http://www.astronomynow.com/news/n1205/29starship/
And for you Starship fans:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfbxjNslKhY
Interview with a Starship Engineer
Interview with a Starship Engineer
Engineering is the art of making what you want from what you can get at a profit.
When one studies the history of robotic expansion from Earth and compares it to humans, the former trends towards medium growth, exponential expansion speed, whereas the latter is at best low growth, exponential expansion speed and at worst linear. Our robotic ambassadors must trail-blaze the way and then we can follow. The interesting question that arises is would ET do the same? Might the interaction between humans and another intelligent species be not through biological first contact as is usually assumed in science fiction, but through artificial intelligence? This is currently my view.
Engineering is the art of making what you want from what you can get at a profit.
That's assuming we haven't been quarantined.
...as we observe this momentous occasion, the first transit into interstellar space, beyond the heliopause, by human explorers.
Let's listen to Mission Control commentary as the time-delayed transmissions from the ship are received...
Icarus One now estimated at 100000 km from heliopause contact.
50000 km.
10000 km.
Contact.
...We seem to have a telemetry anomaly...
Icarus One, Icarus One, this is Icarus Control. We show loss of primary carrier modulation. Do you copy?
Icarus One, Icarus One, this is Icarus Control...
Regarding Nerva and Orion Project, the treaties prohibit atmospheric testing of fission engines on earth, also transporting them into space. What if we could find a source of uranium on the moon or asteroids, building the vehicles completely outside the orbit should allow circumvention of the ban.
CHoff
"Using an interstellar ramjet we could reach the centre of the Galaxy in less than three decades ship time, although several million years would have passed on Earth."
eh???
Earth is located about 30.000 ly from the galactic center.
for a ship to take a SINGLE million year to reach it, it would need to be travelling at 0,03C at most.
at 0,03C, the relativistic factor is only 1.00045!!!
Meaning the ship time would be like 999 thousand years and 11 months or near that.
where am I doing the error in my calculation?
eh???
Earth is located about 30.000 ly from the galactic center.
for a ship to take a SINGLE million year to reach it, it would need to be travelling at 0,03C at most.
at 0,03C, the relativistic factor is only 1.00045!!!
Meaning the ship time would be like 999 thousand years and 11 months or near that.
where am I doing the error in my calculation?
I've heard of treaties restricting nuclear detonations in Earth's atmosphere, which would be a problem for Orion, but not of any that apply to a contained reactor like NERVA would use. Could you cite a reference?choff wrote:Regarding Nerva and Orion Project, the treaties prohibit atmospheric testing of fission engines on earth, also transporting them into space. What if we could find a source of uranium on the moon or asteroids, building the vehicles completely outside the orbit should allow circumvention of the ban.
thats not the question.hanelyp wrote:That figure of ship time to reach the galactic center assumes that the Buzzard Ram Jet can maintain a constant acceleration to close to light speed, where time dilation is a major factor. The capacity of such an engine to deliver that kind of performance is very much in doubt.
the question is that IF a ship can get close enough to light speed so that relativist effects would play a major factor, the total travel time (outside the ship) to the center of the milk way would be close to 30 thousand years, NOT "millions of years".
for the relativistic factor to be big enough to transform "millions of years" into 3 decades, the ship would need to be travelling at over 99,999% C.
At 99,999%C it would travel the 30k ly that separate Earth from the galactic center at about 30 thousand years.
It would be close enough to lightspeed so that each year outside the ship corresponds to about one light year travelled by ship...
THUS, if "millions of years passed" outside the ship, with that relativistic factor, it would mean the ship travelled about the same amount of "millions of light years". Meaning the ship would not only reach the galactic center, but get out of the milky way and to other galaxies.
No they dont prevent testing of NERVA engines. Orion yes, because it uses nuclear bombs for propulsion and the treaty actually bans nuclear bombs in space as well.Regarding Nerva and Orion Project, the treaties prohibit atmospheric testing of fission engines on earth, also transporting them into space. What if we could find a source of uranium on the moon or asteroids, building the vehicles completely outside the orbit should allow circumvention of the ban.
The best way arround the treaty there though would be to simply involve all parties with the project.
As Carl Sagan said "I cant think of a better use for nuclear bombs than for space propulsion".
Personally I have really high hopes for John Sloughs current work on fusion propulsion. He is working on that with a NASA grant right now. I think he plans to publish a full paper later this year. He is also working on a proof of concept engine.