This is a heads up at the moment prior to the completion of the Levitator
Launch Vehicle suborbital. While this vehicle is small and simple there
are still uncertainties about the success of all of its mission objectives.
All of the proof of concept principles have been tested indoors. The final
design is still pending the results of last minute design changes and final
design testing. Estimated time after design finalization to liftoff less
than one week. If the weather is clear with low winds the vehicle can be
prepared and released within half an hour of arrival at the launch site.
The guidance navigation flight control system is simple and autonomous. The
vehicle flies by itself. It is designed to achieve a maximum reverse
terminal velocity of 30 mph which will increase as the inverse square root
of the atmospheric density. At 50 miles up it is estimated to be traveling
at 1500 mph. At the estimated apogee of 10,000 miles speeds in excess of
30,000 mph are likely but whether the vehicle vibrations will go chaotic is
unknown. If it makes it to the downside of the suborbital it should burnup
somewhere over the South Pacific. The vehicle will be 15 in. long, 7.5 in.
diameter with mouth to throat ratio of 6:1 and a pole section mouth to
length ratio of 1:1. It will look much like the drawings on page 7 of the
patent with an AA NiCd battery. Liftoff weight is 4 oz. and the adjusted
thrust now estimated around 5 oz. to achieve the 30 mph. Steel 32 gage wire
is taped to toy balloon material as the bobbin. The aluminum balloon
material is highly reflective and should scintillate 10 miles up or more
to the viewer on the ground and be visible to all aircraft, satellites
and radars.The RCS will increase as the vehicle accelerates. All space
faring observers in the Pacific Region will vector the vehicle. The launch
is being operated as an exempted non-rocket model airplane. The launch
site in on cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean with a clear view of the
flight trajectory. Only persons essential to the launch will be present at
the site.

1. How do you achieve the necessary thrust to weight and specific impulse?
The superconductor version has been presented elsewhere. This Levitator
Launch Vehicle is Ferromagnetic only. At liftoff the geomagnetic field
provides half the power and energy needed. As the vehicle flies that
percentage rises. The geomagnetic field is like an extremely long
energized levitating train track. Even though it is only .5 Gauss it is
huge and you don't have to pay to energize it. The geomagnetic field
decreases almost the same as the gravitational field. It is useful at any
altitude and the solar wind provides added velocity at higher altitudes, as
high as 1,400,000 mph.

2.Electric motors have much more mechanical output with ferromagnetic cores
than they do with only copper or aluminum windings.They operate in high
magnetic flux densities, around 5000 Gauss and have low "equivalent current
densities". The equivalent current density is the equivalent conduction
current density needed from an all copper or aluminum winding to equal the
magnetic flux density the ferromagnetic core provides with no electrical
power input. Ferromagnetic cores get their bonus power from the power that
is in all materials that keep them electrically bound together but only
produces extra magnetism in ferromagnetic materials. How do you get the
necessary equivalent current density to float in the geomagnetic field?

3.To find the solution refer to page 223 "Electromagnetism" Lorrain/Corson,
W. H. Freeman 1979. The magnetic flux density at the surface of a wire
carrying current is J=2B/r where J is the conduction current density, B is
the flux density and r is the radius of the wire. If steel wire is both the
winding and its own core the equivalent current density is Je=2B/r. Since
the magnetic flux in the wire is 0 in the center of the wire the average
Je=B/r. If the wire radius is .015 cm and the most efficient permeability
of steel wire is at 10,000 Gauss then 10,000/.015 is 670,000 amp/cm^2.
Since the current density needed to float steel wire in the geomagnetic
field is 155,000 amp/cm^2 the thrust to weight of the winding is 4.3-this
being reduced by the demagnetization 25% to 3.2- See "Introduction To
Magnetic Materials" Cullity, Addison-Wesley 1972, page 58. This assumes
that the toroidal winding is wound on a cylindrical bobbin, as shown in
the patent, and the length to diameter ratio is 1:1. It is theorized that
the demagnetization of cylindrical toroidal windings is the inverse of
the length to diameter ratio of solenoidal windings. These two reference
texts are highly recommended to provide background information about
electromagnets and magnetic materials. How do you determine the specific
impulse of the magnet structure?

4. The permeability of the steel wire is low around 2000 and is further
reduced 25% by demagnetization to 1500. The conduction current density
needed is the equivalent current density divided by the effective
permeability- 670,000/1500=445 amp/cm^2 well within the comfort range of
the wire. In order to give the design headroom the thrust to weight is
reduced to 2.5 and the required equivalent current density to 520,000
and the conduction current density to 350 amp/cm^2.The winding weighs
.72 gm/meter, has 1.62 ohms/meter, needs .25 amps and .4 volt/meter.
It delivers 1.8 gms thrust/meter and draws .1 watt/meter. If a NiCd
battery can deliver 120 watt/lb for 12 min. 1200 meters of wire will
deliver 4.76 lb. of thrust 720 sec. If the battery was ejected, then
4.76*720/1 yields a specific impulse of 3430 lbf-sec/lbm. Larger motors
with lower thrust to weight have better specific impulse. Better
materials and better design lead to better performance- higher thrust to
weight and specific impulse.

6. The 6:1 mouth to throat ratio leads to half the force due to "current"
which cancels due to the pole sections being in opposition and half the
force due to "charge" which doesn't cancel. A "charge" follows the
scalar potential of a field. The Levitator Launch Vehicle flys from pole
to pole. It is self stabilized. In San Francisco the heading is south 60
degrees above the horizon. These guidance navigation flight control
principals are only briefly presented here.