I am a contestant for the M-Prize challenge

  • Thread starter Iyafrady
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In summary, the M-Prize Competition is a challenge to design a spacecraft that can travel to an altitude of 100km and orbit Earth 9 times or more, with a budget of $3500. The competition was started by top scientific professors and includes teams from various countries. The rocket must be liquid fueled and based on the rockoon concept, and the propulsion must use hydrogen peroxide. However, some entrants may not be adhering to the spirit of the competition, and rules may be amended at any time. Two prizes are offered - one for a non-reusable launch system and one for a reusable vehicle.
  • #36
turbo-1 said:
Darn! What was the cash value of the W-prize?

There was no prize turbo, i just have the satisfaction of knowing i have a rocket with my name and address on it in space, launched c1965.
 
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  • #37
How old are you, Iyafrady? Did you pay to register?
 
  • #38
  • #39
wolram said:
There was no prize turbo, i just have the satisfaction of knowing i have a rocket with my name and address on it in space, launched c1965.
Darn! Since W comes before X in the alphabet, I thought it might have been huge!
 
  • #40
Cyrus said:
How old are you, Iyafrady? Did you pay to register?

Im over 21 dude if i wasnt i wouldn't be eligible.Im going to be part of a team of fellow students at my school who were also invited to be a part of the m-prize challenge.I think there is a nominal fee to enter but it will look good on my resume in the future so it don't really matter.
 
  • #41
Iyafrady said:
Im over 21 dude if i wasnt i wouldn't be eligible.Im going to be part of a team of fellow students at my school who were also invited to be a part of the m-prize challenge.I think there is a nominal fee to enter but it will look good on my resume in the future so it don't really matter.

Why would you need to be over 21 to enter into this contest, is there drinking involved? Also, its not the m prize, its the n prize. Their website seems like a load of crap. I would find something more legit to work on.
 
  • #42
Cyrus said:
Why would you need to be over 21 to enter into this contest, is there drinking involved? Also, its not the m prize, its the n prize. Their website seems like a load of crap. I would find something more legit to work on.

Your just sayng that because your jealous.I don't care if I don't win because i probably won't but itll be a learning experience and i get to show off and boast that i was selected for the m-prize.Its like the nobel prize.
 
  • #43
signerror said:
I hear North Korea has discount ICBM parts for sale.

But they can't guarantee taking anything to the orbit.
 
  • #44
Let's stop feeding the troll. Remember this? https://www.physicsforums.com/showpost.php?p=2137518&postcount=7

Iyafrady said:
what I don't get about atheists is that they think that we evolved from onkeys over millions of years, but they don't get that monkeys don't live for millions of years!

Methinks someone feels a need to mark the end of April Fools week.
 
  • #45
Iyafrady said:
Its like the nobel prize.
No it isn't. The Nobel Prize starts with an 'N'.
 
  • #46
Iyafrady said:
Your just sayng that because your jealous.I don't care if I don't win because i probably won't but itll be a learning experience and i get to show off and boast that i was selected for the m-prize.Its like the nobel prize.

Man, I sure am. I'm green with envy. :rolleyes:

You sure you're over 21?
 
  • #47
yea guyz! stop ben jelus of him! he's gona mak it into spce! :rolleyes:
 
  • #48
There is an m-prize, it's hosted by a tranhumanist group. Perhaps he does mean m-prize. :-p
 
  • #49
Astronuc said:
I believe the fuel to get to 100 km and orbital velocity (17565 mph or 28355 km/hr or 7.85 km/s) will cost more than $3500!

Im using liquid hydrogen peroxide as fuel and its pretty cheap so I am not worried about fuel costs.
 
  • #50
Iyafrady said:
Im using liquid hydrogen peroxide as fuel and its pretty cheap so I am not worried about fuel costs.
Please! Quit the crap. Peroxide is not a fuel. It was used as a source of oxygen in some designs. It is a fairly heavy oxidizer compared to oxygen, and you still need some fuel to burn. This thread is a huge joke.
 
  • #52
turbo-1 said:
Please! Quit the crap. Peroxide is not a fuel. It was used as a source of oxygen in some designs. It is a fairly heavy oxidizer compared to oxygen, and you still need some fuel to burn. This thread is a huge joke.

signerror said:
Actually:

http://books.google.com/books?id=C2...czGDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10

Thanks for saving me the inconvenience of enlightening turbo about advanced propulsion technology.Glad to see at least some people here are scientists.
 
  • #53
I wish you the best of luck, Iyafrady, seriously. Reach for the stars.
 
  • #54
Let me see you launch a rocket into orbit using hydrogen peroxide. This is way beyond silly. Once a vessel is in space, it is possible to use hydrazine thrusters for attitude control, and it is possible (if you have budgeted for the lift-mass of the oxidizer) to use hydrogen peroxide for attitude control. There is not a single post in this thread to suggest that you have any appreciation for the amount of thrust that it might take to put a 10g payload into orbit. Somehow, you have also lost the enthusiasm to claim that there is a M-prize, and have glommed onto the odd N-prize. Why won't a mentor put this thread out of its misery?

BTW, If I wanted to claim the fictitious M-prize, all I would have to do is machine a super-gun, load it with some trackable bullet, and point it east at a suitable elevation. It might be tough to make the bullet trackable, but it would be a heck of lot easier than constructing nano-space-craft.
 
  • #55
turbo-1 said:
Let me see you launch a rocket into orbit using hydrogen peroxide. This is way beyond silly. Once a vessel is in space, it is possible to use hydrazine thrusters for attitude control, and it is possible (if you have budgeted for the lift-mass of the oxidizer) to use hydrogen peroxide for attitude control. There is not a single post in this thread to suggest that you have any appreciation for the amount of thrust that it might take to put a 10g payload into orbit. Somehow, you have also lost the enthusiasm to claim that there is a M-prize, and have glommed onto the odd N-prize. Why won't a mentor put this thread out of its misery?

BTW, If I wanted to claim the fictitious M-prize, all I would have to do is machine a super-gun, load it with some trackable bullet, and point it east at a suitable elevation. It might be tough to make the bullet trackable, but it would be a heck of lot easier than constructing nano-space-craft.

First of all its traceable bullets, trackable isn't a word genius.Second of all your super-gun thingy would be in violation of rule number one, the "spirit of the N-Prize" clause.And youve stooped low enough to rant about wether its an M or a N??That shows your just here to spread your bad vibes man, take your negativity elsewhere.

edit:Oh and I am not saying I am GOING to launch a spacecraft using Krogers hydrogen peroxide, i merely said I am going to TRY.Why does it even bother you if someone wants to give something a shot...even if its difficult??
 
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  • #56
Who are these "top scientific professor's" you speak of?
 
  • #57
Iyafrady said:
First of all its traceable bullets, trackable isn't a word genius.And youve stooped low enough to rant about wether its an M or a N??That shows your just here to spread your bad vibes man, take your negativity elsewhere.

edit:Oh and I am not saying I am GOING to launch a spacecraft using Krogers hydrogen peroxide, i merely said I am going to TRY.Why does it even bother you if someone wants to give something a shot...even if its difficult??
Since you are supposedly required to "track" the satellite for 9+ passes, perhaps you ought to pay some attention. I don't care where you get your hydrogen. I could get some at the local Rite-Aid. You have been given a LOT of leeway by the people who run this forum, and I must say that I'm more than a bit disappointed not to see a line through your name already.

Ain't no science happening here!
 
  • #58
Cyrus said:
Who are these "top scientific professor's" you speak of?

The competition was launched in 2008 by Cambridge professor Dr.Paul H. Dear, and is intended specifically to spur amateur involvement in spaceflight.
 
  • #59
Iyafrady said:
The competition was launched in 2008 by Cambridge professor Dr.Paul H. Dear, and is intended specifically to spur amateur involvement in spaceflight.

I'm not finding him on the cabridge website using google.

Edit: I did find him, but under biology.
 
  • #60
Cyrus said:
I'm not finding him on the cabridge website using google.

Edit: I did find him, but under biology.

Yea he is a biology guy but he's also an amateur rocketeer
 
  • #61
Iyafrady said:
Yea he is a biology guy but he's also an amateur rocketeer

So then he isn't a "top scientist" in terms of aerodynamics. Is it even legal to put something into orbit?
 
  • #62
This is a video of the south african team's test launch.

vulcan.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKIXouBIyyI&feature=channel_page
 
  • #63
turbo-1 said:
and it is possible (if you have budgeted for the lift-mass of the oxidizer) to use hydrogen peroxide for attitude control.

Minor correction, monopropellant hydrogen peroxide is not used as an oxidizer (no redox reaction) - it is rather a catalyzed decomposition, which probably involves radicals (unpaired valence electrons).

H2O2 -> H2O + 1/2O2
 
  • #64
Instead of building this thing like a bunch of yahoos, has anyone sat down and did some actual orbital calculations to make sure you all are not wasting your time chasing a pipe dream?
 
  • #65
Cyrus said:
Instead of building this thing like a bunch of yahoos, has anyone sat down and did some actual orbital calculations to make sure you all are not wasting your time chasing a pipe dream?

Of course we plan to do orbital and gravitational analysis but unfortunately Greg (one of the main developers) got grounded for a couple weeks so he can't use his computer, so that part has to be put on hold.
 
  • #66
Iyafrady said:
Of course we plan to do orbital and gravitational analysis but unfortunately Greg (one of the main developers) got grounded for a couple weeks so he can't use his computer, so that part has to be put on hold.

He got grounded? How old are you guys...really. It's ok if you guys are in high school.
 
  • #67
Cyrus said:
Instead of building this thing like a bunch of yahoos, has anyone sat down and did some actual orbital calculations to make sure you all are not wasting your time chasing a pipe dream?

Well, from 0th-order theory there is no issue, e.g., the rocket equation is invariant under scaling of the rocket. If you could shrink a Delta rocket uniformly by five orders of magnitude, it would still have enough propellant to go wherever a full-size Delta could go.

But then I don't think you can shrink a Delta rocket by five orders of magnitude. I'll defer to you engineers to explain exactly why.
 
  • #68
wolram said:
So the girl reaper was your fault?

I always assumed a graveling in space knocked that toilet seat loose.:biggrin:

That was a great show.
 
  • #69
Team Prometheus
 
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  • #70
signerror said:
Well, from abstract theory there is no issue, e.g., the rocket equation is invariant under scaling of the rocket. If you could shrink a Delta rocket uniformly by five orders of magnitude, nothing would change: it would still have enough propellant to go wherever a full-size Delta could go.

But then I don't think you can shrink a Delta rocket by five orders of magnitude. I'll defer to you engineers to explain exactly why.

I don't follow. An Estees model rock is shrunk down, and it aint going into space.
 

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