Unistellar Industries, LLC

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  • Electrical System

    I decided on an all DC system at 96V (Battery Direct Bus) to 112V (Primary Bus).

    Pumps for fuel/oxidizer, coolant, hydraulics, etc. are ECM/BLDC motors because they run cooler, produce high amounts of torque at lower speeds, etc.

    1-12-2014 12-34-41 PM

    Battery Direct Bus powers Cockpit Essential Bus and Battery Bus towards aft for fuel boost pumps for reactor start.

    Primary Bus powers Cockpit Primary bus (which in turn can power the Cockpit Essential Bus) as well as buses yet to be defined for hydraulics, coolant, sensors, etc.

    Charger powered by Primary Bus charges a battery which supplies the Battery Direct Bus through the Battery Master Switch.

    Reactor is a fuel cell powered by fuel/oxidizer.  For simplicity of the system a hypergolic mixture is ideal so we don’t have to worry about ignitors.

    1-6-2014 10-41-47 PM

    Engines are straight turbojet in VTOL, then afterburners for ascent.  The fan shuts down as the density of the atmosphere decreases.  Afterburners become pure rockets.  Engines are 100% powered by fuel/oxidizer since there is no oxygen in the atmosphere for this military arena.

  • Ferro’s Monitor Framing Complete

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  • Headband Holder

    Using an old curtain rod, some leftover 4″ PVC pipe, and an old velvet (stretchy) dress, my wife was able to put together this headband holder for our daughter. Total capacity is 40 headbands.

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  • Coldest Night Yet

    It got down to -7.5°F overnight and I was awoken twice by the simulator at 11:40 PM and 4:40 AM because it was having trouble maintaining temperature. With wind chill down to -30°F I elected not to mess with the HVAC until this morning.  It is really frustrating how poorly I planned for the HVAC strategy – something to definitely learn from.

    The simulator is heated using an external heat pump when the temperature is above 28°F outside. The compressor is disengaged automatically by the computer below 28°F but the fan continues to circulate the air.  The problem is when the outside air is -7.5°F it acts like an efficient air conditioner – the coils absorb the heat from the air.

    Instead I need to shut off the power to the external unit below 28°F and install an internal fan to circulate the air when running the convection heater.

    1-6-2014 12-04-59 PM                81YqnXfSaRL._SL1500_[1]

    I ran out there this morning to turn off the external unit and I am seeing a temperature rise but due to a couple technical glitches I have no historical temperature data since just before the new year.

  • Goodbye 2013

    Annual Report

    A lot of time was wasted on the motion control system again in 2013 but I think we have a solid solution going into 2014 even though it hasn’t been thoroughly tested yet.

    I am sitting on a lot of inventory because of these experiments.  Please check out my eBay store if you need any industrial automation components!

    Also found that all USB hubs are not created equally.  I bought a cheap 7-port unit from China and it ended up having a bum port.  I got a full refund but am still using that unit because it works more reliably than a pair of cheap 10-port replacement units that I purchased.  Now I am convinced you have to spend $3 per port instead of $1 per port.

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  • Second Monitor and Support

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  • We’ve Got a Heartbeat

  • My Christmas Present

    "On Approach" storyboard for "Arms of Venus"
    “On Approach” storyboard for “Arms of Venus”

  • Making Progress

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  • Virtual Systems

    Started working a couple days ago on the systems and components that will be simulated by the computer.

    Dropship Flat-Z Plan View
    Dropship Flat-Z Plan View w/ 1×1 Ft. Grid

    A couple significant changes from the UD-4L we all know and love:

    • Butterfly tail design was replaced with a T-tail similar in scale to the C-17
    • Turbojets have been replaced with EDF and waveguide plasma
    • Ramrockets have integrated with the EDF nacelles and replaced with toroidal aerospikes
    • Vectored thrust has been integrated at the exhaust end of the nacelles (swivel)

    Most of the changes were due to the theater we are operating in. Venus has no oxygen to make the turbojet/ramjet/scramjet beneficial so we transition straight from turbofan to rocket operations on ascent.

    Currently, we are looking at 3 hydraulic loops with 2 pumps and 1 reservoir each and 2 coolant loops with 1 pump and 1 reservoir each. The 2 coolant loops exchange heat with the cryogenic fuel and oxidizer respectively.