Civilian Space Travel

Discussion in 'Science and Technology' started by XCV330, Feb 6, 2019.

  1. Gingerbread Demon

    Gingerbread Demon I love Star Trek Discovery Premium Member

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    Oh Oh.... Suborbital flight is how those poor passengers ended up in The Land Of The Giants :D
     
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  2. StarCruiser

    StarCruiser Commodore Commodore

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    Well - maybe it'll be okay so long as the ship isn't named "Spindrift"?
     
  3. Gingerbread Demon

    Gingerbread Demon I love Star Trek Discovery Premium Member

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    That's true, that would be a bad omen.

    I was on a yacht called the Spindrift once for a party. Oddly we had a tiny accident with a rock.
     
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  4. Asbo Zaprudder

    Asbo Zaprudder Admiral Admiral

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    Actually, it might have been a tiny planet, not a rock. Works in both directions, you see...

    Land of the Giants is probably one of those shows that best remains as a distant memory and that you don't try to revisit on DVD.
     
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  5. Gingerbread Demon

    Gingerbread Demon I love Star Trek Discovery Premium Member

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    But Deanna Lund lol...

    I saw it on TV a few years back so watching it again on DVD yeah, not planning on it.
     
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  6. StarCruiser

    StarCruiser Commodore Commodore

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    It's like naming anything "Titanic"...

    I was in the Boy Scouts back in the day and one Jamboree some of the guys built a boat and named it Titanic II... Guess what? It sank. Surprise!
     
    Last edited: May 16, 2019
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  7. publiusr

    publiusr Admiral Admiral

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    Landers:

    Past designs
    https://www.nasa.gov/missions/solarsystem/vision_concepts.html

    Todays designs
    http://www.parabolicarc.com/2019/05/16/nasa-taps-11-american-companies-advance-human-lunar-landers/

    Blue Moon's manned version:

    Blue Moon's "stretched tank" variant is topped a pressurized ascent module for astronauts.

    I'll drink to that:
    http://www.parabolicarc.com/2019/05...s-limited-edition-kegs-jeff-bezos-moon-plans/

    More on Bezos
    https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2019/...ke-a-large-lunar-lander-called-blue-moon.html
    http://www.thespacereview.com/article/3713/1
    http://www.parabolicarc.com/2019/05/09/bezos-reunveils-blue-moon-be7-engine/

    Bezos other plans:
    http://www.parabolicarc.com/2019/05...ue-moon-lander-plans-floating-space-colonies/
    https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2019/05/jeff-bezos-details-vision-of-colonizing-the-solar-system.html
    https://clubforfuture.org/

    Lockheed has two concepts as far as I can tell.

    This hydrolox lander (shades of MOON ZERO TWO) is a skeletal version of the Mars Base Camp lander (see below)
    https://www.lockheedmartin.com/cont...d-Lunar-Lander-from-Gateway-IAC-2018-Rev1.pdf


    This is a two stager--hypergolics only?


    The gov't side of things

    Altair (from Constellation)
    http://newpapyrusmagazine.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-sls-and-case-for-reusable-lunar.html

    https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2019/05/nasa-quick-start-artemis-program/

    Then there is Starship--this isn't the hopper, but the first true "Starship":

    https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2019/05/spacex-ssto-starship-launches-pad-39a/


    Now, the SLS Core Stage Pathfinder looked a lot smoother:
    https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/multimedia/sls-core-stage-pathfinder-for-testing
    https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2019/05/nasa-sls-certification-schedule-changes-drive-em-1/

    I wish Musk or Bezos would visit G&G Steel in Cordova, Alabama. I believe they could build Sea Dragon.

    MOD EDIT: Hotlinks removed.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 21, 2019
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  8. XCV330

    XCV330 Premium Member

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    Sea Dragon isn't going to happen. Anyway this is a thread about current or ongoing civilian space travel, not retro-space wet dreams or Gov projets.
     
  9. { Emilia }

    { Emilia } Cute but deadly Moderator

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    1) This is a discussion forum, not a personal link dump site. Maybe include some comment to actually promote discussion? ;)
    2) Don't hotlink images from webspace that's not your own or explicitly allows image hotlinking.

    The second point is a violation of forum rules. Don't make me go through your posts again to remove images. Consider this a friendly reminder.
     
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  10. XCV330

    XCV330 Premium Member

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    Virgin Galactic has added a section of its website for Spaceport America. It shows VSS Unity and WK2 both present there. I guess they really have started to move in.
     
  11. tavor

    tavor Lieutenant Red Shirt

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    one thing i see happening is with all these countries citizens on the moon protection of your own citizens/property will be a high priority so i can see some quick major advancements military space vehicles/crafts (space odyssey 2010 )
     
  12. XCV330

    XCV330 Premium Member

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    not to be too optimistic, and while there will eventually need to be some sort of security, we tend to all do better when we work together. prosperity increase all around. the more affluent a society becomes the more it has to lose so the less likely it is to go to war. apart from some sort of coast-guard lifeboat service type actions in deep outer space, it's hard for me to see it being militarized greatly. No one can afford it, anyway.
     
  13. Asbo Zaprudder

    Asbo Zaprudder Admiral Admiral

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    The US currently can't even get people into low Earth orbit. To certain other countries, the talk about creating a US space force must appear comical.
     
  14. Gingerbread Demon

    Gingerbread Demon I love Star Trek Discovery Premium Member

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    It does sound comical
     
  15. XCV330

    XCV330 Premium Member

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    You don't need people in orbit for it to be militarized.
    There's been a series of space shuttles launched since before the final "Space Shuttle" flight in 2011, and whatever its purpose may be, it is not a civilian or manned craft. the X-37B's
     
  16. Gavin70

    Gavin70 Commander Red Shirt

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    The only reason no one's challenged that yet is because no one is ready to send people to live on the moon or other bodies beyond earth yet. As soon as a permanent moon or mars base becomes viable for a nation, watch them try to claim ownership, if not of the whole body, at least of a significant portion.
     
  17. XCV330

    XCV330 Premium Member

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    I think you're right. Though with mining it's not so much the place as the stuff, and its reasonable to assume there will be more than enough for everyone for a long time. The big issue might the intellectual data from asteroid hunters.

    Prospecting/Wildcatting won't be cheap and companies or private concerns involved in mining will want to keep that data to themselves as long as possible.
     
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  18. Gingerbread Demon

    Gingerbread Demon I love Star Trek Discovery Premium Member

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    So things like the MCRN could happen in the distant future hehe.

    Free Mars
     
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  19. Asbo Zaprudder

    Asbo Zaprudder Admiral Admiral

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    Spectroscopy for determining likely candidates from a distance.

    Autonomous prospecting probes for in situ analysis - these could source reaction mass and/or propellants from asteroids that contain water ice. They would probably be nuclear powered - apologies to Michio Kaku.
     
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  20. XCV330

    XCV330 Premium Member

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    I think long term the Arkyd satellite series from Planetary Resources were supposed to be doing just that, but with the sale of the company, I haven't heard much, if anything. I know they failed to secure investment prior to their sale and laid everyone off. But with the sale, maybe things are looking up.