ICHC Ad Advisory   HHO mileage gain is impossible

Welcome to the
International Clearinghouse for Hydrogen Commerce
BUILDING A WORLD THAT WORKS TM              CONTACT

"First they laugh at you, then they ignore you, then they fight with you, then you win." -- Ghandi
"Mankind's future depends on America's energy choices. Let's clean house and abandon the phony solutions that result in war, environmental ruin, poverty, hunger, hatred and disease.
We must lead. We must set the example and Build A World That Works
!"TM  - Richard D. Masters

Air & Space Propulsion
Part 1 2
The light weight, high energy and cleanliness of hydrogen are attractive
to aviation - but how can the difficult challenge of storage be overcome?

water_glass_drip_sm_wht.gif (4059 bytes)

 Got   water?   

Click to download the Congressional report on 9/11 (5.6 MB)
HYDROGEN IS
THE BEST REVENGE

UNITED STATES    NASA    AEROVIRONMENT                                            January 2004
Helios in flight. Image: NASA  Graphics: ICHBC Helios crash.  Image: NASA

Click to download the NASA report "Investigation of the Helios Prototype Aircraft Mishap"RELEASED: NASA Report Finds Weight of Fuel Cell/Electrolyser and Hydrogen Tanks Contributed to Falure of Helios in Turbulence
Investigation of the Helios Prototype
Aircraft Mishap
- NASA       

EXCERPT:   "At about 30 minutes into the flight, the aircraft encountered turbulence and morphed into an unexpected, persistent, high dihedral configuration. As a result of the persistent high dihedral, the aircraft became unstable in a very divergent pitch mode in which the airspeed excursions from the nominal flight speed about doubled every cycle of the oscillation. The aircraft’s design airspeed was subsequently exceeded and the resulting high dynamic pressures caused the wing leading edge secondary structure on the outer wing panels to fail and the solar cells and skin on the upper surface of the wing to rip off. The aircraft impacted the ocean within the confines of the PMRF test range and was destroyed. The crash caused no other property damage or any injuries to personnel on the ground. Most of the vehicle structure was recovered except the hydrogen-air fuel cell pod and two of the ten engines, which sank into the ocean."

SpaceShipOne is carried aloft by Burt Rutan's White Knight on its record-setting first private manned space flight - June 21, 2004.  Photo: VIMS 760 929 2053

Burt Rutan's Spaceship One, nestled between the twin fuselage of the White Knight, is carried aloft on its record-making flight to outer space.
Photo: VIMS

THE END OF NASA
(AS WE KNOW IT)
"We did this with 25 employees!"
Burt Rutan, Scaled Composites

    On the morning of June 21, 2004, maverick aircraft designer Burt Rutan's White Knight carried Spaceship One to its ignition altitude near 50,000 feet, where the winged spaceship released and shot to 328,491 feet, just 411 feet above the official "edge of space."
    Although the spacecraft was not powered by liquid hydrogen and oxygen, the implications to future hydrogen fuel use are profound.  When the aging fleet of enormous NASA space shuttles was operating on schedule, NASA was the world's leading consumer of hydrogen.  The next generation of cost-effective spacecraft, modeled after the Scaled Composites' formula, will prove to be, to NASA and conventional spaceflight, what the personal computer was to the giant mainframes of IBM - a paradigm killer. -- RDM  

pro_video_camera_flash_tally_sm_wht.gif (2540 bytes)White Knight and SpaceShipOne:
The First Private Manned Space Flight

June 17, 2004  
Quicktime by VIMS  get Quicktime

SpaceShipOne Makes History: 1st Private Manned Space Mission
Scaled Composites        June 21, 2004
UNITED STATES    PROTON ENERGY   NASA          Wired

June 8, 2004 

The Water Rocket: Water to Boost Satellite Snooping      John Gartner
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is working with Proton Energy Systems on the Water Rocket program, which would develop a satellite that exploits a "closed loop" regenerative fuel cell: Solar power electrolyzes water into hydrogen, then the hydrogen is converted into electricity and water. The electricity would be used to power the thrusters and any other mission-specific operations.

Russia's Proposed "Cosmoplane"
New aircraft 'could fly Moscow-New York in under an hour'
Ananova     November 4,  2003
Helios010813.jpg (9680 bytes)
Helios Crashes Into Pacific
Helios, the solar-powered experimental aircraft test flown by remote control from the Pacific Missile Range Facility, crashed into the Pacific off the coast of Kauai Thursday morning during a NASA test flight. Helios is a large but delicate flying wing without any conventional fuselage. It has two sources of power: solar panels and hydrogen fuel cells.
Pacific Business News      June 26, 2003     

  • Helios Recovery Operations Conclude: Investigation Under Way
    Dryden Flight Research Center    July 1, 2003
    Among debris recovered with the help of the U.S.
    Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility and the Niihau Ranch were the two hydrogen fuel tanks carried by Helios in a quest to validate fuel cell electric power technology for airborne applications. Helios team members say none of the recovered pieces will be reusable because of damage and salt-water contamination.

"We were flying at about the 8,000-foot altitude west of Kauai over the ocean and the aircraft simply broke up."
Alan Brown
NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center

Record-Setting Solar Plane Breaks Apart     AP

Pathfinder-Plus.jpg (4512 bytes)
Aerovironment's unmanned Pathfinder Plus was powered by solar cells. The company's
Helios prototype solar/electrolysis aircraft will use hydrogen fuel cell power at night.
SkyTower


Intelligent Energy Selected by Boeing
To Develop the World’s First Fuel Cell-powered Airplane for Manned Flight

Intelligent Energy     May 12, 2003
    The Fuel Cell Airplane Demonstrator Project will prove that fuel cell technology can provide environmental benefits and optimise fuel usage for commercial aircraft. Boeing believes that fuel cells have great potential to replace auxiliary power units for commercial passenger and freight air fleets.

Flight Path for Fuel Cells
E4 Engineering (UK)   
May 2, 2003

Although question marks remain over the likelihood of hydrogen-powered cars becoming a reality, fuel cells could be the answer to reducing pollution from aircraft, said Peter McCallum, deputy head of NASA's propulsion and power projects. 'We think that fuel cells offer the greater long-term benefit if they can be made to work because they have a higher inherent thermal efficiency than conventional aircraft engines,' he said.

Columbia and crew of STS-107.  Images: NASA  Montage: VIMS

Fuel-tank Insulation Capable
of Causing `Incredible Damage'

Orlando Sentinel    
February 2, 2003

Nuclear Fusion Could Power NASA Spacecraft
New Scientist     January 22, 2003

    The journey time from Earth orbit to Mars could be slashed from six months to less than six weeks if NASA's idea for a nuclear fusion-powered engine takes off. ...The principle is to sustain an on-board fusion reaction and fire some of the energy created out the back of the spacecraft, generating thrust. Of course, harnessing fusion is no easy task. Scientists have struggled to contain the super-hot plasmas of charged ions needed for fusion reactions. To achieve fusion, scientists heat the hydrogen isotopes deuterium and tritium to at least 100 million kelvin. This strips electrons from the isotopes, creating a plasma of bare nuclei. If this plasma is hot and dense enough, the two types of nuclei fuse, giving off neutrons and huge amounts of energy.     more

Researcher Hopes to Power Shuttles with Refined Landfill Gas
December 10, 2002

COBRA CANCELLED
Lost Pratt Deal Costs 54 Jobs
by Stephen Pounds     Palm Beach Post (FL)    
October 5, 2002

    CDI Engineering Services is laying off 54 engineers by the end of the year after its major local customer, Pratt & Whitney, lost a big contract with NASA.
    ...The project was called COBRA, short for co-optimized booster for reusable applications, a lengthy name for a future booster rocket that would run on hydrogen and send the next-generation space shuttle into orbit. NASA has decided to concentrate its backing on research into a hydrocarbon-fuel engine being designed by rival Rocketdyne in Canoga Park, Calif.

September 2002 

Hydrogen Storage for Aircraft Applications Overview
NASA     Anthony J. Colozza, Analex Corporation

Hydrogen is a very high energy density element that holds much promise as a potential fuel for aircraft. The energy density of hydrogen, which is around 120 MJ/kg, is more than double that of most conventional fuels (for example natural gas: 43 MJ/kg and gasoline 44.4 MJ/kg). The main issue with using hydrogen in aircraft is its very low density. At ambient conditions 1 liter of hydrogen contains only 10.7 KJ of energy. Even in its liquid state the volumetric energy density of hydrogen (8.4 MJ/liter ) is less then half that of other fuels (natural gas 17.8 MJ/liter, gasoline 31.1 MJ/liter). Storing a sufficient amount of it for use in most applications requires a large volume. Therefore, in order to make it practical for aircraft applications, the storage method utilized must increase the density of hydrogen.

.Hydrogen Scramjet Success
As Engine Hits Mach 7.6

Daily Standard (UK)    August 16, 2002

Australian Scramjet Test Fails     November 2, 2001
Australia Hypersonic Engine Test Set

CNN/Reuters         October 20, 2001
"Scramjet" is short for supersonic combustion ramjet.
UQ scramjet  Photo: Centre for Hypersonics
University of Queensland Multi-National HYSHOT Scramjet Project

    Researchers from the University of Queensland said on Friday the prototype engine is to be fired off into the upper atmosphere on October 25 -- sent to an altitude of 314 km (196 miles) on the back of a booster rocket and allowed to plunge back to earth.

    "HyShot" project member Susan Anderson said it's hoped the engine will ignite on the way back down at 37 km (23 miles) above the earth and reach a speed of Mach 7.6 -- or 7.6 times the speed of sound -- before crashing into the ground.

    ...The Australian experiment has been eagerly awaited since the failed test in June of NASA's unmanned X-43A scramjet prototype, part of the United States space agency's US$185 million project to build a hypersonic engine. Scramjets in theory use the rush of high speeds to ignite pollution-free hydrogen and are expected to one day reach speeds of Mach 10.

Australia Joins Race to Test Hypersonic Engine
Australian Broadcasting Corp          February 23, 2001
    Australians are in a space race to flight-test a hypersonic engine over the deserts of South Australia in the middle of this year. The engine, known as a scramjet, uses pollution-free hydrogen as its fuel. Team leader Dr Allan Paull says they are aiming to ignite the engine and hit a speed of about 8,000 kilometres an hour during the flight.
Liftoff for HYSHOT Project
- University News, University of Queensland

HYPER-X   X43A
NASA Blows Up Rocket
Aborts Bid to Launch Fastest Plane

     -- San Francisco Chronicle          June 2, 2001

HyperXmicrocraft.jpg (38613 bytes)

"We're finally getting down to testing the basic science of a new propulsion system that could ultimately alter commercial aerospace and national security."

Charles Vick, acting director of space policy for the Federation of American Scientists

U.S. Hoping May Flight Will Exceed 5,000 mph
by Peter Pae   Los Angeles Times - Seattle Times (WA)   April 13, 2001

        The science behind the scramjet has been one of the more difficult barriers to overcome. The common turbojet uses turbines inside the engine to compress air, which ignites with kerosene to create combustion and then thrust. Although the turbojet is efficient at subsonic speeds of conventional airliners, air flows too slowly and overheats the engine at high speeds. Ramjets are basically a hollow tube with no moving parts, resolving the temperature problem. They can propel an aircraft past Mach 2, or twice the speed of sound. Airflow into the front of the ramjet is compressed and mixed with fuel. The resulting combustion creates thrust. But the ramjet cannot power an aircraft past Mach 5. That requires a scramjet, in which gases can flow at supersonic speeds.

    Although it is mechanically simple, it is vastly more complex aerodynamically than a jet engine. For instance, the front end of the X-43A, such as the flat nose, helps compress the oxygen before it enters the copper alloy chamber, where it mixes with hydrogen and burns, creating pressure from the expanding gas to propel the plane forward.

Moscow Tests New Missile
by Bill Gertz     Washington Post      July 31, 2001

The flight test of the road-mobile SS-25 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) took place from a launch site in central Russia two weeks ago. It was tracked to an impact area several thousand miles away on the Kamchatka Peninsula. U.S. officials said the missile's flight took an unusual path: Its last stage was a high-speed cruise missile that flew within the Earth's atmosphere at an altitude of about 100,000 feet.
     "It looks like the Russians were testing scramjet technology," said one intelligence official.    
more

NASA Unveils Futuristic Aircraft - Washington Post/AP     April 18, 2001

SkyTower Successfully Tests World's First Commercial Telecom Applications from More Than 65,000 Feet in the Stratosphere     July 22, 2002

    The Pathfinder-Plus 121-foot wingspan, solar-powered aircraft, is a smaller version of AeroVironment's 247-foot wingspan Helios aircraft which, during NASA testing in Hawaii last summer, shattered the world altitude record for non-rocket powered aircraft by flying to 96,863 feet -- well above the 60,000 to 70,000 feet targeted for commercial telecom services. As part of the NASA development program, multi-day flight capability will be demonstrated next year with the Helios solar/electric airplane using the world's first fuel cell based aircraft energy system that enables the aircraft to operate through the night. Production versions of Helios unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) using AeroVironment's fuel-cell-based energy systems will have flight durations between landings of up to six months or more.

photo: NASA

HYDROGEN EMBRITTLEMENT?                                         
NASA Working Overtime to Understand Shuttle Pipe Cracks
by Keith Cowing    Discovery     June 29, 2002
Cracks a fraction of an inch in size were discovered in LH2 flowliners in Shuttle Orbiters Discovery and Atlantis. Cracks have also been found in a Shuttle propulsion test structure. Orbiters Columbia and Endeavour have yet to be examined. 
Discovery Inspections - Eng #1 LH2 Feedline

NASA JSC 1.5 MB Powerpoint
Atlantis ENG#1, LH2- Flow Liner Cracks
NASA JSC 1.1 MB Powerpoint
Problem Widens to Third Shuttle: Technicians Find Crack in Columbia
by Chris Kridler     Florida Today   
July 2, 2002

Airbus CRYOPLANE  Image: EADS Airbus
"Safety is expected to be at least equal to, and under certain cases even significantly better than the safety of kerosene fuelled aircraft." - Airbus

Airbus Project Envisions Hydrogen-Fueled Jet
Seattle Post-Intelligencer     May 30, 2002
    A project led by Airbus to develop aircraft that run on hydrogen has gotten off to a flying start, the European Union Commission said yesterday.  The project "shows use of liquid hydrogen is technically feasible, and would greatly reduce the environmental impact of aviation without affecting safety," the commission said after the first results of the EU-funded Cryoplane project were unveiled yesterday.   The EU is keen for hydrogen-powered planes to be developed because they would produce far fewer emissions of greenhouse gases than conventional kerosene-powered engines.    
more

"Had a liquid-hydrogen-fuelled jumbo hit the
World Trade Center, enormous damage would
have occurred but the towers would not have
 come down. The towers collapsed because tons of burning jet fuel softened the buildings' steel
 backbone, allowing top floors to sledgehammer
lower floors. Liquid hydrogen can't burn until it vaporizes and then, being so much lighter than air,
it's up and away. Structural damage, fire and death would have been confined to the floors the aircraft struck."

David Sanborn Scott
, V.P., IAHE

MarspoleNASA.jpg (4156 bytes)

MarsH2LANLpole221.jpg (12671 bytes)

MARS RICH IN HYDROGEN
Potential source of rocket fuel and water

    A view of the south pole of Mars in intermediate-energy, or epithermal, neutrons. A low intensity of epithermal neutrons (colored deep blue in the map) provides a unique identification of soil enriched in hydrogen. The view shown here is a Lambert azimuthal equal-area projection of the south pole of Mars of measurements made during the first week of mapping (February 2002) using the neutron spectrometer.
Mars Odyssey's Neutron Spectrometer Maps of Hydrogen-Rich Soil
Los Alamos National Laboratory
A World Of Ice Beneath The Rust    Space Daily   
March 1, 2002

The Frozen Oceans of Mars
by Michelle Thaller     Christain Science Monitor 
   June 3, 2002

Mars Needs Women -- and Men Too
by Jonah Goldberg    Washington Times  
June 7, 2002

    Last month, scientists announced that Mars has huge subsurface deposits of ice. If you don't care about going to Mars, you might say, "Ice. Huh. OK," and move on. But if you are a member of the semi-secret army of Mars enthusiasts who dream of the day when mankind colonizes the Red Planet, this was monumentally good news.
      Water is the key ingredient for colonization. Plentiful drinkable water is the least of it. H20, as the name suggests, can be broken down into hydrogen and oxygen, which can be used for breathable air and rocket fuel. Being able to exploit this fact means spaceships can be lighter, cheaper, more efficient and refuelable.


NASA's Odyssey spacecraft, tightening its orbit around Mars for a mapping mission, has sniffed out big hydrogen deposits, possibly indicating extensive water ice, according to project scientists.
New Mars Orbiter Gets Whiff of Possible Water
CNN/Reuters     December 13, 2001

Mars Water
Could Sustain Human Colonies

June 22, 2000
by Paul Hoversten  Space.com

    Because of its chemical components hydrogen and oxygen, water is "a significant resource for exploration at the planet," said John Niehoff, a planetary-program planner at SAIC (Science Applications International Corp.) in Schaumburg, Illinois.
     Mars already has plenty of oxygen in its carbon-dioxide-rich atmosphere. But hydrogen is exceedingly rare.
     "Hydrogen is a key resource in the development of fuels for all kinds of purposes. You could run surface [power] systems or fuel launch vehicles or create fuel-cell storage devices to manage your electricity," Niehoff said.
     "We've always been assuming we'd have to bring the hydrogen with us. But with it there, in the form of water, we can go with the equipment and have a power supply. That is a tremendous leverage."
Scientists Report Water In Gullies On Mars      Space.com
June 22, 2000
Researchers using NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft announced Thursday that they found puzzling signs of water seeping into what appear to be young, freshly-cut gullies and gaps in the Martian surface. The startling discovery of recently-formed, weeping layers of rock and sediment has planetary experts scratching their heads.

Powerful Possibilities for Boeing Fuel Cells
by Kyung M. Song - Seattle Times    November 28, 2001

X-43A Failure Investigation Still Looking for Cause

QUANTUM Achieves World Record for Lightweight Hydrogen Storage Tanks QUANTUM Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide/PRNewswire    July 12, 2002

QUANTUM Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of LogoBGIF.gif (142 bytes) IMPCO Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: IMCO, QTWW), announced today that it demonstrated a hydrogen storage tank with a world record 13% hydrogen weight efficiency. This breakthrough offers a dramatic weight reduction in hydrogen storage technology and will significantly improve on-board energy storage in aircraft and spacecraft applications where weight is critical. The technology will also be used in the development of lighter, less costly hydrogen storage tanks for fuel cell vehicle applications. The QUANTUM team successfully fatigue-cycled and hydroburst-tested high performance prototype hydrogen storage cylinders and achieved the new performance record of 13% hydrogen storage by weight at 5,000 psig (350 bar). This tank will be optimized for an aerospace application currently under development by NASA and AeroVironment, with the final product targeted to achieve even higher storage efficiency and high cycle life.

Photo: NASA

Helios Sets
Unofficial New World Altitude Record!

AeroVironment

QUANTUM Awarded
Contract By AeroVironment
for NASA-Sponsored Program

IMPCO/PRNewswire

On August 13, 2001, Helios Prototype took off from Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) at Barking Sands, Kauai, Hawaii, and flew to a peak altitude of greater than 96,500 feet.

...After holding on the ground for 36 minutes to wait for low-altitude clouds to clear the path between the aircraft and sun, Greg Kendall, the "Mobile Pilot", advanced the throttle and the giant aircraft took-off at 8:48 AM. Helios rolled about 600 feet before lift-off. After reaching the end of "solar" runway 16, Greg turned the aircraft to the west and climbed toward the island of Niihau.

Wyatt Sadler, the "Stationary Pilot", took control of the aircraft when Helios reached an altitude of about 2000 feet. The crew got help from the Niihau Ranch helicopter and an up-looking fish-eye camera mounted on Helios to avoid flying under clouds. Once Helios was above the clouds, the climb to the altitude achieved on the previous flight (76,271) was rather uneventful.

Rik Meininger, the second "Stationary Pilot", flew Helios to 77,000 feet and then handed control to Wyatt. Wyatt was at the controls as Helios shattered the 80,201 foot altitude record set by AeroVironment's Pathfinder Plus in 1998. Then Greg took the controls as Helios broke the altitude record of just over 85,000 feet set by the Lockheed SR-71 in 1976. The final ascent to peak altitude was completed by Wyatt. A peak altitude over 96,500 feet was reached at about 4:10 PM and we stayed above 96,000 feet for over 40 minutes. The record flight was witnessed by Stanley Nelson, chairman of the National Aeronautic Association's contest and records board. Peak altitude was where the power available from the sun matched the power required for level-flight. At peak altitude, while we were still getting about 24 KW from the sun, several stars were visible in the up-looking, fish-eye camera. Also, it's interesting to note that the aircraft climbed above 99% of the earth's atmosphere.

QUANTUM Technologies WorldWide, Inc. (Nasdaq: IMCO) announced today that it has been awarded a major contract by AeroVironment and NASA to design, fabricate, test and supply large advanced hydrogen and oxygen tanks for the next generation Helios fuel cell prototype aircraft. The Helios fuel cell aircraft is a remotely piloted flying wing prototype for NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) project -- demonstrating the capability to carry a payload of scientific instruments and telecommunications relay equipment for the next generation of broadband communications.

    The unique system to be developed by QUANTUM is a key enabling technology that will allow Helios to fly continuously for up to 6 months at altitudes up to 60,000 feet. Ultra-light-weight, low permeability, hydrogen and oxygen tanks are critical for achieving the high specific energy and for minimizing reactant gas loss required for the energy storage system.

    ...The Helios prototype is the fourth generation of all-wing aircraft designed and built by AeroVironment at its Design Development Center in Simi Valley, CA, as technology demonstrators for future solar-powered high-altitude aircraft platforms for science and commercial missions. The Helios prototype has a wingspan of 247 feet-longer than the wingspans of the Air Force C-5 military transport (222 feet) or the Boeing 747 commercial jetliner (195 feet) -- the two largest operational aircraft in the United States. The lightweight, electrically powered Helios is constructed mostly of composite materials such as carbon fiber, graphite epoxy, Kevlar, Styrofoam, and a thin, transparent plastic skin.

    The Helios fuel cell aircraft uses an electrolyzer to disassociate water molecules using excess electrical energy generated by the solar cells. Oxygen and hydrogen gases are accumulated in separate tanks. At night, when the solar cells stop producing electricity, the process is reversed. The oxygen and hydrogen gases are fed into a fuel cell that produces water and electricity. The electricity is used to power the Helios prototype until the next morning, when the cycle starts all over again.     more

Harvesting for Fuel -  The Engineer      February 15, 2001
Go to E4 Engineering
    The proposed new fuelling system, called Alchemist, would allow a plane the size of a Boeing 777 to take off from a runway with an orbiter on its back. It would fly around in the atmosphere for a few hours, storing oxygen in liquid form, which would then be combined with liquid hydrogen and used to blast the space-shuttle-sized orbiter into space. 'Normally, you carry six pounds of liquid oxygen for every pound of hydrogen. When you take off with only hydrogen, you carry only one seventh of the propellant weight,' said Dana Andrews, chief technology officer at US aerospace company Andrews Space & Technology. Since 90 per cent of a conventional rocket's take-off weight is fuel cutting that figure leads to a huge saving, said Andrews. The company has proposed its oxygen-harvesting scheme as part of NASA's Space Launch Initiative, a program that's studying emerging technologies for a reusable launch vehicle that is safer and cheaper than the space shuttle. By doing without liquid oxygen at take-off, the plane's total weight would be cut almost in half. Because there would be no chance of liquid oxygen coming into contact with liquid hydrogen, the likelihood of an explosion during launch would be considerably reduced, theoretically making it possible for a carrier plane and orbiter to take off from a commercial airport.

Photo: Aldrin by Armstrong, Apollo 11 - 1969; NASA
Futurists See
Living 'Off the Land' of the Moon

June 8, 2000 by James McWilliams  Huntsville Times (Alabama)

    Robots could lay the groundwork for lunar-mining colonies and orbiting solar-power stations could turn space trips into profitable commercial ventures, said Gregg Maryniak, executive director of the X Prize Foundation, a St. Louis-based group promoting space-based commerce.
    ''You could get 99 percent of the materials for a solar-power station from the moon,'' Maryniak said at the conference, hosted by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center at the Von Braun Center.
    ... Building colonies in space from materials in space could allow people to live ''off the land,'' like the first explorers visiting the Americas did, said Maryniak and other speakers.
    The rocks and soil on the moon have aluminum, iron, silicon, calcium, glass and other materials that could be useful in building a power station, and have oxygen and hydrogen that could be used in rocket fuel for propelling lunar materials into orbit or toward Earth, Maryniak said.
    ''The moon is 40 percent oxygen, by weight,'' said Maryniak. Hydrogen is at the lunar poles.

TimeMars.gif (9281 bytes) Will We
Live on Mars?

by Jeffery Kluger
April 10, 2000     Time Magazine

    For the past decade--ever since NASA's 1989 proposal laid its half- trillion-dollar egg--the space community has been intrigued by a mission scenario known as the Mars Direct plan. Developed by engineers at Martin Marietta Astronautics, a NASA contractor, Mars Direct calls not merely for visiting the Red Planet but also for living off the alien land.

    As early as 2005, when Earth and Mars are in their once
every-26-months alignment, the plan envisions launching a four-person spacecraft to Mars--but launching it with its tanks empty of fuel and its cabin empty of crew. Landing on the surface, the craft would begin pumping Martian atmosphere--which is 95% carbon dioxide--into a reaction chamber, where it would be exposed to hydrogen and broken down into methane, water and oxygen. Methane and oxygen make a first- rate rocket fuel; water and oxygen are necessary human fuels. All these consumables could be pumped into tanks inside the ship and stored there.

    Two years later, when Mars and Earth are again in conjunction, another spacecraft--this one carrying a crew--would be sent to join the robot ship on the surface. The astronauts could work on Mars for 18 months, living principally in their arrival craft, and then, at the end of their stay, abandon that ship, climb into the robot craft and blast off for home.

LMCOBlimp.jpg (12852 bytes)

High-Altitude Airship Concept Design
Nears Completion at Lockheed Martin

February 16, 2000    Defence Systems Daily, UK

   Lighter-than-air vehicles operating at altitudes of 21 kilometres (70,000 feet) are nearing a reality thanks in large measure to the technical savvy of Lockheed Martin Naval Electronics & Surveillance Systems-Akron and the convictions of Stratcom President Lt. Gen. James A. Abrahamson, USAF (retired), and other members of its stratospheric airship industrial team.
    All vital technologies were evaluated individually during the recently concluded concept feasibility phase, which began in October 1998, and are ready for integration into a demonstration vehicle.
    ...Since it is not practical to carry fuel aloft in a long-endurance buoyant vehicle, all power must be generated on station. This includes payload and propulsive power. A combination of photovoltaic (PV) and fuel cell systems likely will be used to provide the multiple kilowatts of power necessary for these functions. The PV and regenerative fuel cell technologies required by the vehicle are being developed based on work at NASA-Glenn in Cleveland and NASA-Dryden at Edwards AFB.

Hubble Finds Much of the Universe's Missing Hydrogen

photo: NASA
Rocket Fuels Researchers Suspend Frozen Hydrogen Particles In Helium
August 16, 1999

"Atomic fuels will make possible rockets with liftoff weights one-fifth that of today’s or with payloads three to four times more massive."
-- Bryan Palaszewski, Glenn principal investigator

    Rocket fuels researchers at NASA Glenn Research Center have made for the first time tiny particles of frozen hydrogen suspended in liquid helium. This is the first step toward new rocket fuels that can revolutionize rocket propulsion technology needed for getting off the Earth.
    In the experiments, small amounts of liquid hydrogen were poured onto the surface of liquid helium. The liquid hydrogen was at a temperature of 14 kelvins (minus 435 degrees F), just above freezing point; and the liquid helium was held at 4 kelvins (minus 452 degrees F), or just above absolute zero. As the liquid hydrogen fell toward the surface of the helium, small, solid hydrogen particles formed and then floated on the surface of the helium.
    The suspension will be used to make futuristic atomic fuels that take advantage of the chemical recombination of atoms into molecules.
    ...Using atomic fuels could reduce or eliminate on-orbit assembly of large space vehicles, thereby eliminating multiple launches and years of assembly time and making flights to all parts of the solar system less expensive and more practicable.

                     
NASA Glenn Research Center/Science Daily

Boeing Rocketdyne and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Partner to Develop New Upper-Stage Rocket Engine

NASA TERMINATES X-33
Next Generation Spaceplane Project Killed

Venture Star
X-33 Fuel Tank Cracks
November 5, 1999

   A joint NASA-Lockheed Martin team is meeting at Marshall to analyze the nature and extent of the damage, and to determine the probable cause, Marshall spokesman Dave Drachlis said this morning.
    At 6:45 p.m. Wednesday, engineers observing the tank through video monitors discovered damage near one of its seams, said Drachlis. The damage went through the tank's outer skin and exposed honeycomb material underneath. Engineers need to investigate to find out what other damage might exist, he said.
    Two hours earlier, the tank had been through a test cycle that appeared to have normal results, Drachlis said. The tank had passed a pressure test with a full load of liquid hydrogen, and had passed a structural-loads test to simulate the force of the X-33's fully loaded, liquid oxygen tank sitting atop the liquid hydrogen tank.
    The X-33 is a more than $1.2 billion project. NASA is investing just under $1 billion in the vehicle, while Lockheed Martin and its business partners are investing $287 million, said Drachlis.

    by James McWilliams            The Huntsville Times (Alabama)

X-33 Liquid Hydrogen Tank Damaged
November 4, 1999

    The 29-foot, 4,600-pound graphite epoxy tank is called a "protoflight" article because it is being used for testing but was also intended to be installed on the X-33 for test flights.
     On Wednesday, the hydrogen tank had successfully completed a cryogenic pressure test while it was fully fueled with the super-cold rocket propellant. Test engineers filled the tank with 29,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen. They then brought the tank's internal pressure to 42 psi, or 105 percent of its design. The pressure was maintained for seven minutes before being reduced.
                   
by Justin Ray                  Flordia Today

X-33 Liquid Hydrogen Fuel Tank Ready For Tests
September 7, 1999

   Tests are to begin this week on the first of two 4,600-pound graphite epoxy tanks, each designed to carry approximately 29,000 gallons of rocket fuel -- liquid hydrogen -- at -423 degrees Fahrenheit. The twin hydrogen tanks form the flanks of the X-33 vehicle and comprise roughly half its airframe.
    The X-33 is being developed in a partnership between NASA and the   Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, Palmdale, Calif. The vehicle is a half-scale, sub-orbital technology demonstrator of a proposed future reusable launch vehicle Lockheed Martin calls "VentureStar™."
   ...Before testing the tank with liquid hydrogen, it will be partially filled with liquid nitrogen and then pressurized to test its structural integrity. Once nitrogen testing is complete, Marshall engineers will fill the tank with liquid hydrogen to simulate internal pressure loads.
    ...The vehicle is scheduled to conduct flight tests beginning in summer 2000. It will fly faster than 13 times the speed of sound and at an altitude of 60 miles to prove its technologies and systems.
                             
NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center

Wireicon.gif (2561 bytes)

In the early 1970s Gerald Rosen, a professor of physics at Philadelphia's Drexel University and one of the highest paid theoretical physicists in the United States, was contracted by NASA to determine whether it would be possible to store hydrogen as individual atoms rather than as molecules. His calculations predicted it was not only possible, but that so much fuel could be stored in a small space that the Apollo astronauts could have traveled to the moon in a rocket the size of a pickup truck.
Skunk Works Magic
Jim Wilson     Popular Mechanics     September 1999

Manufacture and Deflagration of an Atomic Hydrogen Propellant Gerald Rosen     AIAA Journal, vol. 12, issue 10
 pp. 1325-1330    October 1974

ADVANCES

FUTURE

 STORAGE 

VEHICLES

APOLLO FUEL CELLS
AIR & SPACE SECURITY PEOPLE

POLITICS

OIL CLIMATE

SHIPS & SUBS

HEALTH AMAZING H ZEPPELINS COAL VIDEO

PRODUCTION

NUCLEAR

BIOFUELS PROMOTION ARCHIVE 1 ARCHIVE 2

HYDROGEN
HAWAII


Telly Award Finalist
90-minute DVD
from Amazon.com
or watch it now with
Amazon On Demand

New to ICHC? Read this:

How
Hydrogen
Can Save
America

Peter Schwartz
  and Doug Randall 
   
Wired   April 2003

The Human Right to Renewable Energy

 


Change the
World
FREE


DOWNLOADS

 

 

NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES
Transitions to
 Alternative Transportation Technologies
2008

Full Book | PDF Summary

 


Benchmarking of Hydrogen Energy Roadmaps
HYWAYS-IPHE
June 8, 2008

Initial Guidance for Using Hydrogen in Confined Spaces - HYSAFE
Using Hydrogen in Confined Spaces
 
HYSAFE 2009


20% Wind Energy by 2030 - DOE 2008

Click to download "California Hydrogen Blueprint Plan"
California Hydrogen Blueprint Plan

Annual Report on U.S. Wind Power Installation, Cost, and Performance Trends: 2007 by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
US Windpower Cost & Performance - DOE 2008


Renewable Portfolio Standards in the US
DOE 2008

Economic Impacts of the Tax Credit Expiration
Impacts of PTC Expiration
Navigant 2008


Analysis of the
Transition to Hydrogen

 DOE March 2008


Oil Change International 2007

The Economics of Nuclear Power by Greenpeace International. Click to download.
Greenpeace 2007


Future Investment
EREC/Greenpeace 
July 2007

Click to download the report "The Chernobyl Catastrophe - Consequences on Human Health" by Greenpeace. 2006
Chernobyl Catastrophe
Greenpeace 2007


Endless Energy Project -  GLOBE 2007

"World Energy Technology Outlook - 2050" by the European Commission
World Energy Tech Outlook 2050
European Commission 2007


Potential Hydrogen Communities in Europe Institute for Energy
January 2007


A New Energy Future
Environment California

2006


The Hydrogen Economy
UN Environment Programme 2006


Renewable Hydrogen
Clean Energy Group
2006


HyWays - A European Roadmap 2006
L-B-Systemtechnik


Manufacturing R&D for the Hydrogen Economy DOE 2006

Click to download "Nuclear Power - No Solution to Climate Change" September 2005 by the Australian Conservation Foundation
Nuclear Power
No Solution to Climate Change 
FOE 2005

Click to download "Fuel Cell Vehicle World Survey" by the Breakthrough Technologies Institute

ussee2004cvr.gif (544 bytes)
A Global Survey of Hydrogen Energy Research
Development & Policy

Center for Energy and Environment Policy
April 2004

Click to download the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory report "Summary of Electrolytic Hydrogen Production: Milestone Completion Report" April 2004.
Electrolytic Hydrogen Production   NREL

Click to view the U.S Energy Department's "Hydrogen Posture Plan"
Hydrogen Posture Plan
U.S. Dept of Energy

Click to download the Illinois Coalition report "The Hydrogen Highway: Illinois' Path to a Sustainable Economy and Environment"
The Hydrogen Highway
Illinois Coalition

Click to download European Union report "Well-to-Wheel Analysis of Future Automotive Fuels and Powertrains in the European Context"
Wells-to-Wheels
Analysis of Future Fuels

European Union

Click to read the NRC Report
The Hydrogen Economy
U.S. National Research Council 2004

ArizonaH2Station.jpg (3048 bytes)
Arizona Public Service
Alternative Fuel/H2 Pilot
Plant Design Report

DOE FreedomCar 2003

Click to download the California Energy Commission's 2003 Integrated Energy Policy Report
2003 Integrated Energy
Policy Report

California Energy
Commission

Click to download report
Research and Current
Activities

U.S Climate Change Technology Program 

Click to download "Transitioning to a Renewable Energy Future"
Transitioning
To a Renewable
Energy Future

European Union

Click to download Vision Report from the European Union
Hydrogen Energy
and Fuel Cells

European Union

Great Transition: The Promise and Lure of the Times Ahead - A Report of the Global Scenario Group
Great Transition
Global Scenario Group 2002

"It could well be that the first country to seriously address the issues of creating a market for renewables would become the central location for a major new international business sector - with all the positive consequences that carries in terms of economic activity and employment."
-------------
Rodney Chase
CEO BP
--------------

"We all share the responsibility for carrying out this project, for the assumption of responsibility is part of the dignity of human beings."
------------
Juergen Shrempp
Chairman
DaimlerChrysler
-----------
"Energy sources like coal and oil once overcame an economy based on horsepower. So, I suspect, our carbon-based economy may itself pass from the scene to be replaced, perhaps, by hydrogen."
-------------
Spencer Abraham
Secretary,
US Dept of Energy

-------------
"General Motors absolutely sees the long-term future of the world being based on a hydrogen economy.”
------------
Larry Burns
Director of R&D
General Motors
-------------

  H2 & FUEL CELL
-- COMPANIES --

3M -US
A
cumentrics -US
A
daptive Materials -US
Air Products -US
A
ngstrom Power -CA
A
nsaldo FC -IT
Anuvu Fuel Cell -US
A
pollo Energy Sys -US
Asia Pacific FC -TW
A
stris Energi -CA
A
utorotor -SE
Axane -FR
Ball Aerospace -US
B
allard Power Sys -CA
B
CS FC -US
C
eramic FC -AU
Cellex Power-CA
C
ell Tech Power -US
C
eres Power -UK
C
lean Fuel Generation -US
C
MR FC -UK
Dana -US
DCH Technology US
D
elphi -US
Distributed Energy-US
D
irect Methanol FC -US
D
TI Energy -US
D
uPont FC -US
E
co Soul -US
E
lectroChem -US
E
lectro-Chem-Technic -UK
E
nergy Conversion Devices -US
E
nergy Related Devices -US
F
uel Cell Components -US
F
uel Cell Control -UK
FuelCell Energy -US
F
uel Cell Technologies -CA
G
eneral Electric Energy -US
G
olden Energy FC -CHINA
G
enCell -US
G
eneral Motors -US
G
erard Daniel  -US
G
iner -US
G
lobal Thermoelectric -CA
G
ore FC Tech -US
H
Bank Technology -TW
H
2 ECOnomy -US
H
eliocentris Energiesys -DE
Hydrogen Link -DK
Hydrogen Works -SP
H
ydrogenics -CA
HySafe -EU
I
datech -US
I
ndependent Pwrr Tech -RU
I
nnovatek -US
I
on Power -US
I
ntelligent Energy -UK
Ishikawajima-Harima -JP
ITM Power -UK
Iwatani Int -JP
J
ohnson Matthey FC -UK
L
ogan Energy -US
L
ynntech Industries -US
M
anhattan Scientifics-US
M
asterflex -DE
M
echanical Technology -US
M
edis Technologies  -US
M
esofuel -US
M
illennium Cell -US
M
organ Fuel Cell -US
M
otorola Labs -US
M
TI Micro Fuel Cells -US
N
anostellar -US
N
anoptek -US
N
eah Power Systems-US
N
edstack -NL
N
exTech Materials -US
N
uVant System -US
N
uvera Fuel Cells -IT/US
P
-21 GmbH -DE
P
alcan Fuel Cells -CA
P
lug Power -US
P
olyfuel -US
P
orvair Fuel Cells -UK
P
owerNova Tech -CA
Q
uantum Tech -US
Q
uestAir Tech -CA
R
eliOn -US
S
iemens Westinghouse
Stationary FC -DE
Silverwood Energy -US
S
mart FC -DE
SOFCo-EFS -US
Stuart Energy Sys CA
S
ulzer Hexis -CH
T
eledyne Energy Sys -US
T
/J Technologies -US
T
okyo Electric Power -JP
T
oshiba Int
FCs -JP
UTC FCs -US
Vairex -US
V
elocys -US
Virent Energy Sys -US
V
oller Energy -UK
Zetc -US

NOTE: The ICHBC is
adding wind power to
this list due to the
significant potential for
electrolytic hydrogen
production from wind.

WIND POWER
Anglesey Wind -UK
B
onus Energy -DK
Fortis Windenergy -NL
Fuhrlaender AG -DE
Gamesa Energia -ES
GE Wind - US
Northern Power Systems -US
P
roven Energy -UK
Suzlon -US
Vestas -DK
Windside -FI

WIND COMPONENTS

ABB
A
fab Tech LLC
Ameron International
A
merican Superconductor -US
ATI Casting Service -US
Beaird Industries -US
Bergen Southwest Steel -US
B
HS Getriebe -DE
C
AB -US
Canton Drop Forge -US
Composite Technology -US
Custom Welding and Metal Fabricating
D
IAB
DMI Industries
Energy Technologies -US
Enron Wind US
G
E Wind -US
Hilliard
Hitco Carbon Composites
Hodge Foundry -US
Innovative Metal Products
K&M Machine Fab -US
Kenetech US
Knight and Carver -US
Lindquist Machine -US
LM Glasfiber -DK
Magnetek -US
Metso Drives -FI
Michael Byrne Manufacturing -US
Mitsubishi Power Sys -JP
MLS Electrosystem - US
Molded Fiber Glass -US
Motors and Controls International -US
Newmark International -US
NRG Systems -US
Northern Power Sys US
Owens Corning
Parker
Peerless Winsmith
Performance Energy Solutions
Princeton Power Systems
ROHN Industries
S
atcon
Second Wind
SIPCO
SMI and Hydraulics
Swantech LLC
Texas Electronics
Thomas & Betts
TPI Composites
TRI Transmission & Bearing
Trinity Structural Towers
Valmont Industries
Vectorply
Virtual Technologies
Winergy AG
Xantrex Technology
Zond US

RESOURCE LINKS

Americans for
Energy Freedom

American Hydrogen
Association

American Wind Energy Association
Apollo Alliance
Bellona Foundation
C
alifornia Hydrogen Business Council
Canadian Hydrogen Association
China Assosiation for Hydrogen Energy
Consumer Energy
Center Rebate &
Demand Reduction
Program

CREST/REPP Solstice
CryoGas International
DOE Energy Efficiency and Renewable News
EcoSpeakers.com
Elsevier's Refocus
ETSU Europe
European Commission Hydrogen Program
European Hydrogen Association
FC and Alternative
 Energy News

Fuel Cell Markets

Fuel Cell Today
Fuel Cell Review
Fuel Cells 2000
G
erman Hydrogen
Association

Global Security.org
Green Hybrids
Hydrogen 2000
H2 Cars Germany
H2 Report
H2Wales
Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Investor
H
ydrogen &
Fuel Cell Letter

Hydrogen Fuel Cell
Institute

Hydrogen Guide
Hydrogen Now!
Illinois 2H2
INFORM
Institute for the
Analysis of
Global Security

International Association for Hydrogen Energy
Italian Hydrogen
Association

Japan Fuel Cell
Development Information Center

Japan H2 & FC
Demo Project

Kirsch Foundation
Mountain States H2 Business Council
National Fuel Cell
 Education Program

Northeast Sustainable Energy Association
Pew Center on Global Climate Change
Project Fuel Cell Bus
Renewable Energy
Policy Project

SolarAccess.com
SunWater
Sustainable Energy
Coalition
US Fuel Cell Council
US National H2 Association
US National  Renewable
Energy Laboratory

World Fuel Cell
Council