't know if it goes by the Delta IV Pad.

Here are some pictures from the roll out:

S7l1s.jpg

S7l2s.jpg

S7l3s.jpg
 
The one image of right when it is being raised, shows the nosecones perfectly, does anyone know of any nosecones that look like that, and that will fit a BT-70?
 
I have all the images in max size from the detailed site at Boeing, and about 20 others that were taken by a close friend of mine who lives near the Cape.

Can you email me one or two of the images from the Boeing site, and some of the ones that your friend took?

[email protected]
 
Weight reduction is always a factor on rockets, and in this case the Delta IV will remain unpainted for that reason.

The SST - after the 2nd flight had the unpainted main tank, which reduced the weight somewhat. I can't remember the exact amount of poundage that was lost but it was an amazing number given it was just paint.
 
The one image of right when it is being raised, shows the nosecones perfectly, does anyone know of any nosecones that look like that, and that will fit a BT-70?

Flis's Richter Recker is BT70 and the nose cone is mostly that shape. order 2 of those and would sand off a little on the tip to make it blunter.

or, call Sandman or BMS!

or if you have a drill press, do it yourself. it's not that difficult, just a small matter of practice.


oh yeah, thanks for the tips on Cape Canaveral. I am going to pack binoculars now :) and I am going to call ahead for the tour.
 
The best I can judge by measuring the screen image is that it's a 1:1 ogive or pretty darn close. With a rounded tip.

sandman
 
Can you email me one or two of the images from the Boeing site, and some of the ones that your friend took?

I just called Brad, and spoke with his wife. He's off to Africa and Nepal for 6 months doing work for National Geographic - lucky sob that he is.

She told me that he'll have to try and send me some smaller email size prints when he gets back, since these are huge 3600 X 2500 or therabouts. I'd do it, but I need to wait for his official word.

Cheers,
 
Yeah he is lucky. I thought you just had the images on hand, you don't have to go through all the rouble of getting permission and stuff.


oh yeah, thanks for the tips on Cape Canaveral. I am going to pack binoculars now and I am going to call ahead for the tour.

I would ask about the tours too, just to see what tours go by the Delta IV Pad, I am only guessing you can see it form that tour and I am not sure about seeing it from the Pad 39A observation tower. Maybe someone who lives around there would know.
 
This looks pretty close to me.

This is based on a BT-70. What do you think?

sandman
 
Did you design that or is that from a website? If I follow that picture I might be able to do this on my own. What materials would I need to make a nose cone? I kinda want to give this a try.
 
I just did it with my "handy dandy" CAD program!

I took measurements right off of the screen.

Usually I provide these drawings with the custom cones I make.

sandman
 
I'm currently planning a BT-80 version. The Fat Boy Nose cone is close enough for my taste.

Anybody else looking at BT-80?

Does anybody have any acurate scale data?

Thanks.
 
Originally posted by sandman
This looks pretty close to me.

I agree that Sandman's rendition looks pretty close to what we see in the photos, but check the (scale?) drawings on the Boeing web page:
https://www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/delta/delta4/delta4.htm
The nose fairings shown there look more conical (bi-conical, in fact), and definitely have a pronounced 'corner' at the base of the nose fairing.
Maybe this Boeing drawing represents an earlier configuration?
 
I've seen the "scale" drawings on Boeing's site and the pics of the rocket are "different" from the scale drawings.

I based my sketch on the picture.

sandman
 
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