19 replies to this topic

[tractor]

I think we will be able to live in space soon.

I saw a documentary about it. This one company has invested all there money into space travel. And what there doing is accualy building a space hotel right now.

It will go into space like a satalite but has small thrusters on it to keep it stable.

Now what I think is somehow we will be able to make a huge engine that burns on water, air, dirt, or something like that. My idea is to make the heat in this engine so hot that anything will burn in it. With this we will be able to look into planets beyond our solar system. And see maybe go into a black hole and get into another dimension.

The purpose of this is to be able to live on other planets. Travel to places unheard of right now. And look into the future of the humans.

By this time the ships will most likely be able to drive them selfs. So all we have to do is sit back and relax.

It sounds great but many things could go wrong. Like over heating. Pressure systems. And allot of other things.

[Plenoptic]

Well, for one people have already lived in space in the Space Station. That's the start of it and it'll get bigger from there. The shuttle that launched yesterday went up there to set up air conditioning and stuff like that. As for viewing other planets outside our solar system, that is already being done with the technology we have, we just haven't gone out there to visit them. But we know what they are made out of and they are looking for planets more like Earth to see which planets can support life.

[Saint_Michael]

Financially it will be impossible to, like you mention tractor people are spending millions or even billions just to get to fly into outer space or some cases were gravity no longer exsist in the earth atmosphere.

Of course makes you think their won't be problems on the moon, heck the biggest terrorist threat someone could pull is, damage the the gravity system, air supply or the plastic bubble that would surround the moon colonies.

Of course once we figure out how to make thinks a hell of lot cheaper then they are now then maybe the financial problems will go away. Again the crime that could happen is immeasurable.

[matak]

Maybe it is not going to be finanially possible but people who are going to work on space program should work on it for free. The reward is going to be the option for those people who help space travel to be able to go to space when they want to.

Now, about engines. For our galaxy we should build "solar sail" spacecrafts that use "solar wind" that's speed is about 500 km/sec. I think that is pretty fast for space dimensions. After such a space craft exceedes suns solar wind that spreads to the end and even a bit more of our galaxy it should ignite engines that it would be using.

Only problem i see in all of this is psyche of those astronauts that would be in these ships. It would be probably the longest travel human race has ever made so people might easily go crazy on such a travels. But that is something they need to be trained to...

[salamangkero]

matak, on Dec 11 2006, 08:45 PM, said:

Now, about engines. For our galaxy we should build "solar sail" spacecrafts that use "solar wind" that's speed is about 500 km/sec. I think that is pretty fast for space dimensions. After such a space craft exceeds suns solar wind that spreads to the end and even a bit more of our galaxy it should ignite engines that it would be using.

Finally! An inter-stellar propulsion/impulsion system that does not rely on the warp drive that seems to be the shallow talk of the town nowadays. Nothing like the basics

I think Solar Sails could only do so much, I guess, while we're "near" the sun, that is, within the Heliosphere. I've once read a fiction book on this back in high school and the main problem seemed to be objects eclipsing parts of the sail. It is very much the same as an uneven (and turbulent) wind blowing on a ship's sails. The part shrouded in shadow will exert a lesser "pull" on the craft, veering it laterally into that very direction.

I suppose, however, that the sails, once the craft exits the heliosphere, might be retracted, to be unfurled once more in the presence of another nearby star. The main problem, though, is ensuring that the craft remains moving through interstellar space. Inertia can only do so much in a medium continuously battered by turbulent winds from different stellar sources.

Even rockets can only go so far. Even assuming that we can penetrate the heliosphere of a different star, it will not be too long until we are also blown away by the same stellar winds, even assuming that we have retracted or cut off the solar sails.

We could, however, approach at an angle, very much like comets, however, I have nary an idea regarding the calculation of the entry speeds and angles to launch the craft into an orbit around the star, using gravity as a catapult to reach the inner parts of the stellar system.

The main problem I see, though, is actually entering another star's heliosphere. See, if the craft remains stuck or drifting in interstellar space, it will not be long before the ship eventually loses energy. As far as I know, interstellar space has temperatures that reach quite near absolute zero. True. we could travel to the edge of the solar system in pretty much the same way ancient mariners did, but for interstellar space, we need a propulsion/impulsion system far faster than solar sails.

[bhavesh]

To reach deep into space one need energy. So biggest problem is how to get an energy source which will never exhaust or will last for the entire trip and is not heavy too.

The conventional fules available on earth will not help, we need something from the space. Some members are saying about solar wind, I don't think it will help as you go away from sun or any star, it will get weakened. Then whats the alternative?

May be, I am not sure but may be the gravitational pull would come into play. When I take a look around the space the common thing I found is Gravitational force, its present everywhere. So we need a device which will use these gravitaional force to propel itself, but how, again I dont know. And I am not confident either of what I have proposed.

But I know one thing that all this things are just wastage of brain, money, people. There are a lot of sufferings in this world and if all brains work together to eliminate, then in no time it will be eliminated and this earth will be the best place to live in. And we will not require to find another earth.

[tractor]

We can also use some type of gravitation pull from planets like they do with satilites. So we use no power.

[osknockout]

Quote

We can also use some type of gravitation pull from planets like they do with satilites. So we use no power.

Oy, that's only practical when using the gravity of large planets - e.g. using the gravity of Jupiter to swing out to the outer rims of the solar system. And it's already used for moving current satellites in space, so that option's eliminated.

Hmm, and solar sails are still experimental I think, despite what NASA says about trying to pull off a solar sail a few years from now. Using power from photons... you'll need quite a few googols of them to counteract motion of flying debris and such to get it started... I don't know, seems kinda hard to pull off to me. And I think the periodic proton bursts from the sun would harm the sail. I think you need to find some material that is light, can absorb as much interstellar radiation as possible, and can withstand flying debris going at large percentages of the speed of light and ion shocks. ... seems kind of expensive to me still.

But hey, interesting ideas.

[Saint_Michael]

Problem with solar sails is that if you damage enough of the them and repair them then your supplies are gone for that so you will be strand with no way to get back.

Gravity is a tricky business, remember the stats they give on our planets are assumptions. They could be accurate but it's all about the timing and precise calculations for that to work. Also they would have to stop by each planet and then for a couple of days rotate around it to gain the sling shot speed that they would need in order to the leave orbit.

Well the next step would to go nuclear engine, that will get rid of the fuel problem, nuclear cells do lats a very long time, only problem would be radiation leaks and what not.

Of course the biggest problem is motion, it is not so easy to stop a ship going 17,000 MPH. Of course I don't think the urrent engines on the space shuttle could handle a reverse like that..

Let see it took about what 4-5 days for the apollo craft to get ot the moon, with the current space shuttle, I would say at least 2 days are knock off just because of the bigger thrust the engine has. Now with the new Orion space craft coming out for the new era of NASA that could trim it down another day or a few hours at the most.

I think they mention that it would take like what 4--6 months to reach Mars. The isolation will get anyone like that especially in the emptiness of space. How I think, instead of one crew on the shuttle you build the shuttle to hold 2 4 man crews. Then do shifts got one crew maintain operations while the other sleeps. That way the lack of sleep won't be a problem.

Of course then their is SPACE MADNESS!!

[matak]

Well that problem with sails is beacouse they take them to be like sails in ships. But why would they need to be like that. Basicly all we need to is to build a large ship that looks like cube or something, and then direct it in the way of wind

Beacouse the space is empty there is no need for the ship to be aerodinamic or hydrodynamic, beacouse there is no resistance at all. They are trying to build sails but they dont need to sail on anything they just need to find a way to disturb suns wind energy in moving of something with MASS. That is why i think solar sailing is maybe suitable for small and light ships beacouse the wind it self is not powerfull enough to move anything with mass beacouse mass isn't something that could be in equation of solar wind. Or something like that. But that is just my personal opinion i don't have enough of a brain to understand all of the math needed for those calculations