I wonder how many VASIMIR engines will take to park an asteroid at one of the Lagrangian points?
Exploitation of space will open dawn of a new era.
Exploitation of space will open dawn of a new era.
Obama Sets Mars Goal For America
- Thread starter All Seeing Eye
- Start date
I'll believe this when I see it
Isn't that what they said about putting men in space and all that?
Probably not since they actually put their money where their mouth is. What you are seeing here is politics. Obama is trying to throw a bone to space supporters. Not much is going to come of this.I'll believe this when I see it
Isn't that what they said about putting men in space and all that?
I'm not going to get my hopes up anymore. I'll believe when there is a launch vehicle on the assembly line
Probably not since they actually put their money where their mouth is. What you are seeing here is politics. Obama is trying to throw a bone to space supporters. Not much is going to come of this.I'll believe this when I see it
Isn't that what they said about putting men in space and all that?
I'm not going to get my hopes up anymore. I'll believe when there is a launch vehicle on the assembly line
Until space becomes a viable business for private enterprise, NASA will always be a political football.
Here's the propulsion they 'should' be developing:
"Welcome to Mars express: only a three hour trip"
http://news.scotsman.com/spacescience/Welcome-to-Mars-express-only.2739585.jp
"Take a leap into hyperspace"
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg18925331.200-take-a-leap-into-hyperspace.html?full=true
"Welcome to Mars express: only a three hour trip"
http://news.scotsman.com/spacescience/Welcome-to-Mars-express-only.2739585.jp
"Take a leap into hyperspace"
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg18925331.200-take-a-leap-into-hyperspace.html?full=true
Gotta learn to walk before you can run. You're basically telling the Egyptians they should have been working to make a steam engine in order to traverse the Med.
I took time to read about Heim-Droscher space and how he postulate to combine all element forces into one utilizing 5th,6th,7th and 8th dimensions leading the possibility of canceling gravity with electro-magnetism.
It will take more time with fellow peers to confirm validity of theory before any application would come into place though.
propulsion technology
The Thread For The Future Of Interstellar Propulsion
and
ion plasma rocket being developed - VASIMR
larryman check out these two threads:
The Thread For The Future Of Interstellar Propulsion
and
ion plasma rocket being developed - VASIMR
Not a practical viewpoint, unfortunately.
I'm sure if it's possible we'll get there eventually, but we need to have attainable objectives for the moment if we ever expect to leave LEO again.
The first thing we need is an economical means to reach LEO. Something much, much cheaper than the Shuttle. A reliable heavy lift capability is also necessary. We're working on both of these.
Next, we need a way to get places within the solar system faster than we currently can, to make manned missions to Mars orbit practical. That's where VASIMR comes in----low impulse, high duration thrust is the most fuel-efficient option.
Third, we need a reliable means to get out of a nonterrestrial gravity well once we're down it, without all the launch infrastructure and fuel supplies we have here on Earth. That's when Mars landings come into the picture.
Only once such missions become routine---or at least accomplished---can we really start to worry about how to get further. But that's fine; plenty of time for the scientists to work this blackboard concept into something actually designable, if it even works.
Sorry, unless someone gets REALLY, REALLY lucky and comes up with cheap and easy FTL engines,(and NO, a 4 year old article is not it) we are going to have to take it one step at a time. VASIMR is a fairly well developed technology considering for this day and age. Short trips to Mars are nothing to sneeze at.
You have that a little backwards. VASIMR is fuel efficient because it can run at High impulse and low thrust for long durations, though at a better ratio of thrust to impulse than typical Ion engines.
The thing is though that if they focus their efforts on further/intense R&D of that kind of propulsion technology, it will become available much sooner.
In the capitalist economy, aren't the governments spending a lot of money on space missions that take too long of a time to begin with?
If you haven't learned by now that Government is extremely inefficient when it comes to any type of task, then I can't help.
The Gov't gave us TVA the interstate highway system, the ARPANET, and satellite launch vehicle development: If anything private interests worsen advances--and here's the proof:
http://rawstory.com/exclusives/byrne/santorum_weather_ban_accuweather_421.htm
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/7/10/191728/429
Imagine if I set up a toolbooth in your driveway and forced you to pay me, a private person, to use the public roads you already paid for in taxes. Nonsense.
In terms of advanced propulsion, read this:
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=14758.0
If you look at this chart, you will see that Nuclear Salt Water Rockets outperform most other drive systems seriously looked at
http://www.projectrho.com/rocket/RocketChart01Work.pdf
http://www.projectrho.com/rocket/rocket3c2.html#nswr
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_salt-water_rocket
Dumbo NTR http://www.dunnspace.com/00339489.pdf
Note that all these craft would be payloads atop mega HLLVs, like this one:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_Dragon_(rocket) http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/searagon.htm
http://neverworld.net/truax/
If anything, a Sea Dragon/NSWR combo would just need a little uranium salt at the front, and some RP at the back (1st stage) the bulk of the propellant mass could be taken from the ocean.
Instant starship--just add water
http://rawstory.com/exclusives/byrne/santorum_weather_ban_accuweather_421.htm
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/7/10/191728/429
Imagine if I set up a toolbooth in your driveway and forced you to pay me, a private person, to use the public roads you already paid for in taxes. Nonsense.
In terms of advanced propulsion, read this:
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=14758.0
If you look at this chart, you will see that Nuclear Salt Water Rockets outperform most other drive systems seriously looked at
http://www.projectrho.com/rocket/RocketChart01Work.pdf
http://www.projectrho.com/rocket/rocket3c2.html#nswr
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_salt-water_rocket
Dumbo NTR http://www.dunnspace.com/00339489.pdf
Note that all these craft would be payloads atop mega HLLVs, like this one:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_Dragon_(rocket) http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/searagon.htm
http://neverworld.net/truax/
If anything, a Sea Dragon/NSWR combo would just need a little uranium salt at the front, and some RP at the back (1st stage) the bulk of the propellant mass could be taken from the ocean.
Instant starship--just add water
Michael Moore pulled that stunt when by contructing a toll as people were leaving a gated community to drive on public roads.
I don't remember if that was in one of his movies or in his 90s tv show "TV Nation" (1994) TV series.
