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To: Magnus_Draigh@WEBTV.NET, starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: starship-design: Re: Tau Ceti
Date: Wed, 1 Jul 1998 00:24:57 EDT
In a message dated 6/27/98 8:36:48 PM, you wrote:
>I think I missed it, but, were is the galaxy Tau Ceti
>located?(Hemisphere, constilation, close stars,) I would be very happy
>if you could answer my question. Thanx alot
Can't remember off-hand. I'll forward it to the group. Oh, Tau Ceti is a
star, not a galaxy.
Kelly
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From: Steve VanDevender <stevev@efn.org>
Sender: owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
To: KellySt@aol.com
Cc: Magnus_Draigh@WEBTV.NET, starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: starship-design: Re: Tau Ceti
Date: Tue, 30 Jun 1998 22:39:27 -0700 (PDT)
KellySt@aol.com writes:
>
> In a message dated 6/27/98 8:36:48 PM, you wrote:
>
> >I think I missed it, but, were is the galaxy Tau Ceti
> >located?(Hemisphere, constilation, close stars,) I would be very happy
> >if you could answer my question. Thanx alot
>
> Can't remember off-hand. I'll forward it to the group. Oh, Tau Ceti is a
> star, not a galaxy.
>
> Kelly
Tau Ceti is in the constellation Cetus, which is normally visible
in autumn and winter in northern latitudes. Cetus is just south
of the zodiacal constellation Pisces. Tau Ceti's sky coordinates
are:
RA 01h 41m 45s
Dec -16 deg 12.0 min
Its spectral class is G8, making it somewhat cooler than our Sun,
and is also about a third as luminous with an absolute visual
magnitude of 5.77.
For an excellent set of constellation charts that you can easily
use to find constellations in the sky, I recommend H. A. Rey's
_The Stars_, which was originally published in 1952 and is still
in print.
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To: stevev@efn.org
Cc: Magnus_Draigh@WEBTV.NET, starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: Re: starship-design: Re: Tau Ceti
Date: Thu, 2 Jul 1998 19:11:11 EDT
In a message dated 6/30/98 11:39:28 PM, stevev@efn.org wrote:
>KellySt@aol.com writes:
> >
> > In a message dated 6/27/98 8:36:48 PM, you wrote:
> >
> > >I think I missed it, but, were is the galaxy Tau Ceti
> > >located?(Hemisphere, constilation, close stars,) I would be very happy
> > >if you could answer my question. Thanx alot
> >
> > Can't remember off-hand. I'll forward it to the group. Oh, Tau Ceti is a
> > star, not a galaxy.
> >
> > Kelly
>
>Tau Ceti is in the constellation Cetus, which is normally visible
>in autumn and winter in northern latitudes. Cetus is just south
>of the zodiacal constellation Pisces. Tau Ceti's sky coordinates
>are:
>
>RA 01h 41m 45s
>Dec -16 deg 12.0 min
>
>Its spectral class is G8, making it somewhat cooler than our Sun,
>and is also about a third as luminous with an absolute visual
>magnitude of 5.77.
>
>For an excellent set of constellation charts that you can easily
>use to find constellations in the sky, I recommend H. A. Rey's
>_The Stars_, which was originally published in 1952 and is still
>in print.
Thanks steve!
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To: Solarfm@aol.com, starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: starship-design: Re: Tau ceti
Date: Sun, 5 Jul 1998 12:59:59 EDT
In a message dated 7/3/98 2:24:55 PM, you wrote:
>Greetings,
>
>I just read the Charter of the starship thing on the web site, and are you
serious
>that there is a "Solar-System" in Tau Ceti?
Their could be. So far no one knows, but their no real reason to think there
isn't one there. We kinda moved focus to Alpha centuri thou. Its closer,
which is really important given our speed limits.
>And how long would it take to reach
>there with the technology of an explorer class ship?
The explorer class could get up to about 1/3rd light speed, the fuel/sail
class about 40% of light speed. So a Fuel/Sail could get to Alpha C. in about
12 years.
Kelly
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To: "'LIT Starship Design Group'" <starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu>
Subject: starship-design: FW: SSRT: X-33 Thermal Protection System Test Complete (fwd)
Date: Wed, 8 Jul 1998 07:55:28 -0500
-----Original Message-----
From: listserv@ds.cc.utexas.edu [mailto:listserv@ds.cc.utexas.edu] On
Behalf Of Chris W. Johnson
Sent: Friday, July 03, 1998 6:11 PM
To: Single Stage Rocket Technology News
Subject: SSRT: X-33 Thermal Protection System Test Complete (fwd)
Jim Cast
Headquarters, Washington, DC June 30, 1998
(Phone: 202/358-1779)
Fred A. Brown
Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA
(Phone: 805/258-2663)
Dom Amatore
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL
(Phone: 256/544-0031)
Ron Lindeke
Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, CA
(Phone: 805/572-4153)
RELEASE: 98-117
X-33 THERMAL PROTECTION SYSTEM TESTS COMPLETE
NASA's F-15B Aerodynamic Flight Facility aircraft has
successfully completed flight testing of Thermal Protection System
(TPS) materials for the X-33 Advanced Technology Demonstrator at
NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA.
Six flights were flown to test the durability of the TPS
materials at flight velocities above the speed of sound, providing
data to the X-33 demonstrator program team. The X-33 is scheduled
to begin test flights in July 1999.
"This is an excellent example of all the testing the X-33
program is performing on the challenging technologies we need for
a reusable launch vehicle," said Dan Dumbacher, NASA's X-33 deputy
program manager.
Thermal protection systems are used on spacecraft to protect
them during flight, primarily as a "heat shield" during reentry
into Earth's atmosphere. Though the X-33 is a sub-orbital
technology demonstrator for an eventual commercially developed and
operated single-stage-to-orbit launch system, the X-33 will
encounter an extreme heating environment similar to what such a
vehicle will encounter during orbital spaceflight and atmospheric
reentry.
The F-15B reached an altitude of 36,000 feet and a top speed
of Mach 1.4 during the flight series. No damage or signs of wear
from high speed or maneuvering were apparent on any of the TPS
materials, providing further confidence to the X-33 team in the
ability of the materials to successfully protect the X-33 and
follow-on vehicles in the harsh environment in which they will
fly.
"With the F-15B we were able to accomplish the X-33 TPS
durability flights in a timely and cost-effective manner," said
Roy Bryant, Dryden's F-15B project manager. "The X-33 TPS team is
very happy with the data obtained during these tests. A satisfied
customer indicates a job well done by the F-15 project team."
The TPS material samples include metallic Inconel tiles, soft
Advanced Flexible Reusable Surface Insulation tiles and sealing
materials. They were flown attached to the forward-left side
position of the F-15B's Flight Test Fixture II, a device attached
underneath the aircraft to carry experiments. In-flight video
from the aircraft's onboard video system and chase aircraft photo
and video cameras documented the condition of the TPS materials
during flights.
"I appreciated the expeditious manner in which this flight
project was accomplished," said Gary Trippensee, Dryden's X-33
project manager. "The combined B.F. Goodrich Co., Richfield, OH;
NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA; and Dryden test
team provided valuable X-33 TPS flight qualification data
efficiently and timely," Trippensee said.
-end-
NOTE TO EDITORS: Photos are available to media representatives
from NASA Headquarters by calling 202/358-1900; from the Dryden
Photo Archive by calling 805/258-2664; or on the World Wide Web
at:
http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/gallery/photo/index.html
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To: "'LIT Starship Design Group'" <starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu>
Subject: starship-design: FW: SpaceViews -- July 1998 by Boston NSS [part 1 of 2]
Date: Wed, 8 Jul 1998 08:02:31 -0500
-----Original Message-----
From: SpaceViews-approval@nss.org [mailto:SpaceViews-approval@nss.org]
Sent: Wednesday, July 01, 1998 10:58 AM
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: SpaceViews -- July 1998 by Boston NSS [part 1 of 2]
This is the July 1998 "SpaceViews" (tm) newsletter, published by the
Boston chapter of the National Space Society.
For a description of related e-mail lists maintained by the Boston NSS, or
to stop receiving this SpaceViews newsletter, see the instructions at the
end of part 2 of this issue.
The next Boston meetings are Saturday, July 11, 11am-4pm
Boston NSS picnic, 102 Sanborn Lane, Reading, Mass.
and Tuesday, July 14, 1998, 7:30pm
8th floor, 545 Main Street (Tech Square), Cambridge;
Speakers: Vickie Kloeris, John Lewis, and Laura Supra
"The Lunar-Mars Life Support Test Project Phase III 90-day
Test: The Crew Perspective"
See "Upcoming Boston NSS Events" later in this newsletter for more
information.
Future meetings are on the first Thursdays of each month:
August TBD, September 3, October 1
SpaceViews is available on the WWW at http://www.spaceviews.com
and by FTP from ftp.seds.org in directory /pub/info/newsletters/spaceviews
See the very end for information on membership, reprinting, copyright, etc.
Copyright (C) 1998 by Boston Chapter of National Space Society,
a non-profit educational 501(c)3 organization.
All articles in SpaceViews represent the opinions of the authors and do not
necessarily represent the views of the Editor, the National Space Society
(NSS), or the Boston chapter of the NSS.
====================
S P A C E V I E W S
Volume Year 1998, Issue 7
July 1998
http://www.spaceviews.com/1998/07/
*** News ***
SOHO Spacecraft Tumbles, Feared Lost
Energia Threatens to Abandon Mir
Congress, Goldin Debate Space Station
Nearby Extrasolar Planet Discovered
Mars Pathfinder Science Work Continues
Lewis Spacecraft Failure Report Released
HALO Launch Attempt Fails
Beal Aerospace Plans Larger Booster
Third Ariane 5 Launch Delayed to October
Atlas Launches Comsat, Zenit Delayed
SpaceViews Event Horizon
Other News
*** Articles ***
NOTSNIK: The Navy's Secret Satellite Program
[continued in part 2]
Doing Space: Making It Happen
*** Book Reviews ***
Comets Friend and Foe
Filling in the Drake Equation
*** NSS News ***
Upcoming Boston NSS Events
Boston NSS June Lecture Summary
Philadelphia Area Space Alliance News
*** Regular Features ***
Jonathan's Space Report No. 364
Space Calendar
Editor's Note: On our reader survey earlier this year, we asked if people
would be interested in a weekly update version of SpaceViews. The response
was overwhelmingly in favor of such a feature. So, I'm proud to announce
that later this summer SpaceViews will be coming out approximately weekly
(actually, four times a month: on the 1st, 8th, 15th, and 22nd of the
month, at least initially, to maintain a regular schedule.) This change
will take effect by September, and perhaps earlier in August.
This change should also alleviate one of the problems people have had about
the e-mail issues: their large size! Many mail programs, such as America
Online's, have problems with large files, and either split them into
smaller pieces or convert them into file attachments. By spreading the
content out over four issues a month, instead of two, we hope to reduce or
eliminiate this problem.
If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or concerns about this
change, contact me at jeff@spaceviews.com.
A couple of minor notes: We're experiencing some technical problems with
the Web site right now, because of unannounced changes by the company that
hosts the site. The site is up, but some features may be unavailable. We
apologize for the problems and hope to have everything working by later
today. Also, the July 15 issue of SpaceViews Update may be delayed a few
days while the editor is traveling.
Regards,
Jeff Foust
Editor, SpaceViews -- http://www.spaceviews.com/
jeff@spaceviews.com
*** News ***
SOHO Spacecraft Tumbles, Feared Lost
Controllers lost contact with the NASA/ESA Solar and
Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft late Wednesday, June 24 as
the spacecraft apparently lost control, and mission officials fear the
spacecraft may be a total loss.
Contact was lost with SOHO at 7:16pm EDT (2316 UT) June 24,
during a routine maintainence period. The spacecraft entered an
Emergency Sun Reacquisition (ESR) mode at that time, as it fired its
thrusters in an effort to realign itself with the Sun.
However, all telemetry was lost from the spacecraft and has
not been regained. Efforts to raise the spacecraft using NASA's Deep
Space Network over the last sveral days have not succeeded.
Engineers have continuous access to a 34-meter (112-foot)
antenna "for the next few days" to transmit commands to the spacecraft
at 10 times the normal power, according to project officials. A
70-meter (230-foot) antenna is also being used to try and pick up
telemetry from SOHO.
Launchspace magazine reported that its sources within the SOHO
project think it is likely contact will not be regained with SOHO, and
the spacecraft will be a total loss.
NASA was more optimistic, however, in a June 30 press release.
Engineers believe the spacecraft is spinning such that the solar
panels do not see the Sun. However, the angle of the spacecraft is
changing as it goes around the Sun, increasing the amount of sunlight
falling on the panels each day.
Engineers believe that within a few weeks, the panels may be
generating enough energy to power up the spacecraft's batteries and
permit communications with Earth to be restored.
A joint NASA/ESA inquiry board was announced June 30 to
investiagate the incident. The board will be chaired by Prof. Massimo
Trella, ESA Inspector General, and Dr. Michael Greenfield, Deputy
Associate Administrator for the Office of Safety and Mission Assurance
at NASA.
SOHO was launched on an Atlas II rocket on December 2, 1995
from Cape Canaveral. It completed its nominal two-year science
mission in April, although daily scientific operations jhave continued
since then.
The spacecraft is in a "halo orbit" around the Earth-Sun L-1
libration point, about 1.5 million kilometers (900,000 miles) sunward
of Earth. Engineers believe they can successfully predict the
location of SOHO for about five months, before orbital pertubations
force SOHO out of its halo orbit.
The spacecraft features twelve instruments, three from the
U.S. and nine from Europe, dedicated to the study of the Sun.
Findings made by scientists using SOHO data include an explanation for
the extremely high temperatures of the solar corona, the discovery of
"sunquakes" on the photosphere, and the discovery of more than 50
sungrazing comets.
Energia Threatens to Abandon Mir
Energia, the Russian company that operates the space station
Mir for the Russian Space Agency (RSA), said Friday, June 26 that it
would abandon the station as early as August if the space agency does
not pay any of the money it owes for station operations.
Energia officials say RSA owes the company 440 million rubles
(US$70 million) in station operations costs for this year. RSA has
not paid any of the money it owes this year, Energia said.
A decision to abandon Mir could come as soon as July, several
weeks in advance of the scheduled launch date of the next crew. The
current crew of Talgat Musabayev and Nikolai Budarin is due to return
in August. Their stay cannot be extended because of the limited
lifetime of the Soyuz return vehicle currently docked to Mir.
Energia officials met with RSA leaders on Friday to discuss
the status of the station and to consider "nonstandard solutions" to
the problem, according to Itar-Tass. Those nonstandard solutions were
not publicly discussed.
Energia president Yuri Semyonov said the company wants to keep
Mir operational, but believes it is the Russian government's
responsibility to pay for it. "We are absolutely against abandoning
the station, and if we do that it will be the government's
responsibility," he said.
RSA director Yuri Koptev agreed the situation is serious. "If
we cannot act, there will be a situation when we will have to lift off
the crew from the Mir in August and close the station," he said.
If abandoned, Mir would likely lose attitude control and start
tumbling after a short time. It could then reenter the Earth's
atmosphere uncontrolled, with the danger of large pieces landing
intact in urbanized areas.
RSA currently plans to deorbit Mir in a series of controlled
thruster burns, with the goal of reentering the station over the
Pacific by the end of 1999. The first of four thruster burns was to
take place earlier this month, but was postponed when budget problems
prevented the timely launch of a replacement cargo vehicle that would
have been used in the deorbiting procedure.
Congress, Goldin Debate Space Station
Projected cost overruns in the International Space Station
project was the subject of considerable debate during Congressional
hearings Wednesday, June 24, as NASA Administrator Dan Goldin defended
the program, predicting dire consequences if the station was canceled.
"If we cancel the space station, we will be canceling manned
space flight," Goldin said at a meeting of the House Science
Committee. "If we cancel the program, we will be a second-class power
and there would be international repercussions."
The hearing was convened after the release the previous week
of NASA's response to the independent Chabrow report, which concluded
earlier this year the station would need up to an additional $3
billion and three years before completion.
NASA agreed with most of the conclusions in the Chabrow
report, although claimed the additional costs could be held to a
little over $1 billion with a delay of one year.
Members of the committee asked Goldin what steps the agency
was taking to deal with the station's problems, including a number of
delays in the completion of the Russian-built Service Module. Goldin
did not give specifics but said a number of plans were being
evaluated.
Goldin's assurances that NASA was working on the problem did
not soothe members of the committee, who attacked NASA and the Clinton
Administration for failing to do enough to support the station and
deal with Russian delays.
The program was likened to a "fine kettle of fish that are
starting to smell," in the words of Rep. Vernon Ehlers (R-MI), while
Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) said that Goldin's optimistic opening
statement "looked like Mary Poppins wrote it."
While there is little the committee can do at the present time
to affect the space station, committee chairman F. James Sensenbrenner
(R-WI) said he and ranking minority member George Brown (D-CA) sent a
letter to the White House, asking the Office of Management and the
Budget to deliver a plan to Congress in 30 days to deal with the space
station.
"We need a plan, not a continuing series of ad hoc adjustments
to the latest station funding or programmatic crisis," Brown said.
Meanwhile, another person testifying before the committee said
the station costs could grow even further. Allen Li of the General
Accounting Office said more money may be needed to track orbital
debris and protect the station from it.
"NASA's requirements for space debris tracking will require
the Defense Department to upgrade their capabilities," Li told the
committee. Such upgrades and additional station shielding could cost
up to $5 billion, he said.
Nearby Extrasolar Planet Discovered
Two astronomers who are among the world's leaders in the
discovery of extrasolar planets reported this week they they have
discovered another extrasolar planet orbiting a star near the Sun.
Geoffrey W. Marcy of San Francisco State University and Paul
Butler of the Anglo-Australian Observatory, and colleagues, reported
at a conference Monday, June 22 that they had discovered a planet
orbiting the star Gliese 876, just 15 light-years from Earth.
The planet has a mass about 1.6 times that of Jupiter, our
solar system's largest planet, and orbits the star about 0.2
astronomical units (30 million kilometers, 18.6 million miles) away.
It takes 61 days for the planet to complete an orbit around Gliese
876.
The discovery has been confirmed by a European team of
astronomers led by Xavier Delfosse of Geneva Observatory in
Switzerland. "It's very convincing that they have confirmed the
finding," Marcy told Science News.
Gliese 876 is a small star with only about one-third the mass
of the Sun and one-fortieth its brightness. It's the smallest star
yet around which planets have been discovered. the discovery hints
that planetary systems "may be a common occurrence among stars that
are quite different from the Sun," Marcy said.
Calculations by Didier Saumon of Vanderbilt University show
that the planet, presumed to be a gas giant like Jupiter, would have a
temperature at its cloudtops of about -76 degrees Celsius (-105
degrees Fahrenheit). While far below the temperature of liquid water,
it would be possible for it to exist in deeper, warmer layers of the
planet.
Marcy warned, though, that "we shouldn't go into a feeding
frenzy about this," noting that liquid water could not aggregate
together into an environment supportive of life. Any moons the planet
might have, though, could be more hospitable to life.
The discovery brings to 12 the number of extrasolar planets
discovered, Marcy said. Astronomers in Geneva are expected to
announce the discovery of additional extrasolar planets in the next
few weeks.
Mars Pathfinder Science Work Continues
Scientists are continuing to analyze the data returned by the
Mars Pathfinder spacecraft, nearly a year after it landed on the Red
Planet, and are coming up with some surprising conclusions about the
history of the landing site.
"Many of the things that we said last summer during the
excitement of the landing have held up well," project scientist
Matthew Golombek said at a press conference June 29. "But we have now
had more time to study the data and are coming up with some new
conclusions."
Much of the work is focused on the nature and origin of the
geology in the landing site, located in Ares Vallis. The area had
been considered a likely site of flooding during Mars's warmer, wetter
past, a conclusion supported by Pathfinder data.
However, Golombek said little has changed in the landing site
over the last two or more billion years, with the exception of some
wind erosion. Golombek speculated that the flooding in Ares Vallis
took place after a major climate change that made Mars cold and dry
took place.
The winds that are slowly stripping away the rocks at the
Pathfinder landing site are likely depositing material elsewhere on
the planet, Golombek said. "Amazonis Planitia, for example, probably
has one to two meters [3.3 to 6.6 feet] of fine powdery dust that you
would sink into if you stepped on it," he noted.
Scientists are also trying to understand how rocks enriched
with silicon that Pathfinder and its rover Sojourner found could have
been formed. The rocks are similar to andesites found in Iceland and
the Galapagos Islands on Earth, according to spectrometer scientist
Joy Crisp.
Crisp said the rocks could have been formed by volcanic
processes, like on Earth, or through sedimentary processes driven by
water. The rocks could also have been formed in a meteor impact, and
may be more ordinary basaltic rocks with a high-silicon outer coating
caused by weathering.
Crisp said one way to determine how the rocks were formed is
to study their textures. However, she noted, there isn't enough
information in the Pathfinder images to come to any conclusions about
their origin based on this technique.
Other research has focused on dust devils, localized
spiraling, gusting winds seen on Mars as well as Earth. Steven
Metzger of the University of Nevada analyzed Pathfinder images
downloaded from the Internet and applied special processing techniques
to them to discover several more dust devils, including five seen on a
single Martian day.
Dust devils may be one way to explain how the Martian surface
is covered with the same kind of magnetic iron- and silicon-rich soil,
according to JPL planetary scientist Diana Blaney. Blaney also said
meteor impacts into wet regolith early in Martian history may have
helped form the soil, although she said the formation is a "very
complicated story."
Mars Pathfinder landed on Mars on July 4, 1997. It and its
rover, Sojourner, returned data on the Martian surface and atmosphere
until late September, when a battery on the lander apparently died.
The mission was officially ended November 4, although a final,
unsuccessful effort to contact the lander was made in March.
Scientists are now turning their attention to the two 1998
Mars missions, scheduled for launch at the end of the year and early
1999. Mars Climate Orbiter will study Martian weather from orbit,
while the Polar Lander will set down in the layered terrain near the
south polar cap in an effort to understand and nature and composition
of the layers of dust and ice there.
Lewis Spacecraft Failure Report Released
A combination of a flaw in an attitude control system and
insufficient monitoring by ground personnel led to the failure of the
Lewis spacecraft just days after launch last August, a review board
reported Tuesday, June 23.
The Lewis Spacecraft Mission Failure Review Board did conclude
that NASA's new "faster, cheaper, better" management philosophy, of
which Lewis was one of the first products, was sound, but not
effectively applied for this program.
The spacecraft, launched August 23, 1997, went into a flat
spin three days after launch. The spin cut power and communications
to the satellite, which were never restored. Unable to adjust its
orbit, the spacecraft reentered the Earth's atmosphere a month later
and was destroyed.
The spacecraft used an attitude-control system adapted from
one used on the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) spacecraft.
The board found that TRW, builders of both spacecraft, failed to
properly test the attitude-control system on Lewis, which was
stabilized differently that TOMS.
After launch, the spacecraft started to spin up, perhaps by
imbalances from thruster firings. The spin eventually overloaded the
spacecraft's control system while it was in an autonomous "safehold
mode", leading to the out-of-control spin.
The board also concluded that project managers erred in
believing the spacecraft could be adequately controlled in safehold
mode with only a small ground crew to monitor the status of the
spacecraft. These errors combined caused the failure of the mission.
Lewis was a $65-million spacecraft designed to test advanced
instruments and technologies useful for remote-sensing spacecraft. It
and a companion spacecraft, Clark, were cornerstones of NASA's
philosophy of "faster, cheaper, better" started by administrator Dan
Goldin.
The Clark spacecraft was canceled earlier this year because of
cost overruns and concerns that the spacecraft would not be able to
meet its intended goals.
The failure of Lewis should not be construed as a failure of
this philosophy, though, the board noted. "I do not think that this
concept ["faster, cheaper, better"] is flawed," said Christine
Anderson, chair of the failure board. "What was flawed in the Lewis
program, beyond some engineering assumptions, was the lack of clear
understanding between NASA and TRW about how to apply this philosophy
effectively."
"NASA's Office of the Chief Engineer is developing 'lessons
learned' from this project and other 'faster, cheaper, better'
efforts," said Dr. Ghassem Asrar, NASA associate administrator for
Earth Science, "and we intend to apply them to all our future
missions."
HALO Launch Attempt Fails
In an event project officials called "embarrassing, but not
disaster," an attempt to launch an amateur-built rocket into space
failed Saturday, June 21 when the rocket slipped out of its launch
cradle as its balloon lifted off.
A helium-filled balloon lifted off from a NASA barge in the
Gulf of Mexico southeast of New Orleans late Saturday morning. The
balloon was to carry the Project HALO (High-Altitude Lift-Off) Sky
Launch 2 rocket to 30,000 meters altitude (100,000 feet) before the
rocket engine fired.
However, a balloon tether snagged on the rocket as the balloon
lifted off, lifting the rocket off its launch cradle unde the balloon.
The rocket fell 1.5 meters (five feet) to the deck of the barge as the
balloon floated skyward.
The rocket suffered some minor damage in the fall, including a
cracked nosecone, broken fin, and a dent in the oxidizer tank, but the
rocket appeared to have escaped major damage.
After the launch, HALO team members said a new launch may be
attempted in late fall, provided about $5,000 can be raised to cover
repair costs. Project officials said the NASA barge used for the June
launch would not be available for future launches, requiring the team
to find their own launch site, file with the FAA, and possibly
purchase liability insurace, whose premium could far exceed the cost
of the rocket.
HALO team members had hoped a successful launch would make the
rocket the first amateur-built rocket to fly into space. The
suborbital rocket would have to have flown above an altitude of 91.6
km (56.8 mi, 50 nautical miles),the NASA and the U.S. Air Force
definition of the boundary of space.
The hybrid SL-2 rocket uses a combination of solid and liquid
fuels. In this system, the solid fuel, pure asphalt, is safely kept
away from the liquid propellant, nitrous oxide (better known as
"laughing gas") until the rocket is ignited. The fuel combination
provides about 85% of the efficiency of the best solid-propellant
systems, HALO team members say.
HALO, a project of the Huntsville, Alabama chapter of the
National Space Society, has relied on volunteer labor and donations to
develop their "rockoon" launch system. Saturday's launch did include
support from NASA, as the space agency provided the launch barge and
the helium for the balloon.
Beal Aerospace Plans Larger Booster
Beal Aerospace, a Texas-based startup launch firm, announced
last week it was skipping plans for a smaller expendable booster in
favor of moving directly ahead to a more powerful rocket capable of
competing with the largest existing commercial offerings.
The company is scrapping plans for the BA-1 booster in favor
of the larger BA-2, according to a June 16 company announcement. The
BA-2 will be able to place 5,000 kg (11,000 lbs.) -- two medium to
large communications satellites -- in geostationary transfer orbit.
The BA-2 would directly compete with such rockets as the Ariane-5.
"The BA-2 has always been the ultimate goal," said company CEO
Andrew Beal. "Given our past successes, I am extremely confident that
we can develop the BA-2 and dramatically reduce the cost of space
launch."
The three-stage BA-2 will use what's billed as the world's
largest rocket engine, a hydrogen peroxide-fueled engine capable of
producing 13.4 million newtons (3 million pounds of thrust), twice
that of the F-1 engine used in the Saturn V.
"Hydrogen peroxide is key to the simplicity of our design,"
said program manager Scott Frazier. "It is safe, environmentally
benign, and has fundamentally different combustion properties which
bypass previous engine development problems associated with large
thrust chambers."
A scaled-down version of the engine was tested successfully in
late May and early June, the company said.
No date for the first launch of the BA-2 was announced. The
company had planned to start launching the BA-1 by late 1997, using a
launch site on Sombrero Island in the Caribbean. The company has an
option to lease the launch site from the island nation of Anguilla.
Third Ariane 5 Launch Delayed to October
The European Space Agency announced Tuesday, June 16, that the
third launch of the heavy-lift Ariane 5 booster has been delayed to
October because of a change in payload.
Ariane 503 was scheduled for a September launch, carrying the
Eutelsat W2 communications satellite and the Atmospheric Reentry
Demonstrator (ARD), a technology demonstration satellite.
However, Eutelsat decided last week to fly its W2 satellite on
an existing Ariane 4 booster after its W1 satellite was damaged during
tests at an assembly facility in France. The W1 satellite was to fly
on the Ariane 4 in July.
ESA and Arianespace, builders of the Ariane rocket, were
unable to find a commercial payload for the Ariane 503. "The search
for a new passenger cannot be reconciled with the planning schedule
leading to entry of Ariane-5 into operational service," ESA said in a
press release.
In place of the W2 satellite, ESA will fly a "representative
mock-up" of the W2 satellite, making the ARD the only real payload for
the launch. The time needed to build and test the mock-up will delay
the launch from September to mid-October.
The flight is the last of three qualification flights planned
for the heavy-lift booster. The first flight, Ariane 501, ended in
failure less than a minute after launch in June 1996 when the booster
veered off course. Problems with the control software were blamed for
the failure.
Ariane 502 lifted off last October, carrying two test
satellites. However, the main engine of the booster shut down early,
placing the satellites in the wrong orbit. The error was traced to
excessive roll torque in the engine, a problem since corrected.
The ARD is a unmanned spacecraft designed to test critical
reentry technologies. It will fly a suborbital mission, reentering
over the Pacific Ocean and splashing down. Technologies tested in the
ARD may later be used in plans for a European crew transfer vehicle
launched by the Ariane 5, possibly based on the American X-38 vehicle
being tested as a space station lifeboat.
Atlas Launches Comsat, Zenit Delayed
An Atlas II booster launched an Intelsat communications
satellite June 19 while the launch of a Ukrainian Zenit booster was
delayed by at least a week June 24 by problems with its guidance
system.
The Atlas IIAS lifted off at 6:48pm EDT (2248 UT) from Cape
Canaveral, Florida. The Intelsat 805 satellite separated from the
booster about a half-hour after launch.
The satellite, which will take up a position in geosynchronous
orbit at approximately 60 degrees West, will be used to relay
communications between the Americas and Europe. Those communications
are planned to include video and electronic communications.
The launch of the Zenit-2 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, was
scheduled for June 23 but delayed a day by problems with the booster's
orientation system. The unit was repaired, but failed again before
Wednesday's scheduled launch.
The booster will be taken off the launch pad to an assembly
shop for repairs, a spokesman for the Russian Space Agency told
Itar-Tass. Repairs will take at least a week to complete, he said.
The Zenit-2 will launch five satellites. The main payload is
a Russian Resurs remote sensing satellite, designed to return
environmental and weather data. Four smaller satellites, representing
several nations including Chile, Thailand, and Israel, will perform a
variety of experiments.
The launch is the first for the Zenit since a May 1997 launch
ended in an explosion shortly after liftoff. The Zenit has
experienced other launch failures in the recent past as well.
SpaceViews Event Horizon
July 1: North American preimere of asteroid-impact movie
"Armageddon"
July 1: Launch of Zenit booster from Baikonur, Kazakhstan,
carrying five satellites
July 4: Launch of M-5 booster carrying Japanese Planet-B
spacecraft (Mars mission)
July 14: Launch of the Sinosat 1 communications satellite on a
Long March 3B.
July 21: Galileo flyby of Europa
August 13-16: Mars Society Founding Convention, Boulder, Colorado
Other News
HGS-1 in Earth Orbit: The HGS-1 (formerly AsiaSat 3) satellite entered
geosynchronous orbit June 17, after completing two flybys of the Moon.
Launched on Christmas Day last year, the satellite was stranded in an
inclined transfer orbit when the upper stage of its Proton booster
failed. Engineers at Hughes, working with the satellite's insurers,
guided the spacecraft on a trajectory that allowed the spacecraft to
reach geosynchronous orbit using only the limited feul supplies
onboard. Hughes Global Services is now looking for customers for the
satellite, temporarily stationed over the Pacific. "The lunar
recovery mission team did an outstanding job," HGS president Ronald
Swanson said. "It really validates the viability of this technique
for future missions."
Comet Discovery Award: Amateur astronomers who discover new comets
will now not only win fame, they'll win fortune, too -- up to $20,000
in prize money in an award announced by the Smithsonian Astrophysical
Observatory (SAO) June 15. The Edgar Wilson Award, named after a late
Kentucky businessman with an interest in astronomy, will provide prize
money for comets discovered by amateur astronomers using amateur
equipment. The prize money will be divided among all qualifying
amateurs based on the number of comets each astronomer discovers.
Prizes will be awarded on a yearly basis, with the first prizes to be
announced around July 1, 1999.
International Mars Collaboration: The United States and France may
work together on a Mars sample return mission slated for a 2005
launch, officials from the two countried announced June 18. Under the
proposed agreement CNES, the French space agency, would provide an
Ariane-5 booster to launch the spacecraft and some spacecraft
components, including an orbiter. NASA would provide the lander,
rover, and other equipment, and retain overall management of the
mission, with participation by American and French scientists. The
announcement comes as the U.S. and Europe struggle to support future
Mars missions: cost overruns and budget cutbacks have forced the
Athena rover off a NASA 2001 lander, and the European Space Agency is
struggling to fund its Mars Express mission, planned for 2003, at the
same time as other space science projects.
Hubble Discoveries: The Hubble Space Telescope has returned images of
a giant dust disk, resembling the hubcap of a car tire, surrounding a
suspected black hole in a distant galaxy. The dust disk, about 3,700
light years across in the galaxy NGC 7052, may have been formed by the
collision of the galaxy with a smaller galaxy in the distant past.
Astronomers have also used Hubble to uncover a warming trend on
Triton, Neptune's largest moon. Triton's temperature has warmed by
about five percent -- from 37 to 39 kelvins (-392 to -389 degrees
Fahrenheit) -- since the Voyager 2 flyby in 1989. A team of
astronomers led by Jim Elliot of MIT believe the warming trend is
caused by seasonal changes, as Triton is approaching an "extreme
southern summer" where much of the southern hemisphere of the moon is
in constant sunlight.
Commercial Radarsat Approved: A California company announced June 22
that it has received permission from the federal government to build
and launch the world's first commercial radar satellite that can
provide high-resolution images to government and private users. The
Radar1 satellite, built by RDL Space Corporation, will provide 1-meter
resolution images, day or night, in any kind of weather, starting in
2001. Such images are widely used by the Defense Department and have
also been used, at much lower resolutions, for geological research.
In Brief: Houston and Dolores Woods of Nashville, Tennessee, must be
thankful they decided not to sleep in Saturday morning, June 13. A
small lump of metal -- believed to be a meteorite -- struck their
house and landed on their bed at around 9am. The Woods were not in
bed at the time of impact. The meteorite was examined at a local
science museum and turned over to the Smithsonian for further
analysis... Cinescape OnLine reported last week that director James
Cameron had approached NASA about flying on the shuttle to film a
movie about the construction of the International Space Station. Both
Cameron and NASA have denied those reports. NASA wouldn't want
Cameron around the space station anyway, since Cameron directed
"Titanic"... The world preimere of the asteroid-impact movie
"Armageddon" was held June 29 at the Kennedy Space Center. As more
than one person pointed out, it's a bit ironic that NASA, which has
announced additional support for the detection of potentially
hazardous near-Earth objects, has thrown its support behind a movie
that is far less credible (or perhaps far more unbelievable) than Deep
Impact, which got essentially no NASA support...
*** Articles ***
NOTSNIK: The Navy's Secret Satellite Program
by Andrew J. LePage
Introduction
Like the other branches of the United States military during
the early years of the Space Age, the Navy's "space program" actually
consisted of several, largely independent space projects run by
different internal bureaus and laboratories. While the Navy Research
Laboratory (NRL) ran the Vanguard program under the watchful gaze of
the public, the Naval Ordnance Test Station (NOTS) at China Lake,
California was secretly conducting an independent military satellite
program whose existance was not acknowledged until 1994.
NOTS, under the direction of the Navy's Bureau of Ordnance
(BuOrd), had been responsible for the development rocket-based weapons
for the Navy since its inception in 1943. During the years leading up
to the Space Age, engineers and scientists at NOTS were already busy
performing research on suborbital and satellite ocean surveillance
systems. With the launch of Sputnik, a NOTS team proposed an
all-solid-fuel launch vehicle based on the motors in the Army's
Sargent missile. However, the Army turned down their request for the
rocket motors.
Undetered, NOTS engineers went back to the drawing board and
by early 1958 came up with a remarkably innovative means of orbiting a
payload with available hardware. The new NOTS satellite proposal,
called "Project Pilot", used a six-stage air-launched system capable
of orbiting a 1.05 kilogram (2.3 pound) satellite. This system would
serve as a technological pathfinder for the Navy's future rapid
response reconaissance systems. The technical director of BuOrd's new
space program office, John Nicolaides, approved the project and
development immeadiately proceeded with a $300,000 budget and a four
month deadline. Subsequently Project Pilot received the nickname
"NOTSNIK" based on a combination of NOTS and Nicolaides' name but also
partly as a play on the "Sputnik" moniker.
The NOTSNIK Launch Vehicle
The "first stage" of NOTSNIK was a specially modified Douglas
F4D-1 "Skyray" jet fighter supplied by BuAer. When the F4D-1 entered
service in 1956, it was the Navy's first carrier-based delta-winged
jet fighter. The 13.9 meter (45.67 foot) long F4D-1 to be used for
NOTSNIK, serial number 130745, was a specially modified, stripped down
version used for high speed trial flights. With its Pratt and Whitney
J57-P-2 turbojet on full afterburner, this plane was capable of
attaining speeds of Mach 1.05.
The tight clearances and limited payload capability of the
Skyray set the limits on the size and weight of the subsequent five
stages of the NOTSNIK launch vehicle. This rocket had a total length
of 4.38 meters (14.4 feet), a fin span of 1.65 meters (5.42 feet) and
weighed only 950 kilograms (2,100 pounds). Even with the mass of the
Skyray included, NOTSNIK is the smallest known system ever built to
launch satellites. The rocket was mounted on a standard Aero 7A bomb
rack under Skyray's port wing. A fuel tank of like mass was carried
under the starboard wing to balance the load.
During a launch, the Skyray would proceed at an altitude of
10.7 kilometers (35,000 feet) to the air-drop zone located in the
Navy's test range over the Santa Barbara Channel in the Pacific Ocean
just west of Los Angeles. Before release the pilot would start a 2-G
pullup at Mach 0.9 to start a "bomb toss" manuever. At an altitude of
12.5 kilometers (41,000 feet), the rocket would be released at a speed
of 742 kilometers (461 miles) per hour and an angle of 50 degrees to
the horizon. Three seconds later the first of the solid rocket stages
would ignite.
The second and third "stages" of NOTSNIK made use of a common
airframe. Each "stage" consisted of a pair of modified HOTROC motors
like those used by the Navy's ASROC anti-submarine weapon and produced
126.4 kilonewtons (28,400 pounds) of thrust for 4.86 seconds. During
ascent the burn of the second stage would be followed by a 12 second
coast before the third stage ignited. After third stage burnout, the
vehicle would coast for another 100 seconds. At an altitude of 79.4
kilometers (49.4 miles) the second/third stage structure was
jettisoned and the fourth stage was ignited.
This stage consisted of an X-241 rocket motor manufactured by
the Allegheny Ballistic Laboratory. Based on the X-248 motor
developed for the NRL Vangaurd rocket, the X-241 produced 12.11
kilonewtons (2,720 pounds) of thrust for 36 seconds. After another
coast of three seconds, the fifth stage would come to life. This 14.9
kilogram (32.9 pound) motor was designed at NOTS and produced 5.14
kilonewtons (1,155 pounds) of thrust for 5.7 seconds. After this
stage burned out, NOTSNIK was travelling at 8.44 kilometers (5.25
miles) per second in a near-polar orbit with a apogee of about 2,400
kilometers (1,500 miles). But with a perigee of about 60 kilometers
(40 miles), this orbit would be very short-lived.
A small 568 gram (1.25 pound) solid rocket sixth stage
integrated with the satellite payload would be fired 53 minutes and 20
seconds after release. Also developed at NOTS, this tiny motor
produced 765 Newtons (172 pounds) of thrust for one second and would
raise the NOTSNIK satellite's perigee to a safe 2,250 kilometers
(1,400 miles) allowing the mission to begin.
The NOTSNIK Satellite
With a mass of 1.05 kilograms (2.3 pounds) and a diameter of
20 centimeters (8 inches), the doughnut-shaped NOTSNIK satellite is
among the smallest orbital payloads ever launched. This
battery-powered satellite was constructed at NOTS China Lake facility
and carried a single instrument - an infrared "television" scanner.
Similar to the units supplied by the Navy for the USAF lunar orbiters,
this simple imager was hardly a "television" in the usual sense. A
small mirror focused light onto an infrared detector which would use
the rotation of the satellite to scan a line in the scene. The
forward motion of the satellite itself would then allow a picture to
be built one line at a time. While the crude images produced by this
system would have little intelligence value, the experienced gained
would be valuable in developing more capable follow-on systems.
The images produced by the satellite would be transmitted to a
network of about a half dozen portable MINITRACK stations scattered
around the globe. Because of the small size of the satellite, the
system would only operate for about three orbits before the batteries
were depleted, long enough to verify that orbit had been achieved and
attempt to secure some images.
Since orbital reconnaissance was a touchy subject at the time,
NOTSNIK and its mission were kept top secret. Except for those with a
need to know, NOTSNIK's "cover story" was that it was to conduct
radiation measurements in support of Project Argus which would assess
the effects of nuclear detonations in space. The satellite's small
size and short lifetime made it unlikely that it would be detected by
anyone outside the program.
Hardware development proceeded at a rapid pace during the
spring of 1958. But before actual flights of the system, a pair of
ground-launched test flights were to be performed to assess the
modifications made to the HOTROC motors. A NOTSNIK rocket mockup with
two live HOTROC motors was prepared for launch from the G-2 test range
at China Lake on July 4, 1958. In an unintended Independence Day
fireworks display, the rocket exploded one second after launch. An
investigation of the failure indicated that a crack in the solid
rocket motor's grain was at fault. A second ground test firing two
weeks later was even less successful. With eight seconds left in the
countdown, a glitch in the electrical system caused the rocket to
blow up on the test stand. Despite the two failures, project managers
proceeded with an orbital attempt based on their engineers' past
experience and their faith in this simple launch system.
NOTSNIK Launch Attempts
On July 25, 1958, only a week after the last unsuccessful
NOTSNIK ground test, Navy Pilot Commander William W. West climbed into
the cockpit of the BuAer Skyray carrying a NOTSNIK rocket in the first
all-up test flight. Once Commander West reached the the drop zone, he
performed the required pullup maneuver and released the rocket.
Because of the sudden loss of weight from his port wing, West's Skyray
banked sharply to the right making further observations of the rocket
difficult. With the sudden burst of smoke and flame from the ignition
of the second stage, West and the pilot of the chase plane lost sight
of the rocket and assumed it had failed.
While most of the tracking network shutdown after the apparent
failure, the station in Christchurch, New Zealand did not and
reportedly detected the NOTSNIK satellite in orbit. While no useful
images could be extracted from the weak signal, it did appear that the
launch was successful afterall. NOTSNIK thus became the first
air-launched satellite - almost 32 years before the first Pegasus
launch.
With a success under their belt, a second orbital attempt was
made on August 8, 1958. The HOTROC motors blew up on ignition ending
the mission. Another pair of ground tests were conducted on August 16
and 17 to once again verify the design. Both flights failed about
three seconds after ignition when their stabilizing fins broke free.
Obviously the structure had difficulties with the stresses of launch
and required changes.
With little time left before the end of the program, the
remaining four NOTSNIK rockets were prepared for launch in rapid
succession. The third orbital attempt on August 22, 1958 started well
with the accelerating rocket observed disappearing over the horizon.
Later signals were received by the New Zealand station during the
scheduled first and third orbital passes apparently confirming that
orbit had been achieved. As with the first mission, the signals were
too weak to obtain usable images.
The next mission flown on August 25 ended 3.75 seconds after
release when one of the HOTROC motors exploded. The following day the
fifth attempt ended when the rocket failed to ignite and fell into the
Pacific. The final NOTSNIK orbital attempt on August 28 ended when
the rocket broke up after a second stage HOTROC motor failed to
ignite. With this last flight, the first phase of the NOTSNIK program
drew to a close.
Postscript
Plans for additional NOTSNIK flights were not approved and
development efforts instead shifted towards upgrading the existing
rocket design. One project, called Caleb, sought to build an improved
air-launch system but was eventually cancelled because of political
pressure from the USAF who wanted to monopolize military space
launches. While it would not launch payloads into orbit, Caleb did
fly as part of the Navy's secret high altitude "Hi-Hoe" program with
the last flight in 1962 reportedly reaching an altitude of 1,167.3
kilometers (725.5 miles). Another follow-on program, called NOTSNIK
II, sought to develop an anti-satellite capability. This still-secret
program is thought to have made at least two test flights during the
early 1960s.
The NOTSNIK rocket was not the only part of the program to
continue development. The infrared scanner carried by the NOTSNIK
satellite also flew on the ill fated USAF lunar probes as part of
Operation Mona. After these failures to return usable data, the
design was eventually flown as a secret secondary experiment on some
early flights of the Navy's Transit experimental navigation satellite.
The camera operated satisfactorily and returned usable images, thus
vindicating its design and providing useful data for future imaging
systems.
Bibliography
Peter Pesavento, "US Navy's Untold Story of Space-Related Firsts",
Spaceflight, Vol. 38, No. 7, pp. 239-243, July 1996
Peter Pesavento, "Secret Revealed About the Early US Navy Space
Programme", Spaceflight, Vol. 38, No. 7, pp. 243-245, July
1996
Joel W. Powell, "Rockets Red Glare", Quest, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 58-61,
Spring 1994
Joel W. Powell, "The Nots Air-Launched Satellite Programme", Journal
of the British Interplanetary Society, Vol. 50, No. 11, pp.
433-440, November 1997
Keith J. Scala, "A History of Air-Launched Space Vehicles", Quest,
Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 34-41, Spring 1994
[continued in part 2]
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Subject: starship-design: FW: SpaceViews -- July 1998 by Boston NSS [part 2 of 2]
Date: Wed, 8 Jul 1998 08:05:25 -0500
-----Original Message-----
From: SpaceViews-approval@nss.org [mailto:SpaceViews-approval@nss.org]
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To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: SpaceViews -- July 1998 by Boston NSS [part 2 of 2]
[continued from part 1]
Doing Space: Making It Happen
by Timothy K. Roberts
[Editor's Note: This is the third and final installment in the "Doing
Space" series by Timothy K. Roberts. Part one, "Speedbumps on the
Road to Space," was published in the May issue. Part two, "Why Do We
Go?", was published in the June issue.]
If you've been following along in this miniseries, you've
already gotten rid of some serious misconceptions about our space
programs. And you've begun to think about the basic reasons we want
to go to space -- or, indeed, anywhere. True believers are frustrated
at the slow pace of progress to any of these ends. Potential
investors are impatient with the lack of development of this new
arena.
Three-Step Evolution
How do we make these things happen? Actually, we already know
how. I'm not speaking of the technical problems but of the strategic
ones -- how do we as Americans, as humans, go about getting into space
on a serious basis? The answer is surprisingly mundane -- do what
we've already done in similar situations. Every time a culture or a
nation has seen advantage in moving into a new environment to explore
and exploit and has done so successfully, it has followed a three-step
process:
1) The government (or ruling group) has funded development of
methods of transportation, exploration, and exploitation of the new
environment. This has taken the form of royal investment in new
ships, government incentives for new canals, federal funding for
railroads and airports, and of course, national space programs to
date. The reason for this is, again, simple: a new environment
always means unknown risks and rewards. Private investors of any ilk
will not stake their treasure on such unknowns. Only a body with vast
resources and a perceived immunity to risk will confront such an
investment environment.
2) Once the initial way has been cleared and technical
feasibility has been demonstrated, private investors will begin to
take on clearly defined pieces of the new environment with an eye to
relatively easy profits. They will only do so with significant
government help. Royal charters in the Americas, private toll roads,
railroad expansion, and airport development are all examples of this
step. In space, this is seen in the use of space for
telecommunications. This is an area that the federal government
invested heavily in for its own reasons, demonstrated feasibility of,
and then created a market for. Only when there was a guaranteed
return on investment would private industry take the plunge.
3) The final step is full commercial participation in
exploiting the new environment. We can see this today in the
communications satellite industry. Hughes doesn't need government
support to make money from comsats -- they do quite nicely on their
own, thank you. This last phase is where we really want to be, in all
potential areas of space exploitation. As has been shown in many
industries, true innovation and market expansion occurs best without
government direction or involvement. The free market really does work
-- eventually.
Air transport followed the three-step model outlined above
fairly cleanly through step two. After the initial inventions
(developed, I must note, entirely privately), further development of
practical air transport was closely tied to government investment in
military aircraft. Airliners followed from bombers. Aerial
navigation was perfected to ensure fighters and bombers could reach
their intended targets. Virtually all significant improvements in
aircraft started with a governmental need. Only when the government
had assumed the initial risks and showed the feasibility of air
transport would private industry become involved. And their first and
largest customer? The federal government. It is a fact that
commercial aviation as a long-range transportation industry only
emerged as serious competition to ships and railroads after World War
II, when the US government (primarily) invested heavily in precisely
those things that an airline would need to compete.
The complication comes in arriving at step three. Virtually
all airports of any commercial importance are owned and operated by a
governmental agency. Air traffic control is a national government
monopoly with strong world-wide overtones and implications. Private
companies may perform specific services in airports and air traffic
control but they do so under government direction.
This is a common characteristic of most transportation
systems. Government build highways, harbors, airports, and, yes,
spaceports. Governments control how these facilities will be used and
by whom. The underlying reason is that transportation is a critical
public need and can't be left in private hands. We'll revisit this
point later on.
Space Transportation's Three Steps
So where are we in space? The answer is: all three steps.
The federal government is very clearly deeply involved in research and
development in virtually every phase of space exploration and
exploitation, from basic transportation to data and telemetry
transmission. There isn't a facet of "space" that the government
isn't working on.
However, there is, for example, a space transportation
industry. It is clearly at step two -- it is dependent on government
owned and operated spaceports and investors will only put private
money into the most conservative rocket designs for production. There
is virtually no significant private funding for new, innovative, cheap
spacelift -- that's back at step one.
There are step three segments as well. As noted earlier, the
communications satellite industry acts as if it were a mature segment
that isn't dependent on government support or investment. As a whole,
however, "space" is between steps one and two. There really is no
mature, self-sustaining "space industry." Too much still needs to
happen. As a result, there aren't human beings "living and working in
space on the eve of the 21st century" as NASA once touted for its
goal. At best, we make brief forays into this new environment, maybe
establish a primitive camp or two, and strive to learn more about it.
We have a long way to go.
We'll get to our goal of exploring and exploiting space on a
routine basis if we consciously apply the three-step process to space.
Here's what we need to do:
First, we need to assess where we are in broad areas that
characterize "going to space" -- transportation, structures, life
support, power, etc. This is probably best done by the government
with industry involvement. The output of this assessment will be an
investment plan -- one that addresses the greatest risks and takes us
to step two.
Next, we need to spend taxpayers' dollars to reduce those
risks to the point that private industry and investors will step up to
the remaining share. This translates to investment in both technology
development and use of the resulting capabilities to demonstrate its
usefulness and low risk.
Finally, we need to keep control of much of the basic
infrastructure in government hands. This must be done for two
reasons. The obvious one is public safety. Operating spacecraft,
from launch to mission end, is a hazardous business. Fuels that are
highly explosive, toxic materials, and high risks make for a dangerous
business. The impact of a Chinese Long March 2 rocket into a village
near the launch site and the estimated death toll of over 2,000 people
highlights just how much we still don't know -- or can't do.
A less obvious reason is that many missions performed in space
are, in fact, public utilities. The NavStar Global Positioning System
-- GPS -- is a clear example of this. Originally intended to guide
cruise missiles to their targets, GPS is now far more widely used in
civilian life than in the military. Even farm tractors use GPS!
Public utilities must stay under some form of public control in order
to ensure their availability to the entire population, not just an
elite few.
The ultimate end-state for space is, I believe, a situation
where private industry does the vast majority of the exploiting,
institutions like universities, NASA, and the National Science
Foundation do the exploring, and the critical underlying
infrastructure is at least regulated and, in some cases, operated by
the federal government. The situation would resemble aviation in the
late 20th century. This is a viable, self-sustaining state that
maximizes innovation, discovery, and personal freedom while minimizing
the avoidable risks. If the rate of progress of commercial aviation
is any indicator, allowing for the potentially quicker development
times now, we could reach this state by 2050. That may seem quite a
long time, but it's really only 52 years from now. If one moves 52
years from 1925, when government did most of the work in aviation and
the industry was tiny, one arrives at 1977 - certainly a time when
commercial aviation was viable and self-sustaining.
An Activist's Perspective
This vision will require some disciplined investment, both
publicly and privately. It will require a political will to stay the
course for the long term. It will require broad-based public support
over decades. In short, it will require us to address the US space
program in an entirely new way, with a new set of stated objectives,
and with a commitment rarely seen in American politics. We can do
this. Will we?
That, of course, remains to be seen. There are plenty of
private organizations that would like to see this course of events
unfold, perhaps more quickly or in a different sequence, but arriving
at the same end state. Over the past couple of decades, groups like
the National Space Society, the Planetary Society, and the L-5
Society, to name just a few, have striven to influence both the
public's perception and public policy to these ends. Apparently,
their impact is minimal because of the perceived low level of public
and Congressional interest in exploring and exploiting space.
The real job that lies ahead for space activists is to promote
the entire agenda, not just a particular portion of it. One reason
for the lack of success of many of these groups is that they are
perceived as single-interest groups. They support specific projects
-- SSTO, L-5 colonies, Return to the Moon, Mars Direct -- the
unfamiliarity of some of these names indicates the problem. Certainly
there are some investments that should precede others, but the key
focus ought to be in general public awareness. Building public
awareness and support for space can be translated into action for
space, both politically and in business.
The focus for space activists now is where the focus for
aviation societies (they really did exist!) was in the 1910s and 1920s
- advocacy of the entire agenda of creating a space-faring
civilization. Convince the public that an American (or Canadian or
French or . . .) goal is truly the conquest and settlement of the
Solar System and that there is a believable timetable and the rest
will follow. Lest you think I am overly optimistic in my view, recall
what the environmental movement has done in the past twenty years.
>From a random collection of radicals, extremists, and well-meaning but
unsophisticated common citizens, the United States grew a strong
environmental civic ethic, a veritable raft of laws that are enforced
nationwide, and the rescue from extinction of several species
scientists once thought headed for history. We can do this for space
but only if we can forge a nation-wide coalition of space activists
that agree both on the basic goal and the strategy to get there.
The object of these articles has not been to build the
political base for space activism -- that is best left to those who
know politics best. The object is to buttress your knowledge of what
is and is not and what we can do. Without clear understanding of our
history, our rationale, and our goal, we won't go to space. Someone
else will -- and they might not even want to sell us a ticket. We can
avoid this future. We must. So keep a clear head, keep your eyes on
the grand goal and tell everyone you meet:
We're going out! Lead, follow, or get out of the way!
Timothy K. Roberts is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force,
currently stationed at Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center where he is
both a Space Control Center Commander and the Deputy Chief of
Training. He has served in both Air Force Space Command and United
States Space Command headquarters working on next-generation
spacelifters and space surveillance.
*** Book Reviews ***
by Jeff Foust
Comets Friend and Foe
Comets: Creators and Destroyers
by David H. Levy
Touchstone, 1998
softcover, 256 pp., illus.
ISBN 0-684-85255-1
US$12/C$17
The 1990s may be remembered as the decade of the comet. In
this deacde we've witnessed two briliant naked-eye comets, Hyakutake
and Hale-Bopp, and saw fragments of another comet, Shoemaker-Levy 9,
pummel the planet Jupiter. Upcoming spacecraft missions, like
Stardust, will yield more information about comtes in the coming
years. It's in this context that astronomer David Levy provides us
with a broadbased introduction to comets in "Comets: Creators and
Destroyers"
Comets, Levy reminds us, have helped the formation of life on
Earth by supplying the young planets with volatiles like water and
perhaps even amino acids and more complex chemicals. Comets have also
wiped out much of the life they helped to start through cataclysmic
impacts, such as the Chicxulub impact 65 million years ago. Long
before their roles in creating and destroying life on Earth were
understood, humans treated comets as omens, sometimes good, often bad.
Levy's book provides a general introduction to comets, both
from a scientific standpoint (their role in shaping life on Earth) and
a historical one (how we have interpreted and understood comets
through the ages.) He does stray from this topic later in the book,
devoting a couple chapters to whether Mars, Europa, or other worlds in
our solar system and beyond could support life -- a digression that's
not uncommon in astronomy books these days, given in increasing
interest in the subject.
If you or someone you know is looking for a general
introduction to comets that is quite readable and not overly
technical, Levy's "Comets" is a good choice.
Filling in the Drake Equation
Other Worlds: The Search for Life in the Universe
by Michael D. Lemonick
Simon and Schuster, 1998
hardcover, 272pp., illus.
ISBN 0-684-83294-1
US$25/C$35
Astronomy has been filled with a number of hot topics in
recent years, including the search for, and discovery of, planets
around other stars; evidence that primitive life once existed on Mars;
the increasing likelihood of an ocean of liquid water under Europa's
ice surface; and more. On the surface these topics may seem unrelated,
but Michael Lemonick, a senior science writer at Time magazine, shows
in "Other Worlds" that they are deeply connected as different factors
in the search for life in the universe.
Lemonick unifies these different fields of research through
the Drake Equation: a series of factors put together by astronomer and
SETI advicate Frank Drake nearly forty years ago, which attempts to
estimate the number of intelligent species in the galaxy with whom we
could communicate. Since Drake drafted this equation, the numbers
people have plugged into it have been nothing more than wild guesses
that reflect personal philosophies as much as hard science.
What research like Mars life and extrasolar planets do,
Lemonick notes, is help us nail down some of these Drake Equation
values we have been guessing at, such as the fraction of stars that
have planets and the fraction of planets that can support life. He
takes us behind the scenes on several research projects, including the
work of planet hunters Geoff Marcy and Paul Butler, SETI researchers
Seth Shostak and Jill Tarter, and the team that found evidence of life
in Martian meteorite ALH 84001.
While perhaps prone to a bit of hyperbole (it would be tough
to argue that the Drake equation is the second most important equation
of the century after E=mc^2, given all the significant work in quantum
mechanics and other fields), Lemonick has created a readable,
enjoyable account of work in these areas in "Other Worlds". Those new
to the field will find his descriptions of research enlightening;
those familiar with the work will enjoy his personal accounts of the
scientists.
*** NSS News ***
Boston NSS Upcoming Events
Saturday, July 11, 11am-4pm
Boston NSS Annual Picnic
102 Sanborn Lane, Reading, Mass.
Come enjoy food, and a swimming pool, nerf rockets, badminton, other
lawn games and children's games. And, find out what other NSS chapter
members do outside the regular meetings. We may take a walk in the
local town forest after 2 pm. Bring your children. Also, bring
swimming suit, snacks, lunch food to share, and games. We will
provide: barbeque grill, swimming pool, plates, cups.
Please RSVP, leave message for Bruce Mackenzie, (617)258-2828 (10 am -
6 pm) or (781)944-7027 (8 - 9 pm) or BMackenzie@draper.com.
Directions:
Take I-93 or I-95 (rt. 128) to their interchange on the north side of
Boston;
Take I-93 4 miles north to the second exit, labeled "Concord St.", at
the end of the exit ramp, reset your 'trip odometer' to zero, Turn
right, going east on Concord St.
at a mileage reading of 1.25, there is a stop sign, bear right onto
Park St.
take the next right turn, at mileage 1.5, onto Mill St. (the stop
light is too far)
immediately after "Old Mill Village" on the right, at mileage 2.0,
turn right on Sanborn Lane.
Continue SLOWLY, past the signs say "DO NOT ENTER", "NO TRESPASSING",
etc. At mileage 2.4, our house is on your left. A white house with
A-frame, set lower and way from the road. Try to park in driveway or
on dirt along left side of driveway.
Tuesday, July 14, 7:30pm
"The Lunar-Mars Life Support Test Project Phase III 90-day Test: The
Crew Perspective" Vickie Kloeris, John Lewis, and Laura Supra
The Lunar Mars Life Support Project Phase III test was a 91 day test
of air and water recycling systems conducted at the Johnson Space
Center from Sept. 19, 1997 to Dec. 19, 1997. Vickie Kloeris of the
Johnson Space Center, John Lewis of Lockheed Martin Corporation, and
Laura Supra of AlliedSignal Aerospace will be giving this
presentation, and will describe life inside the chamber through video
and slides.
Boston NSS June Lecture Summary
by Lynn Olson
Can a small group build a launch vehicle to launch a small
spacecraft into LEO (Low Earth Orbit)? Rainier Anacker was inspired
to investigate this question by the February talk of Supriya
Chakrabarti on the building of a satellite by students and young
investigators at Boston University. Anacker wondered what it would
take to build a launch vehicle capable of launching such a small
satellite. At the June meeting of the Boston Chapter of the National
Space Society he walked the audience through some of the design
issues.
The first task is to determine what "delta v" or velocity
change the rocket must deliver. A spacecraft in LEO has a velocity of
~7.8 kilometers per second (km/s). After adding in velocity losses
due to gravity and atmospheric drag and subtracting the boost given by
the earth's rotation, a typical rocket will require 9.2 km/s (20,500
mph) to boost a satellite in to orbit.
Given this velocity requirement, the rocket equation can be
used to calculate other rocket parameters. The rocket equation says
that the mass ratio (ratio of initial mass to final mass) is equal to
the exponential of the ratio of the velocity requirement (9.2 km/s) to
the rocket exhaust velocity. The final mass is the payload plus inert
mass. Inert mass includes tanks, engines, guidance electronics, etc.
The initial mass is the final mass plus the propellant. Low inert
mass and high exhaust velocity are necessary to achieve high rocket
performance. Exhaust velocity is usually quoted as specific impulse,
which is the number of seconds a pound of rocket propellant can
produce a pound of thrust, because it is easier to measure. Specific
impulse and exhaust velocity are directly proportional to each other.
Anacker first analyzed an SSTO (Single Stage To Orbit)
launcher with a 100 kg payload. This turned out to be very tough.
Using the rocket equation, he showed that either the initial mass had
to be enormous or "unobtainium" must be used to reduce the inert mass,
even using high performance hydrogen/oxygen rocket engines with
average specific impulse of 400 or more seconds. This is currently a
hot topic of research with the NASA/Lockheed Martin X-33 effort, but
not realistic for a small university or other group.
He then presented a two stage rocket using gasoline and nitric
acid which could launch a small satellite with fairly low specific
impulse (260, 290 seconds for first, second stages) and inert fraction
within current state of the art. No advances would be required. The
actual cost would depend on R&D, hardware, operations, and propellant
costs, but the project appears to be doable on a relatively small
scale.
Universities are very interested in a small satellite launcher
such as Anacker proposes. The Universities Space Research Association
was the advocate of NASA's Bantam Launch Technologies program, which
aims to put a 100 kilogram satellite in orbit for $1.5M. NASA
administrator Dan Goldin pledged to meet this goal recently, even
though initial studies awarded to four companies did not meet the cost
target and follow up funds were redirected. (Space News, June 8-14,
1998).
Philadelphia Area Space Alliance News
by Jay Haines
PASA regular business luncheon/formal meeting from 1-3 pm the
3rd Saturday of every month at Liberty One food court, 16th & Market.
Go toward the windows, then to the left. Public parking in Liberty on
17th St.
Scheduled PASA activities: regular monthly meetings: July 18th
(special location), Aug. 15th, Sept. 19th. Other activities: Nov.
13th-15th: Philcon. Call Earl for details.
June Meeting Report: Oscar Harris gave the Education report,
covering the timetable for the Carver Science Fair for 1998-99 at
Temple Univ. and the Academy of Natural Sciences, and our plans to
judge and present an award for space-oriented projects.
Earl Bennett mentioned a local middle-school project on the
Mars rover, a 5/98 NASA Tech Briefs article on a Get Away Special
project by the U Michigan SEDS group, and a Summer 98 Robotics World
article on the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and
Technology (FIRST) National Competition at WDW Epcot in April, and a
NJ ex-astronaut who is associated with it.
Hank Smith gave the Science Fiction report, covering the Aug.
5th-9th Bucconeer 56th Annual World Science Fiction Convention in
Baltimore, the Nov. 13th- 15th Philadelphia Science Fiction
Convention, and the Philadelphia 2001 World Science Fiction Convention
bid.
Mitch Gordon gave the NSS report, covering the 5-6/98 Ad Astra
articles on space tourism, and the Public Relations report, covering
his progress on next Spring's FutureFest, and discussions with Derrick
Pitts of the Franklin Institute on plans for celebrating the 1999 30th
anniversary of the lunar landing. Michelle Baker mentioned that we had
received the Lockheed- Martin VentureStar poster.
Michelle also gave the new ProSpace report, covering the Space
Commercialization Act which is now in the Senate, having passed the
House. Oscar reported on the 5/98 Architectural Record article by
Robert Zubrin, 'Building on Mars and living off the land.' Jay Haines
reported on our Web site (28 accesses from 5/21 to 6/20).
Earl gave the Technology report, covering a 6/98 Photonic Spectrum
article on measuring astronauts' motion sickness, a 6/98 Industrial
Physicist article on using ion engines on geostationary satellites to
save 400Kg of launch weight in fuel, and using aerogel to contain the
heat of the ion engines.
Earl also covered a 7-8/98 Analog Science Fiction and Fact
Alternate View article by Jeffery Kooistra, 'The Golden Age of
Rocketry,' wherein he gives an appreciation for G. Harry Stein.
Our next meeting will be an outing to Atlantic City NJ: we
meet on Sat., 7/18 at 6 p.m. at the Ocean One Mall food area on the
3rd floor. Go toward the windows, then to the right. Park at the Trump
Plaza and walk north on the boardwalk to Ocean One.
*** Regular Features ***
Jonathan's Space Report No. 364
by Jonathan McDowell
[Ed. Note: Go to http://hea-www.harvard.edu/QEDT/jcm/space/jsr/jsr.html for
back issues and other information about Jonathan's Space Report.]
Shuttle and Mir
The next Shuttle mission is STS-95, in October.
On the Mir space station complex, the Progress M-39 cargo ship is docked
to the Kvant module, and the Soyuz TM-27 transport is docked to the PKhO
transfer module on the Mir base compartment. The EO-25 mission crew of
Talgat Musabaev and Nikolai Budarin are scheduled to be replaced in
August by EO-26 crew Gennadiy Padalka and Sergey Avdeev.
Recent Launches
HGS-1, following a second lunar flyby on Jun 6, successfully reached
inclined geosynchronous orbit and is now drifting over the Pacific at
0.5 degree per day. On Jun 19 it was over 152W in a 35681 x 35963 km x
8.7 deg orbit. The Hughes team deserve to be congratulated on this
spectacular and innovative rescue mission.
Intelsat 805 was launched by an Atlas 2AS on Jun 18 into a standard
geostationary transfer orbit. Intelsat 805 is an LM7000 series satellite
built by Lockheed Martin/East Windsor. Launch mass is 3520 kg; the
satellite has 28 C-band and 3 Ku-band transponders, and will initially
serve the Atlantic Ocean region for INTELSAT.
Two Minuteman III missiles were launched from Vandenberg to Kwajalein
Atoll on Jun 24, one from silo LF-09 and the second from LF-10. Each
carried three re-entry vehicles.
Erratum: Thor 3 launch date was Jun 10, not Jun 11.
Table of Recent Launches
Date UT Name Launch Vehicle Site Mission
INTL.
DES.
May 2 0916 Iridium 69 CZ-2C/SD Taiyuan Comsat
26A
Iridium 71 Comsat
26B
May 7 0853 Kosmos-2351 Molniya-M Plesetsk Early Warn
27A
May 7 2345 Echostar 4 Proton-K/DM3 Baykonur Comsat
28A
May 9 0138 USA 139 Titan Centaur Canaveral SLC40 Sigint
29A
May 13 1552 NOAA 15 Titan 2 Vandenberg SLC4W Weather
30A
May 14 2212 Progress M-39 Soyuz-U Baykonur LC1 Cargo
31A
May 17 2116 Iridium 70) Delta 7920 Vandenberg SLC2W Comsat
32A
Iridium 72) Comsat
32B
Iridium 73) Comsat
32C
Iridium 74) Comsat
32D
Iridium 75) Comsat
32E
May 30 1000 Zhongwei 1 CZ-3B Xichang Comsat
33A
Jun 2 2206 Discovery ) Shuttle Kennedy LC39A Spaceship
34A
Spacehab )
Jun 10 0035 Thor 3 Delta 7925 Canaveral LC17A Comsat
35A
Jun 15 2258 Kosmos-2352 ) Tsiklon-3 Plesetsk LC32 Comsat
36A
Kosmos-2353 ) Comsat
36B
Kosmos-2354 ) Comsat
36C
Kosmos-2355 ) Comsat
36D
Kosmos-2356 ) Comsat
36E
Kosmos-2357 ) Comsat
36F
Jun 18 2248 Intelsat 805 Atlas 2AS Canaveral LC36A Comsat
37A
Current Shuttle Processing Status
__________________________________
Orbiters Location Mission Launch Due
OV-102 Columbia OPF Bay 3 STS-93 Unknown
OV-103 Discovery OPF Bay 2 STS-95 Oct 29
OV-104 Atlantis Palmdale OMDP
OV-105 Endeavour OPF Bay 1 STS-88 Unknown
MLP/SRB/ET/OV stacks
MLP1/
MLP2/
MLP3/
Space Calendar
by Ron Baalke
[Ed. Note: visit http://newproducts.jpl.nasa.gov/calendar/ for the
complete calendar]
July 1998
Jul ?? - Celestis-03 Pegasus XL Launch
* Jul ?? - ORBCOMM-2 Pegasus XL Launch
* Jul ?? - Resurs Zenit Launch (Russia)
Jul 01 - Asteroid 6748 (1995 UV30) Closest Approach to Earth (1.066 AU)
* Jul 04 - Planet B M-5 Launch (Japan Mars Mission)
Jul 04 - Earth at Aphelion (1.017 AU From Sun)
Jul 04 - Henrietta Leavitt's 130th Birthday (1868)
Jul 05 - Asteroid 4953 (1990 MU) Closest Approach to Earth (0.615 AU)
Jul 05 - Asteroid 1992 JB Closest Approach to Earth (0.872 AU)
Jul 06 - Asteroid 5672 Libby Closest Approach To Earth (1.477 AU)
Jul 06 - Asteroid 5657 (1936 QE1) Closest Approach To Earth (1.569 AU)
Jul 09 - Asteroid 1862 Apollo Near-Earth Flyby (0.339 AU)
Jul 09 - Pluto Occults P42 (14.7 Magnitude Star)
Jul 10 - Asteroid 7 Iris at Opposition (8.6 Magnitude)
Jul 12 - Comet Arend-Rigaux Perihelion (1.371 AU)
Jul 12 - Asteroid 1998 KM3 Near-Earth Flyby (0.253 AU)
Jul 12 - 10th Anniversary (1988), Phobos 2 Launch (Soviet Mars Orbiter)
* Jul 14 - Sinosat 1 Long March 3B Launch
Jul 14 - Moon Occults Jupiter
Jul 15 - Asteroid 1993 PB Closest Approach to Earth (0.590 AU)
Jul 15 - Asteroid 3551 Verenia Closest Approach to Earth (0.794 AU)
Jul 15 - Asteroid 6708 Bobbievaile Closest Approach To Earth (1.002 AU)
Jul 16 - GPS IIR-3 Delta 2 Launch
Jul 16 - Comet Arend-Rigaux Closest Approach to Earth (2.354 AU)
Jul 16 - Asteroid 4973 Showa Closest Approach To Earth (2.726 AU)
Jul 17 - Mercury at Greatest Eastern Elongation (27 Degrees)
* Jul 17 - Comet C/1998 K5 (LINEAR) Perihelion (0.964 AU)
Jul 17 - Asteroid 432 Pythia at Opposition (10.9 Magnitude)
Jul 17 - Comet Russell 3 Closest Approach to Earth (1.941 AU)
Jul 18 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #50 (OTM-50)
Jul 18 - Asteroid 6460 Bassano Closest Approach To Earth (1.481 AU)
Jul 18 - Asteroid 6172 Prokofeana Closest Approach To Earth (1.888 AU)
Jul 19 - Asteroid 6232 1985 SJ3 Closest Approach To Earth (0.963 AU)
Jul 19 - Asteroid 4295 Wisse Closest Approach To Earth (1.165 AU)
Jul 19 - Asteroid 6022 Jyuro Closest Approach To Earth (1.319 AU)
* Jul 20 - Iridium Long March 2C/SD Launch
Jul 20 - Asteroid 43 Ariadne at Opposition (9.1 Magnitude)
Jul 20 - Comet Shoemaker 1 Closest Approach to Earth (1.897 AU)
Jul 21 - Galileo, Europa 16 Flyby
Jul 21 - Asteroid 59 Elpis Occults TAC -106880 (11.1 Magnitude)
Jul 21 - Asteroid 4644 Oumu Closest Approach To Earth (1.375 AU)
Jul 21 - 25th Anniversary (1973), Mars 4 Launch (USSR Mars Flyby Mission)
Jul 23 - Neptune at Opposition
Jul 23 - Asteroid 6682 (1973 ST3) Closest Approach To Earth (1.484 AU)
Jul 25 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #51 (OTM-51)
Jul 25 - DOD US Air Force Titan 4 Launch
Jul 25 - Asteroid 4021 Dancey Closest Approach To Earth (1.143 AU)
Jul 25 - Asteroid 3553 Mera Closest Approach To Earth (1.407 AU)
Jul 25 - 25th Anniversary (1973), Mars 5 Launch (USSR Mars Orbiter
Mission)
Jul 26 - Iridium 10 Delta 2 Launch
* Jul 26 - Asteroid 1998 ME3 Near-Earth Flyby (0.120 AU)
Jul 26 - Asteroid 6742 Biandepei Closest Approach To Earth (1.052 AU)
Jul 26 - 35th Anniversary (1963), Syncom 2 Launch, 1st Geosynchronous
Satellite
* Jul 27 - Kuiper Belt Object 1998 KY61 At Opposition (44.803 AU - 24.1
Magnitude)
Jul 28 - 25th Anniversary (1973), Skylab-3 Launch
Jul 29 - South Delta-Aquarids Meteor Shower Peak
Jul 29 - Asteroid 1998 HL3 Near-Earth Flyby (0.246 AU)
==================================
This is the current issue of "SpaceViews" (tm), published by the Boston
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Subject: starship-design: Enterprize sighted by Hubble ;)
Date: Sat, 11 Jul 1998 16:13:52 EDT
In case the face on Mars wasn't bad enough. The Hubble has now given us
conclusive proof in the existence of Star Trek.
>
>http://smart.net/~badastro/bitesize/startrek.html
>
Kelly
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Subject: starship-design: Re: brochure
Date: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 00:07:16 EDT
In a message dated 7/18/98 2:39:06 PM, you wrote:
>Kelly,
>
>The brochure link didn't work for me on the LIT page.
>
>deuard worthen
I'll forward the problem to the group for maintenence.
Kelly
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Subject: starship-design: FW: SpaceViews Update -- 1998 July 15
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-----Original Message-----
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Subject: SpaceViews Update -- 1998 July 15
S P A C E V I E W S U P D A T E
1998 July 15
http://www.spaceviews.com/1998/0715/
*** Top Stories ***
Planet-B Launched on Mars Mission
Researchers Find Evidence Against Martian Nanofossils
Astronomers Discover Nearby Developing Solar System
Baikonur Problems Delay Soyuz Launch
*** Technology ***
Japanese Satellites Test Docking Techniques
AXAF Completes Environmental Tests
Zenit, Sub-Based Missile Launch Satellites
*** Policy ***
Senate Vote Supports Space Station
NASA Creates Near-Earth Object Office
Movie Producers Challenged to Match NEO Grant
*** Science ***
Io Volcanoes Hottest in Solar System
New Type of Near-Earth Asteroids Discovered
European Astronomers Discover Another Extrasolar Planet
*** CyberSpace ***
The Space Weather Bureau
Orbit-on-Web
The Moon Race Homepage
Wired Collections: Space Exploration
*** Space Capsules ***
SpaceViews Event Horizon
Other News
Editor's Note: We apologize for the delay mailing this issue.
Problems with the mailing list software at ARI, the company that hosts
the list, caused the delays. We are looking into solutions to prevent
this from happening again. Please feel free to send any comments,
concerns, suggestions, or question to jeff@spaceviews.com. Our next issue
will be published August 1.
*** Top Stories ***
Planet-B Launched on Mars Mission
A rocket carrying the Planet-B spacecraft, Japan's first Mars
mission, lifted off early Saturday, July 4, on the first anniversary
of the landing of the American Mars Pathfinder spacecraft.
The M-5 rocket launched from the Kagoshima Space Center on the
island of Kyushu in the predawn hours Saturday (late afternoon Friday
EDT). The booster successfully placed Planet-B, renamed Nozomi
("Hope") after launch, into Earth orbit.
Because the M-5 rocket is not powerful enough to place Nozomi
on a direct trajectory to Mars, the spacecraft will spend the next
several months in an elliptical Earth orbit. Two lunar flybys will
provide the final kick needed to reach Mars.
Once Nozomi arrives at Mars in October 1999, it will enter an
elliptical orbit around the planet. A suite of 14 instruments from
five nations, including the United States, will study the planet's
upper atmosphere and ionosphere. When close to Mars, the spacecraft
will carry out studies of the lower atmosphere and surface of the
planet, and study the interaction of the atmosphere with the solar
wind in more distant portions of its orbit.
The interaction of the outer atmosphere with the solar wind is
of particular interest to scientists since Mars, unlike the Earth,
lacks a magnetic field to shield the atmosphere from the solar wind's
charged particles. The solar wind may have played a key role in
stripping gas from the Martian atmosphere, and data collected by
Planet-B may provide clues to this process.
The United States is contributing a neutral mass spectrometer
(NMS) to the Planet-B mission. "The Neutral Mass Spectrometer will
enable us to measure the chemical composition of the upper atmosphere
of Mars on a global scale, which has never been done before," said Dr.
Hasso B. Niemann, the NMS principal investigator at NASA's Goddard
Space Flight Center.
Nozomi was launched almost exactly one year after Mars
Pathfinder landed on the Red Planet. Japanese officials said the
launch date for Nozomi was chosen as a way of honoring the American
lander's mission.
Two new American missions to Mars are scheduled for launch in
the next six months. The Mars Climate Orbiter will launch in December
to study Martian meteorology from orbit, while the Mars Polar Lander
will lift off in January to land in the unique layered terrain near
the Martian south pole.
Researchers Find Evidence Against Martian Nanofossils
A team of scientists reported Monday, July 6 that they had
found new evidence which disproves claims that worm-like features seen
in the Martian meteorite ALH 84001 are tiny "nanofossils" left behind
by ancient Martian life.
The research, led by John Bradley of Georgia Tech, Hap McSween
of the University of Tennessee, and Ralph Harvey of Case-Western
Reserve University, found that the fossil-like features seen in the
meteorite were formed by mineralogical processes unrelated to life and
at potentially very high temperatures.
The scientists found that magnetite crystals seen in the
meteorite were formed in the surrounding carbonates by epitaxy, or the
ordered growth of one mineral atop another. Such formation requires
temperatures of at least 120 degrees Celsius (248 degrees Fahrenheit),
which would all but eliminate the possibility that fossilized Martian
life exists in the meteorite.
The crystals seen appeared free of defects, which the
scientists noted is more representative of high-temperature growth
than crystals grown at lower temperatures.
Their research, to be published in the July issue of the
journal Meteoritics and Planetary Science, is the third paper by the
team that has addressed the issue of whether the meteorite shows
evidence of Martian life, as originally claimed by a team of Johnson
Space Center (JSC) and other scientists in August 1996.
"These three papers in combination basically invalidate much
of their (JSC's) evidence," Bradley, an adjunct professor at Georgia
Tech and executive director of the microscopy firm MVA Inc., said.
The first paper reported that the magnetite crystals seen
inside the claimed fossils were straight whiskers, not "daisy chains"
as would be expected inside fossils. A second paper claimed the
fossils themselves only resemble terrestrial fossils at certain
viewing angles; at other angles they resembled inorganic scales or
ledges.
Bradley was strongly critical of the claims of the original
JSC team. "Early skepticism has evolved into international consensus
among meteoriticists and planetary scientists, with the exception of
the JSC team, that this rock does not contain Martian nanofossils," he
said. "I do not know of a single other individual who believes it at
this point."
Still, he does not expect the debate about ALH 84001 to end
any time soon. "Unless the JSC team concedes, the debate will never
die," he said.
Astronomers Discover Nearby Developing Solar System
An international team of astronomers reported Wednesday, July
8, that they had found evidence of a solar system forming around the
nearby star Epsilon Eridani.
The astronomers used the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope on
Mauna Kea, Hawaii, to find a ring of dust around the star that looks
"strikingly similar" to our solar system's own Kuiper Belt of icy
bodies, according to one astronomer.
"What we see looks just like the comet belt on the outskirts
of our Solar System, only younger," said Jane Greaves of the Joint
Astronomy Centre in Hawaii. "It's the first time we've seen anything
like this around a star similar to our Sun."
Epsilon Eridani is a K2-class star -- slightly cooler than the
Sun and one-third as bright -- located 10.7 light years away. The
star is one of the closest Sun-like stars, but is believed to be much
younger than the Sun.
The images, obtained at submillimeter wavelengths, indicate
that the solar system is in the process of forming planets. "This
star system is a strong candidate for planets, but if there are
planets, it's unlikely there could be life yet," Greaves said. "When
the Earth was this young, it was still being very heavily bombarded by
comets and other debris."
Addition evidence for planet formation around the star is the
existence of a bright spot in the ring of dust imaged by the
astronomers. "There may be a planet stirring up the dust in the ring
and causing the bright spot," said Bill Dent of the Royal Observatory,
Edinburgh, "or it could be the remnants of a massive collision between
comets."
A region near the star itself that appears partially free of
dust is additional evidence for planet formation, astronomers said.
Planets would be expected to absorb or otherwise clear out dust in the
regions where they form.
The existence of a solar system forming around a nearby
Sun-like star may mean solar systems are quite common. "The
implication is that if there is one system similar to ours at such a
close star, presumably there are many others," Benjamin Zuckerman of
UCLA said. "In the search for life elsewhere in the universe, we have
never known where to look before. Now, we are closing in on the right
candidates in the search for life."
The same astronomers discovered dust disks earlier this year
around the more distant and less Sun-like stars Vega and Formalhaut.
Another dust disk was seen around the star HR 4796 at around the same
time.
The Epsilon Eridani discovery was announced at the "Protostars
and Planets" conference in Santa Barbara, California. The work has
been submitted for publication in Astrophysical Journal Letters.
Baikonur Problems Delay Soyuz Launch
A lack of electricity and running water at the Baikonur
Cosmodrome, Russia's primary launch site, will delay next month's
Soyuz launch of a Mir replacement crew by at least 10 days, Russian
officials reported Wednesday, July 8.
A three-person crew, including a former aide to Russian
president Boris Yeltsin, was scheduled to lift off August 3 in Soyuz
TM-28 to dock with Mir. However, a lack of electricity and water for
the last two weeks at Baikonur, Kazakhstan, the Soyuz launch site, has
forced officials to move the launch date back to August 13.
Electricity and water were cut to Baikonur because of unpaid
bills, a problem stemming from a lack of money allocated to Energia,
the company that operates Mir for the Russian Space Agency, and part
of Russia's larger financial woes.
"People are preparing for the launch in terrible conditions,
in temperatures of 37 degrees Celsius [99 degrees Fahrenheit], without
light, without water, without money," said Energia president Yuri
Semyonov told the Itar-Tass news agency.
Power has been restored to Baikonur, Itar-Tass reported, but
the two-week loss of power impacted launch preparations enough to
force a launch delay.
The launch cannot be delayed much longer. The Soyuz capsule
currently docked to Mir, which brought current crew members Talgat
Musabayev and Nikolai Budarin to the station, must return to Earth by
late August as its systems are only guaranteed to function for that
long.
The Soyuz TM-28 will carry a relief crew of commander Gennady
Padalka and engineer Sergei Avdeyev. Also flying on the Soyuz will be
former presidential aide Nikolai Baturin. Baturin will investigate
the status of the station and return with Budarin and Musabayev later
in August.
Energia threatened last month to shut down Mir as early as
August if the Russian government did not pay the money it owed the
corporation for operating Mir. On July 2 the Russian government
agreed to provide Energia with 600 million rubles (US$100 million) to
continue operating the station through mid-1999, at which time the
station will be deorbited into the Pacific Ocean.
*** Technology ***
Japanese Satellites Test Docking Techniques
A pair of Japanese satellites completed the first successful
test of an unmanned, automated docking early Tuesday, July 7.
The two sections of the Engineering Test Satellite VII (ETS-7)
separated and moved two meters (6.6 feet) apart before docking
together again at 7:30am Japanese time (6:30pm ET and 2230UT July 6).
In the test, three grappling claws on the 410 kg (900 lbs.)
target satellite, named Orihime, grabbed onto the 2,540 kg (5,590
lbs.) chaser satellite, named Hikoboshi.
The test was the first time two unmanned spacecraft and
undocked and redocked under remote control. Tests planned for later
this year will try docking after the two spacecraft are separated by
distances up to several kilometers.
The technology is being tested with an eye for use on the
International Space Station. Automated docking techniques would make
it easier for unmanned cargo spacecraft to dock with the station.
ETS-7 was launched last November 27, along with the Tropical
Rainfall Measuring Mission, a joint NASA/NASDA (National Space
Development Agency) mission.
The names of the two ETS-7 spacecraft come from an old
Japanese tale, where the princess Orihime and her lover Hikoboshi were
allowed to meet only once a year, on July 7th.
AXAF Completes Environmental Tests
The Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF) satellite has
completed all of its environmental tests, satellite builder TRW
reported Wednesday, July 8, but a problem with one of the satellite's
instruments was uncovered during the tests.
AXAF spent a month in a thermal vacuum chamber at TRW's El
Segundo, California, facility. The satellite was exposed to the
vacuum of space and alternating periods of hot and cold temperatures
to simulate the environment the satellite will be in after launch.
Key subsystems and instruments were tested during the thermal
vacuum test to ensure they worked as planned. Engineers also tested
sending commands to the spacecraft from the AXAF Operations Control
Center (OCC) in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
It was during those tests that a mechanical problem was
noticed in one of AXAF's instruments, the AXAF CCD Imaging
Spectrometer (ACIS). TRW's AXAF program manager, Craig Staresinich,
said the cause of the problem and repair plans are being investigated.
"We believe that the repair can be made in parallel with
upcoming electrical testing of the observatory with little or no
impact to the delivery schedule," he said.
He added that the discovery of the problem during the tests
was a success, not a failure, since AXAF's highly elliptical orbit
makes any on-orbit repairs by shuttle crews impossible, unlike the
Hubble Space Telescope. "Discovering a problem now is a success.
Discovering a problem later, after launch, would be a failure," he
said.
AXAF, originally planned for an August launch, was pushed back
to December after delays in the assembly of the spacecraft were
reported late last year. Launch of the spacecraft is now likely to
take place no earlier than January, as the first space station
assembly shuttle flight is now planned for December.
Zenit, Sub-Based Missile Launch Satellites
An oft-delayed Zenit booster and a missile launched from a
Russian submarine successfully placed satellites from several nations
into orbit in early July.
A Zenit 2 rocket lifted off at 2:30am EDT (0630 UT) July 10
from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, carrying five satellites, including a
Russian Resurs-0 remote sensing satellite and several small satellites
from other nations, including Chile, Thailand, and Israel.
The launch was originally planned for June 23 but was pushed
back more than two weeks because of problems with the guidance system
on the booster. The booster was taken off its launch pad for over a
week while repairs to the system were completed. A last-minute
failure in the system delayed a launch planned for July 8.
The launch is the first for the Zenit since a May 1997 launch
ended in an explosion shortly after liftoff. The Zenit has experienced
other launch failures in the recent past as well.
An SS-N-23 ballistic missile launched the Tubsat-N satellites
from the Delfin-class submarine Novomoskovsk, submerged in the
Barents Sea, at 7:15am Moscow time July 7 (0315 UT, 11:15pm ET July
6). The satellite successfully reached orbit, officials reported.
Tubsat-N, built at the Technical University of Berlin,
consists of two small satellites, together weighing less than 11.5 kg
(25.3 lbs.). The larger Tubsat-N and smaller Tubsat-N1 were launched
attached and are designed to separate once in orbit.
The satellites contain a number of experiments, including
tests of reaction wheel and star sensor performance. They are also
designed to store and forward low data rate communications.
The Russian Navy, which conducted the satellite launch, said
it plans future commercial launches using its nuclear submarines as a
way to raise money for the cash-strapped armed service.
*** Policy ***
Senate Vote Supports Space Station
In a final rebuke to a longtime but retiring foe of the
International Space Station, the Senate voted down by a 2-to-1 margin
July 7 a measure that would have cut funding to the station.
By a vote of 66 to 33, the Senate rejected an amendment to a
NASA appropriations bill proposed by Sen. Dale Bumpers (D-AR) that
would have canceled the station and placed the funding intended for it
into veteran's health and low-rent housing projects.
Bumpers, a longtime opponent of the space station who is
retiring from the Senate at the end of the year, has introduced
similar amendments for many years. All have failed in Senate votes.
In support of his amendment, Bumpers cited recent studies from
the GAO that claimed the total cost to build and operate the station
would reach or exceed $100 billion. The annual operating cost of the
station alone, he said, "will be enough to fund 6,000 researchers at
NIH [National Institutes of Health] and universities across America
for a year."
"We are going to have six people on the space station doing
what the National Research Council estimates to be 24 hours of
research each day, at a cost at which we could hire 6,000 researchers
on earth," he said.
Supporters of the station, including Sen. John Glenn (D-OH),
took issue with some of Bumpers's statements. "This $96 billion is a
fictitious figure; $40 billion of that, by NASA estimates, includes
shuttle costs that are going to go on anyway," Glenn said.
Glenn, who, like Bumpers, is retiring after this year, said
spending on programs like the station is necessary to make progress.
"If we ever tried to solve all problems and to do everything we wanted
to do before we made research, we would never have moved off the east
coast."
NASA Creates Near-Earth Object Office
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory will host a new NASA office
dedicated to detecting, tracking, and understanding potentially
hazardous near-Earth objects (NEOs), NASA announced Tuesday, July 14.
NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office will focus on the goal
of locating at least 90 percent of the estimated 2,000 asteroids and
comets that approach the Earth and are larger than 1 kilometer (0.62
miles) in diameter, by the end of the next decade.
"We determined that, in order to achieve our goals, we need a
more formal focusing of our near-Earth object tracking efforts and
related communications with the supporting research community," said
Dr. B. Carl Pilcher, science director for solar system exploration at
NASA headquarters.
"Finding a majority of this population will require the
efforts of researchers at several NASA centers, at universities and at
observatories across the country, and will require the participation
by the international astronomy community as well," said Dr. Donald
Yeomans of JPL, an expert on asteroid and comet orbits who will head
the new office.
The new office will focus on coordinating efforts to detect
NEOs as well as facilitating communications between astronomers and
the public should a dangerous NEO be discovered.
This second role for the NEO office is seen as a reaction to
the fiasco surrounding the announcement in March that asteroid 1997
XF11 would pass dangerously close to the Earth in 2028. Later
analyses of the data, combined with pre-discovery observations,
eliminated any threat of a collision in 2028 within one day of the
original announcement.
In the months following the 1997 XF11 announcement, NASA has
announced plans to more than double funding for NEO tracking projects,
to around $3 million in 1999. NASA has also formed policy that
requires NASA-funded astronomers -- most of the NEO community
worldwide -- to better communicate any discoveries among themselves
and NASA before going public.
Movie Producers Challenged to Match NEO Grant
Two private space organizations announced a $50,000 grant
Wednesday, July 1, to support work to locate and track near-Earth
objects (NEOs), and challenged the producers of two current Hollywood
blockbusters to match the grant.
The Space Frontier Founation (SFF) and the Foundation for the
International Non-Governmental Development of Space (FINDS) announced
the grant as a kickoff for a fundraising campaign to support NEO
research and bring together top experts on the issue.
The organizations alsom challenged the producers of the movies
"Deep Impact" and "Armageddon" -- two summer blockbusters that depict
comets and asteroids on collision courses with the Earth -- to match
the grant.
"The film industry has done an excellent job educating people
about the very real threat NEOs pose to our civilization, and is
making millions of dollars at the same time," said SFF president Rick
Tumlinson. ""Meanwhile, there is very little money going to support
the handful of heroic people doing the actual work of finding and
tracking these potential Earth killers."
"There are astronomers who cannot afford to turn on their
telescopes," Tumlinson noted. "Hollywood is making a lot of money
playing off of the fear -- now it's time for them to ante up."
The grant will go towards a program called "The Watch" whose
goal is to raise $1 million a year to support NEO research worldwide.
The funds will be disbursed by an advisory council headed by John
Lewis of the University of Arizona. The council will meet for the
first time at an SFF conference in California in October.
FINDS, a $13 million endowment that funds "breakthrough
projects" in space-related topics, currently supports NEO tracking
projects at Canada's University of Victoria and asteroid iron
extraction work at the University of Arizona.
Deep Impact, a movie released in May by Dreamworks and
Paramount, cost $75 million. The movie has grossed over $133 million
in the United States alone by late June. Armageddon, about a giant
asteroid headed towards Earth, opened in North America July 1. Its
budget was estimated at well over $100 million.
*** Science ***
Io Volcanoes Hottest in Solar System
Planetary scientists using data from the Galileo spacecraft
have discovered that volcanoes on Io are the hottest planetary
surfaces in the solar system, reaching temperatures of thousands of
degrees.
Researchers from the University of Arizona, Brown University,
and other institutions, writing in the July 3 issue of the journal
Science, found that at least a dozen volcanic vents on Io, the
innermost of Jupiter's four largest moons, reach temperatures of at
least 1,200 degrees Celsius (2,200 degrees Fahrenheit). One is as hot
as 1,700 degrees C (3,100 degrees F), about three times hotter than
the sunlit surface of Mercury.
"The very hot lavas erupting on Io are hotter than anything
that has erupted on Earth for billions of years," said Alfred McEwen,
director of the University of Arizona's Planetary Image Research Lab.
"They are the highest surface temperatures in the solar system other
than the sun itself."
McEwen and colleagues combined infrared data from Galileo,
which provided temperatures, with visible-light camera images to
confirm that the hotspots were associated with volcanic vents. The
temperatures and colors imply the lava is rich in heavy elements like
magnesium.
That finding is leading scientists to questions the
composition of Io's surface. Highly volcanic surfaces like Io are
thought to be highly differentiated, with low-density materials in the
crust and heavier materials below. Such a differentiated body would
make it difficult for heavy magma, like that inferred from the Galileo
data, to make it to the surface.
"The evidence suggests we're seeing heavy magma erupt to the
surface. How do we explain that?" McEwen asked. "It's harder for
dense material to rise through a low-density crust, although this has
occurred on Earth's moon. Perhaps some process mixes the crust back
into Io's interior, so the crust has a higher density."
Studies of Io may help understand conditions on the early
Earth, McEwen said. "Early Earth is hard to understand because the
evidence has been so degraded by an active environment and plate
tectonics. I like to think of Io as a grand experiment in planetary
vulcanism and differentiation."
Io is heated by tidal forces. The moon is locked into an
orbital resonance with Europa and Ganymede, two other Jovian moons,
making its orbit slightly elliptical. The tidal forces caused by
Jupiter's gravity heat Io's interior, which in turn powers the moon's
volcanoes.
Io's volcanoes were discovered by the Voyager 1 and 2
spacecraft as the flew by the Jovian system in 1979. Since then,
volcanic eruptions on Io have been monitored by ground-based infrared
telescopes, the Hubble Space Telescope, and Galileo.
New Type of Near-Earth Asteroids Discovered
Astronomers at the University of Hawaii have discovered a new
type of near-Earth asteroid whose location makes them difficult to
detect.
Dr. David Tholen and Robert Whiteley of the University of
Hawaii's Institute for Astronomy discovered 1998 DK36 earlier this
year and found that its orbit lies entirely within that of the Earth
-- that is, it never gets farther from the Sun than the Earth. All
previously known asteroids have orbits that take them at least briefly
beyond the orbit of the Earth.
This type of orbit makes the asteroids difficult to detect, as
they are close to the Sun in the sky as seen from the Earth, and thus
are only visible in the dawn and dusk skies.
"All other efforts to discover asteroids on a collision course
with the Earth are being directed at a region of the sky almost
opposite the Sun," said Tholen. "The significance of this discovery
is that we would have otherwise never found this new asteroid because
it apparently doesn't travel to that region of the sky being scanned
by other search efforts."
Such asteroids could strike the Earth from the daytime side
without any advance warning possible, Tholen said.
1998 DK36 was discovered in February using a specialized
camera system on the University of Hawaii's 2.2-meter (88-inch)
telescope atop Mauna Kea. Tholen and Whiteley were performing
observations of the dawn and dusk skies using the telescope to search
for near-Earth asteroids.
The asteroid is estimated to be about 40 meters (132 feet) in
diameter. The size is comparable with the size of the stony asteroid
that caused the Tunguska explosion in Siberia 90 years ago and the
iron asteroid that created Meteor Crater in Arizona 50,000 years ago.
1998 DK36 appears to orbit between the orbits of Earth and
Mercury. Tholen said that although they were not able to make enough
observations for a complete analysis, their best-fit orbit has 1998
DK36 passing an apparently-safe 1.2 million kilometers (750,000 miles)
from the Earth.
"1998 DK36 is nothing to lose sleep over," said Tholen. "It's
the ones we haven't found yet that are of concern."
European Astronomers Discover Another Extrasolar Planet
A team of European astronomers led by the duo who discovered
the first extrasolar planet around a Sun-like star announced Monday,
July 6 that they had discovered another planet orbiting another star
similar to the Sun.
The team, led by Michel Mayor of Switzerland's Geneva
Observatory and Didier Queloz of the Geneva Observatory and JPL,
discovered the planet around the star 14 Herculis (also known as
Gliese 614). The star, with about 80 percent of the mass of the Sun,
is located 60 light-years away in the constellation Hercules.
The team estimated the mass of the planet to be 3.3 times that
of Jupiter, the largest planet in our own solar system. The planet is
located 2.5 AU (375 million kilometers, 232.5 million miles) from its
parent star and takes 4.4 years to complete one orbit.
"This long-period planet, orbiting a nearby star, is a very
promising candidate for direct imaging," the discovered said in an
announcement from the Geneva Observatory. "The longer the period, the
larger the separation between the planet and the parent star,
therefore the easier it becomes to distinguish the feeble glow of the
planet near the bright glare of the star."
The observers said the estimated separation between the planet
and star is good enough to attempt direct observations of the star
using the 3.6-meter (141.7-inch) Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope on
Mauna Kea, Hawaii, using the telescope's adaptive optics system.
The observers also confirmed the discovery last month of a
planet around the star Gliese 876. The planet around the star, just
15 light years from Earth, was announced last month by veteran
extrasolar planet discoverer Geoff Marcy of San Francisco State
University.
Mayor and Queloz discovered the first extrasolar planet around
a Sun-like star when they discovered a planet around 51 Pegasi in
1995.
*** CyberSpace ***
The Space Weather Bureau
Solar flares, aurorae, even meteor showers -- all are considered
"space weather", events outside the Earth's atmosphere that can have
effects on satellites, communications, and astronauts in orbit. The
Space Weather Bureau provides updated information on the current space
weather, such as solar flare activity, and a 24-hour forecast.
There's also some background information on space weather phenomena
and related news items.
http://www.spaceweather.com/
Orbit-on-Web
Orbit-on-Web allows people to perform orbital computations within
their Web browser. Convert between orbital elements and state vectors,
propigate orbits, compute transfers between orbits, and more, at this
Web site. You'll need some knowledge of orbital mechanics and a
browser that supports JavaScript to take advanatage of this site's
features.
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/2902/orbit.htm
The Moon Race Homepage
The Moon Race Homepage features a detailed history of the race between
the United States and the Soviet Union to be the first to set a man on
the Moon. A detailed timeline explores Space Race history from the 50s
into the 70s, and background information gives you the opportunity to
learn more about the people and technologies that shaped the efforts
of both countries. Pictures and videos add to the multimedia
experience of the site.
http://members.aol.com/dsmith6439/moonrace/moonrace.htm
Wired Collections: Space Exploration
While Wired magazine is considered by many to be a magazine of the
Internet and new computer technologies, it has published a number of
articles on space exploration in the past several years, with an
emphasis on new space technologies. This Web site includes links to
those articles, ranging from SETI to the Roton and robotic spacecraft.
There are also links to Wired News space news articles.
http://www.wired.com/collections/space_exploration/
*** Space Capsules ***
SpaceViews Event Horizon
July 21: Galileo flyby of Europa
July 23: Long March 2C/SD launch of replacement Iridium
satellites
August 13: Soyuz TM-28 launch from Baikonur, Kazakhstan
August 13-16: Mars Society Founding Convention, Boulder, Colorado
Other News
SpaceDev Buys British Firm: SpaceDev announced July 6 that it was
acquiring Space Innovations Limited (SIL), a British builder of small
satellites and satellite subsystems. Terms of the deal were not
announced. SpaceDev is working on the Near Earth Asteroid Prospedctor
(NEAP), the first private space exploration spacecraft, and the SIL
deal is seen as a way to bring needed knowledge and technology into
the company. "We are especially interested in SIL's deep space X-band
transceiver capabilities, one of many SIL subsystems applicable to our
Near Earth Asteroid Prospector," Jim Benson, president and CEO of
SpaceDev, said.
SPACEHAB Buys Engineering Firm: SPACEHAB moved to expland its presence
in support of human spaceflight July 1 with the acquisition of
Houston-based Johnson Engineering Corporation ("JE"), a Johnson Space
Center contractor. JE handles a number of key services for NASA,
including operations of the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, a
weightlessness trainer; construction of ISS mockups used in training;
and developing hardware for use in the crew quarters of the
International Space Station. Key leaders of JE, including former
astronaut Eugene Cernan, will stay with SPACEHAB and its JE
subsidiary. "Having spent most of my career in the space program, I
am delighted to be part of SPACEHAB, which has been leading the
development of commercial systems that are advancing the frontier of
human space flight," Cernan said.
Boeing, TRW Win NRO Contracts: TRW and Boeing announced Friday, July
10, that they won contracts to build and launch, respectively, an
experimental National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) satellite to test
the feasibility of laser communications. Under a $77.8 million
contract, TRW will design, build and operate the Geosynchronous
Lightweight Technology Experiment (GeoLITE) satellite. The satellite
will be launched in early 2001 on a Boeing Delta II rocket. GeoLITE
is an advanced technology demonstration satellite designed to test the
effectiveness of laser communications. It will also be outfitted with
more conventional ultra-high frequency (UHF) communications equipment.
Evidence for Magentars: Astronomers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight
Center believe a recent series of low-energy gamma-ray bursts detected
last month is caused by a magnetar, a rare type of neutron star with
an intense magnetic field whose surface is subjected to powerful
quakes. The bursts match the profile of a soft gamma repeater (SGR),
a rare class of gamma-ray burst source. This SGR is only the fourth
known to exist and the first discovered since the late 1970s. SGRs
are thought to be a brief stage in the life of a magnetar, a neutron
star with an intense magnetic field up to a million billion (10^15)
times as powerful as the Earth's magnetic field. Astronomers think
that the powerful magnetic fields of magnetars cause wrinkles in their
tightly-bound surfaces. The fields cause wrinkles only a few
millimeters high, but enough to cause the surfaces to crack in a
"starquake" and release tremendous amounts of energy in the form of
X-rays and gamma rays.
University Gets Solar Satellite Contract: The University of
California, Berkeley, has won a $72 million contract to build and
operate a satellite designed to study solar flares during the upcoming
solar maximum, the university announced June 30. The High Energy Solar
Spectroscopic Imager (HESSI) will be the first NASA spacecraft in over
25 years to be designed, built, and operated entirely by a university
and its partners. NASA relinquished control of much of the mission to
the university as a way reduce the costs of the mission, estimated to
be $72 million. "When we initially put together this mission the
estimated cost was 10 times as much, in part because we had to comply
with the way NASA did things in large projects," said project leader
Professor Robert Lin. "Now that NASA has changed its philosophy, we
can be lean and efficient - and more responsible to the public." The
spacecraft, scheduled for launch into Earth orbit in the year 2000,
will carry a telescope that will observe solar flares at X-ray and
gamma-ray wavelengths.
======================
This has been the July 15, 1998, issue of SpaceViews Update.
SpaceViews Update is also availble on the World Wide web from the
SpaceViews home page:
http://www.spaceviews.com/
or via anonymous FTP from ftp.seds.org:
/pub/info/newsletters/spaceviews/update/980715.txt
For editorial questions and article submissions for SpaceViews or
Spaceviews Update, contact the editor, Jeff Foust, at jeff@spaceviews.com.
For questions about the SpaceViews mailing list, please contact
spaceviews-approval@nss.org.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
____ | "SpaceViews" (tm) -by Boston Chapter
// \ // | of the National Space Society (NSS)
// (O) // | Dedicated to the establishment
// \___// | of a spacefaring civilization.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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To: vfecool@one.net.au, starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: starship-design: Re: Here's an Idea
Date: Sat, 1 Aug 1998 12:12:39 EDT
Hi,
Unfortunately your fluorescent tube idea won't do what you think. The tube
only converts energy from an external power source (magnetic pulses from the
lamp's power source, or other nearby AC power systems) to light. Useful if
you need light, but it can't generate more power for thrust (you'd do better
to just use a magnet against the external magnetic fields for thrust). We had
tinkered with the idea of tapping interstellar magnetic fields for power, but
the fields seem far too weak to use.
Oh, as to using the power of earth's magnetic fields, they (or a star's
magnetic fields) don't reach far enough. The Starship would blast past them
in less than a second at full speed. It would be like trying to stop a bullet
with a Kleenex. Worse, if it did work, the ship would be vaporized.
I'll forward your letter to the group though, and thanks for writing!
Kelly
In a message dated 7/31/98 3:27:59 PM, you wrote:
>Hello Kelly.
>
>I was viewing your site, the one where you are trying to design a starship
>
>capable of going to another system and slowing down then returning all
>
>within a respectable time-frame. I also noticed that you were having
>
>trouble with drive-systems and slow-down methods. Well I have plausible
>
>answers for both but for now I will give you one of my theories for a
>
>star-drive.
>
>Firstly, are you familiar with the concepts of a fluorescent tube. These
>
>devices are revolutionary in creating light. They are efficent,
>
>long-lasting and quite hardy. Unlike light bulbs. Now both of these devices
>
>create light. But only one of these is capable of operating in a
>
>high-airborne energy environment. Like that near a high-tension power line.
>
>Second. If a fluorescent light can create light through it's internal
>
>workings, could it be possible that it could, if modified, create a
>
>different type of energy under the same situation. It is also known that
>
>fluorescent lights emit a low-level radiation pulse that can affect smoke
>
>alarms. As I was saying, I have made a fluorescent light, with severe
>
>modifications, emit more radiation and a steady stream of magnetic forces.
>
>It also produces light but not much.
>
>Finally. I believe that with more refining, this new type of "generator"
>
>could be used to produce forces that may be productive. Imagine a wheel of
>
>these devices, spinning at super high speeds. All generating magnetic
>
>forces. I reckon that should be able to push something. For example, when I
>
>approached my device with a fridge magnet in hand. I could feel pulsating
>
>(rapid) pushes on the magnet, trying to move it away from the device. The
>
>closer I got, the harder it was to get the fridge magnet closer.
>
>By the way, the radiation was harmless.
>
>I hope you recieved my diagram. It is simple but I have no scanner, so
>
>using my limited art skills, I drew it as a bitmap. It is viewable in any
>
>paint program. Under Win95 of course.
>
>A brief explanation of it.
>
>The diagram displays the device as it is now.
>
>There is the shell, the original exterior of the fluro tube. Then inside
>
>that is the rod of host material which emits energy which reacts with the
>
>Particle Z floating around between the shell and the host material. Finally
>
>there is the depicted magnetic waves eminating from the tube. Based on what
>
>the device does, I call it:
>
>The THERMOELECTROMAGNETIC INDUCTOR.
>
>A fancy name yes, but necessary. It helps remind me about how the device
>
>works at it's most basic principal. Now all that is needed is a way to use
>
>this generator to push a starship. I believe that as a wild theory, why not
>
>push the drive against the Earth's magnetic field. If not then how about
>
>inside a rotating drum orbitting Earth, which projects the magnetic energy
>
>which is the same polarity as that produced by thermo inductor. When you
>
>activate the drive, whoosh! The magnetic forces collide and the ship is
>
>flung into space. The rotating action of the tube acts like the spiralling
>
>inside the barrel of a rifle. It helps to keep the ship straight.
>
>And second last but not least a few cosmic rules.
>
>The ship would have to be made of a non magnetic material and any computer
>
>systems on board would have to be protected somehow.
>
>The ship would not have to be very large but if it were then
>
>hypothetically, the bigger the engine, the bigger the thrust.
>
>As a possible slow down, simple rocket boosters could be used.
>
>As a return, if a reverse tube was not installed at the destination planet
>
>or system, then it could be possible to push against the magnetic field of
>
>a planet.
>
>If no planet existed then problems arise but for the first trip, the ship
>
>or maybe several ships would probably have to carry with them, either in
>
>tow or in storage, the equipment and raw materials to build a reverse tube
>
>at the proper destination.
>
>Also, to correct course, simple rocket thrusters could be installed on the
>
>exterior hull of the ship.
>
>As for 1/3 1/2 or even light speed travel, I am not sure. Maybe the drive
>
>could do it, if not then it would make a damn good solar system based
>
>traveller.
>
>And for energy, it would require only electrical power for the drive, as a
>
>bonus though, because the device is still essentially a fluorescent tube,
>
>the energy demands aren't all that high. The only solid fuel would be for
>
>the thrusters. A moderate amount would be required for the deceleration but
>
>exactly how much I do not know.
>
>And Last But Not Least. A few words from me to you.
>
>I am trusting this information to you on the grounds that you limit it's
>
>transmission to only relevent persons. Please post it to your web-site if
>
>you want but mask out my name at the end of this document. I have had a few
>
>"experiences" with people who want my work very much and I would like to
>
>avoid alerting those people that my work is nearing a practical stage.
>
>Please follow my directions and delete this paragraph and my identifying
>
>details.
>
>Thank you ever so much and I hope you like my semi-practical theory.
>
>
>
>Care of SHADY DEATH
>
>vfecool@one.net.au
>
>feel free to E-mail me if you are interested in any further theories.
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Subject: starship-design: Re: Your Web Site
Date: Sun, 2 Aug 1998 13:34:57 EDT
In a message dated 8/2/98 3:48:42 AM, you wrote:
>I've just finished looking at your web site and to a writer of science
>fiction, your site offers extremely inspiring avenues to the imagination.
>Basically what I am saying is that I like your site and look forward to
>seeing what you come up with next :)
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Wallace W. Cass Jr.
Thanks a lot! We were hoping to inspire, and I'm glad it worked. Hope it
triped off some good (and saleable) ideas for you. ;)
Kelly Starks
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To: starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: starship-design: Power - T.E.M.I
Date: Tue, 4 Aug 1998 21:44:18 -0500
A friend of mine reads my e-mails after me and after reading about the
Thermoelectric Inductor(T.E.M.I.), he wished me to inform the group about
an experiment of his in which he believes it may be the answer to low
output clean energy with zero maintenance. It is a hyroniline tank. A
friend of his at the university believes it will work but he will need
MAJOR funding to implement a bigger model than the one he has already
made. The one he has built is only about 10 centimeters long and produces
between 15 and 30 volts depending on it's mood. He hasn't altered it's
condition now for over three weeks and it is still going strong. It is
hooked up to a transformer and from there to a low wattage light bulb.
When he sees the bulb go out, he will know the average life-span of the
unit.
It works primarily on activating, no... exciting the water molecules in
the tank using three different elemental bars. With an added bit of the
special ingredient, the tank produces power. He is not sure, however, if
the tank will produce more energy on a larger scale but for now it looks
promising.
Incidently, It cost him over 800 dollars just to buy enough of three
different materials for the rods and the rods are only an eighth of an
inch wide and barely an inch long! It will cost a fortune to build a
larger model. The only thing that worries him is that it seems to slow
down when cold so he wanted to ask the group how he could overcome that
problem in a star drive. It is minus 200
up there!
_____________________________________________________________________
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To: Jonathan J Jay <jon_jay1@juno.com>
cc: starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: Re: starship-design: Power - T.E.M.I
Date: Wed, 5 Aug 1998 09:52:34 -0700 (PDT)
Jonathan,
Where does the energy come from, that is, what is the theoretical
basis of operation? Are the 'rods' consumed by the reaction? How many
watts does the thing put out? Could you give an explanation of the
device. What is the composition of the three 'rods' and the 'special
ingredient' and how come it costs so much? How are the rods placed in the
tank, do they touch, are they partially or completely immersed, are the
rods changed any when the reaction starts., where do the power leads come
out of the tank, and is the reaction self-starting, or does it require
some activation energy? The reason why I ask is that I suspect your
friend has gone and made himself a chemical battery. Tell him to try
running it without one of the rods or switching it around and see what
happens.
220,284
Nels
On Tue, 4 Aug 1998, Jonathan J Jay wrote:
> A friend of mine reads my e-mails after me and after reading about the
> Thermoelectric Inductor(T.E.M.I.), he wished me to inform the group about
> an experiment of his in which he believes it may be the answer to low
> output clean energy with zero maintenance. It is a hyroniline tank. A
> friend of his at the university believes it will work but he will need
> MAJOR funding to implement a bigger model than the one he has already
> made. The one he has built is only about 10 centimeters long and produces
> between 15 and 30 volts depending on it's mood. He hasn't altered it's
> condition now for over three weeks and it is still going strong. It is
> hooked up to a transformer and from there to a low wattage light bulb.
> When he sees the bulb go out, he will know the average life-span of the
> unit.
> It works primarily on activating, no... exciting the water molecules in
> the tank using three different elemental bars. With an added bit of the
> special ingredient, the tank produces power. He is not sure, however, if
> the tank will produce more energy on a larger scale but for now it looks
> promising.
> Incidently, It cost him over 800 dollars just to buy enough of three
> different materials for the rods and the rods are only an eighth of an
> inch wide and barely an inch long! It will cost a fortune to build a
> larger model. The only thing that worries him is that it seems to slow
> down when cold so he wanted to ask the group how he could overcome that
> problem in a star drive. It is minus 200
> up there!
>
> _____________________________________________________________________
> You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail.
> Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com
> Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]
>
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Sender: owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
To: nlindber@u.washington.edu
Cc: starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: Re:Re: starship-design: Power - T.E.M.I
Date: Thu, 6 Aug 1998 08:38:46 -0500
He was not entirely sure how to answer ALL your questions but he answered
what he could. Hopefully with the information provided you should be able
to understand and possibly even answer the rest of the questions.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Q> Where does the energy come from, What is the theoretical basis of
operation?
A> He believes the energy comes from particles in the fluid making
contact
with the rods and being shoved around the tank constantly slamming into
the
rods making more energy. That is the basis of operation, he thinks.
Q> Are the 'rods' consumed by the reaction?
A> No. Not in the slightest bit. The rods are still the exact
measurements
they started at.
Q> How many watts does the thing put out?
A> He is unsure about watts, but it makes 15 to 30 volts at 1.2 amps
constantly.
Q> Could you give an explanation of the device?
A> Essentially, it is a circular 'tank' filled with fluid and then the
rods
are inserted.
Q> What is the composition of the three 'rods'?
A> One is Iron. (Fe) The other two are classified.
Q> What is the Special Ingredient?
A> KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN!!!!! Not. It is secret, but granular.
Q> How come it costs so much?
A> Because one rod is made of a precious metal. Not gold or silver.
Q> How are the rods placed in the tank?
A> He inserted the base of each rod into a predrilled groove in the
bottom
of the tank for each rod.
Q> Do they touch?
A> Each other? No.
Q> Are they partially or completely immersed?
A> Completely.
Q> Are the 'rods' changed any when the reaction starts?
A> They heat up about 11 degrees centigrade but that's it.
Q> Where do the power leads come out of the tank?
A> The two leads are taped to the side of the tank. Then they go over the
edge and are immersed in the fluid with the bare ends dipped at least two
centimeters under.
Q> Is the reaction self starting or does it require a kick start?
A> He isn't sure. He was going to give it a kick start but it started by
itself. Just to be on the safe side, he did give it a kick start but is
unsure if that helped any.
Q> Could it run with one rod missing or alternating their positions?
A> No. It could run with one rod missing for two minutes but no longer.
And
the rods HAVE to be in that position.
On Wed, 5 Aug 1998 09:52:34 -0700 (PDT) "N. Lindberg" writes:
>Jonathan,
> Where does the energy come from, that is, what is the
theoretical
>basis of operation? Are the 'rods' consumed by the reaction? How many
>watts does the thing put out? Could you give an explanation of the
>device. What is the composition of the three 'rods' and the 'special
>ingredient' and how come it costs so much? How are the rods placed in
the
>tank, do they touch, are they partially or completely immersed, are the
>rods changed any when the reaction starts., where do the power leads
come
>out of the tank, and is the reaction self-starting, or does it require
>some activation energy? The reason why I ask is that I suspect your
>friend has gone and made himself a chemical battery. Tell him to try
>running it without one of the rods or switching it around and see what
>happens.
>220,284
>Nels
_____________________________________________________________________
You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail.
Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com
Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]
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To: jon_jay1@juno.com (Jonathan J Jay)
Cc: nlindber@u.washington.edu, starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: starship-design: Power - T.E.M.I
Date: Thu, 6 Aug 1998 10:35:39 -0700 (PDT)
Jonathan J Jay writes:
> He was not entirely sure how to answer ALL your questions but he answered
> what he could. Hopefully with the information provided you should be able
> to understand and possibly even answer the rest of the questions.
>
> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
> Q> Where does the energy come from, What is the theoretical basis of
> operation?
> A> He believes the energy comes from particles in the fluid
> making contact with the rods and being shoved around the tank
> constantly slamming into the rods making more energy. That is
> the basis of operation, he thinks.
Uh huh. I still think it's a chemical battery; he seems to think
it's some kind of thermal engine. Either way it's not a useful
power source for a starship drive, because it's not going to
yield enough energy. Nuclear fusion is barely capable of
generating enough energy to accelerate a spacecraft to
relativistic speeds, and then only with a very high
fuel-to-payload ratio.
> Q> Are the 'rods' consumed by the reaction?
> A> No. Not in the slightest bit. The rods are still the exact
> measurements they started at.
Uh huh. What measurements are these?
> Q> How many watts does the thing put out?
> A> He is unsure about watts, but it makes 15 to 30 volts at 1.2 amps
> constantly.
Oooh, this is a bad sign. If he doesn't know enough about
physics to calculate wattage from those figures, I'm not going to
be particularly trusting of his other claims. W = V * A. It
puts out 18-36 watts. "Constantly?" For how long? It can't
last forever.
> Q> Are the 'rods' changed any when the reaction starts?
> A> They heat up about 11 degrees centigrade but that's it.
Yet another sign that it's probably no more than a chemical
battery.
I really think this is not something we should be discussing on
starship-design. I didn't set up this list to be a "kook
science" forum or a place to discuss proprietary battery designs.
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Sender: owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
To: Steve VanDevender <stevev@efn.org>
cc: Jonathan J Jay <jon_jay1@juno.com>, starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: Re: starship-design: Power - T.E.M.I
Date: Thu, 6 Aug 1998 15:36:47 -0700 (PDT)
Jon,
Do the leads touch the metal posts? if so, then i can guarantee
you that your friend's has built himself an extremely expensive, low power
wet cell. if not, well....(shrug). I'm afraid i have to agree with
Steve in his estimation of yr friend's physics skills, no offense. Also,
what does this have to do with TEMI? I mean, you never mentioned the
Peltier effect, and your friend gave no indication of a TE diode being
part of his apparat.
Best Regards
Nels
On Thu, 6 Aug 1998, Steve VanDevender wrote:
> Jonathan J Jay writes:
> > He was not entirely sure how to answer ALL your questions but he answered
> > what he could. Hopefully with the information provided you should be able
> > to understand and possibly even answer the rest of the questions.
> >
> > >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
> > Q> Where does the energy come from, What is the theoretical basis of
> > operation?
> > A> He believes the energy comes from particles in the fluid
> > making contact with the rods and being shoved around the tank
> > constantly slamming into the rods making more energy. That is
> > the basis of operation, he thinks.
>
> Uh huh. I still think it's a chemical battery; he seems to think
> it's some kind of thermal engine. Either way it's not a useful
> power source for a starship drive, because it's not going to
> yield enough energy. Nuclear fusion is barely capable of
> generating enough energy to accelerate a spacecraft to
> relativistic speeds, and then only with a very high
> fuel-to-payload ratio.
>
> > Q> Are the 'rods' consumed by the reaction?
> > A> No. Not in the slightest bit. The rods are still the exact
> > measurements they started at.
>
> Uh huh. What measurements are these?
>
> > Q> How many watts does the thing put out?
> > A> He is unsure about watts, but it makes 15 to 30 volts at 1.2 amps
> > constantly.
>
> Oooh, this is a bad sign. If he doesn't know enough about
> physics to calculate wattage from those figures, I'm not going to
> be particularly trusting of his other claims. W = V * A. It
> puts out 18-36 watts. "Constantly?" For how long? It can't
> last forever.
>
> > Q> Are the 'rods' changed any when the reaction starts?
> > A> They heat up about 11 degrees centigrade but that's it.
>
> Yet another sign that it's probably no more than a chemical
> battery.
>
> I really think this is not something we should be discussing on
> starship-design. I didn't set up this list to be a "kook
> science" forum or a place to discuss proprietary battery designs.
>
From VM Fri Aug 7 09:38:47 1998
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Sender: owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
cc: starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: Re: starship-design: Power - T.E.M.I
Date: Fri, 7 Aug 1998 10:35:36 +0200 (MET DST)
Personally I think this whole thing is a hoax...
(No offence intended to anyone)
On Thu, 6 Aug 1998, Steve VanDevender wrote:
> Jonathan J Jay writes:
> > He was not entirely sure how to answer ALL your questions but he answered
> > what he could. Hopefully with the information provided you should be able
> > to understand and possibly even answer the rest of the questions.
> >
> > >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
> > Q> Where does the energy come from, What is the theoretical basis of
> > operation?
> > A> He believes the energy comes from particles in the fluid
> > making contact with the rods and being shoved around the tank
> > constantly slamming into the rods making more energy. That is
> > the basis of operation, he thinks.
>
<G> Sounds "almost" like a perpetual Motion machine to me!
Unfortunatly those things aint posible :)
"Lisa, In this house we obey the laws of thermodynamics!"
Hommer simpson.
>
> > Q> How many watts does the thing put out?
> > A> He is unsure about watts, but it makes 15 to 30 volts at 1.2 amps
> > constantly.
Well, this is what makes me sceptical of the whole thing...
No way are you gona get 15-30 Volts from an electrochemical cell and from
the discribtion I can't imagine what else would make it work...
>
> Oooh, this is a bad sign. If he doesn't know enough about
> physics to calculate wattage from those figures, I'm not going to
> be particularly trusting of his other claims. W = V * A. It
> puts out 18-36 watts. "Constantly?" For how long? It can't
> last forever.
>
>
> I really think this is not something we should be discussing on
> starship-design. I didn't set up this list to be a "kook
> science" forum or a place to discuss proprietary battery designs.
>
Heh heh, you might be right! :)
Bjornie
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Subject: starship-design: Im' back.
Date: Fri, 07 Aug 1998 05:55:26 -0500
Hello all.
I've settled down into a stable E-mail address again. please update your
bookmarks with this address kevin@urly-bird.com
I've also started recieving the list again. what is the latest buzz?
is there a solid theoretical design yet, and if so what are the
parameters?
--
Kevin Houston
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Sender: owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
To: starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: Re: starship-design: Power - T.E.M.I
Date: Fri, 7 Aug 1998 10:21:20 -0500
This is what he wrote, not me:
" I know what my device does. My bud sees major potential
and just because I never learned advanced physics, or whatever,
doesn't mean that I can't make it work. In answer to your points.
((A)). No it is not a battery.
((B)). The wires do not touch the rods.
((C)). As far as I know, it will last indefinitely.
((D)). Thanks for the little equation on V and A and stuff but I use a
handheld voltmeter bought from an electronic shop on the corner
because I spent all my dough building the device.
((E)). The TEMI is the DRIVE. The Hyronoline Tank is the POWER
SOURCE.
Also, the tank is as real as you or me. It is not a hoax.
It has been running for three and a half weeks and
doesn't show any sign of stopping. At present, I think that raising
the temperature of the fluid may yield more energy."
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Subject: Re: starship-design: Power - T.E.M.I
Date: Sat, 08 Aug 1998 13:28:41 +0100
Jonathan,
Why did your friend want to inform this mailing list of his experiment
while it still is in a premature phase (it has been running only 3 weeks)?
This list can't function if we can't have more exact data or theory.
The availability of infinite obtainable energy in a small container would
make a large part of the subjects of this list useless. This is not a
problem, however such devices need more backup than a single university
friend who "believes" that it will work. Only freedom of information (if
necessary through a patent) about the device will serve as enough backup.
This mailing list can't function in any other way.
If your friend merely did want to ask how he could avoid rapid cooling of
the device in space, then the answer is simple: Insulation.
But of course the propulsion system we need should release enough energy
per second to accelerate a heavy starship. The heating of the device would
only be a fraction of the power compared to the power needed for acceleration.
Timothy
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Sender: owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
To: Shealiak@XS4ALL.nl
Cc: starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: Re: starship-design: Power - T.E.M.I
Date: Sat, 8 Aug 1998 11:19:03 -0500
That, unfortunately, was the first thing I suggested. It
cannot be insulated because it is live. Nothing can touch
it without being zapped. He didn't want to ground it, so he
put it on some corkboard and blue tacked it in place.
Jonathan
On Sat, 08 Aug 1998 13:28:41 +0100 Timothy van der Linden
<Shealiak@XS4ALL.nl> writes:
>Jonathan,
>
>Why did your friend want to inform this mailing list of his experiment
>while it still is in a premature phase (it has been running only 3
>weeks)?
>This list can't function if we can't have more exact data or theory.
>
>The availability of infinite obtainable energy in a small container
>would
>make a large part of the subjects of this list useless. This is not a
>problem, however such devices need more backup than a single
>university
>friend who "believes" that it will work. Only freedom of information
>(if
>necessary through a patent) about the device will serve as enough
>backup.
>This mailing list can't function in any other way.
>
>If your friend merely did want to ask how he could avoid rapid cooling
>of
>the device in space, then the answer is simple: Insulation.
>But of course the propulsion system we need should release enough
>energy
>per second to accelerate a heavy starship. The heating of the device
>would
>only be a fraction of the power compared to the power needed for
>acceleration.
>
>Timothy
>
>
_____________________________________________________________________
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Cc: nlindber@u.washington.edu, starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: Re: starship-design: Power - T.E.M.I
Date: Sat, 8 Aug 1998 16:00:39 EDT
In a message dated 8/6/98 2:04:40 PM, stevev@efn.org wrote:
>
> > Q> Are the 'rods' changed any when the reaction starts?
> > A> They heat up about 11 degrees centigrade but that's it.
>
>Yet another sign that it's probably no more than a chemical
>battery.
>
>I really think this is not something we should be discussing on
>starship-design. I didn't set up this list to be a "kook
>science" forum or a place to discuss proprietary battery designs.
Strongly agree! This is obviously nothing of interest to this group, or
anyone else with knowledge of energy systems. Sorry for farwarding him.
Kelly
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Subject: Re: starship-design: Power - T.E.M.I
Date: Sat, 08 Aug 1998 19:25:02 +0100
Jonathan,
You wrote:
>That [insulation], unfortunately, was the first thing I suggested. It
>cannot be insulated because it is live. Nothing can touch
>it without being zapped. He didn't want to ground it, so he
>put it on some corkboard and blue tacked it in place.
I meant THERMAL insulation. This should have to do little with ELECTRICAL
insulation, which is what I think to read in the above message.
So my suggestion is: put the heat-sensitive part of the device in a
thermos-flask. If the device can sit on corkboard and be in normal air, it
should not matter if it for example is inside a mirrored glass flask.
OK, I hope this has cleared up the confusion.
Timothy
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Subject: starship-design: Freedom city ship
Date: Sun, 9 Aug 1998 15:07:58 EDT
Hey check out
http://www.freedomshipcity.com/index.html
http://popularmechanics.com/popmech/sci/9802STRSAM.html
Its an idea for a floating city ship. Looks like the project will get funding
and probably launch in 2-3 years. It cruses around the world as a combination
resort/retirement home, trade center (tariff free) and tourist spot. 25
stories tall, 4300 feet long, onboard airport and marina, and has a population
of tens of thousands.
Its planing to recycle its water and airs not a big step up from there. So
its functionally very much like a space station on water. But more important
a self supporting platform that can self fund as residence & zero tariff
trading port is a very interesting step toward seting up colonies on sea or in
space. I've heard several times that a floating city is a good testbed for
the economics of a orbiting city, but this is the first project that looks
like its got a practical idea, not just a idealize vision. (Hey it makes more
sence then colonizing Mars!) I'm very interested to see how it will come off.
Kelly
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To: Timothy van der Linden <Shealiak@XS4ALL.nl>
cc: starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: Re: starship-design: Power - T.E.M.I
Date: Mon, 10 Aug 1998 09:37:55 +0200 (MET DST)
On Sat, 8 Aug 1998, Timothy van der Linden wrote:
> Jonathan,
>
> Why did your friend want to inform this mailing list of his experiment
> while it still is in a premature phase (it has been running only 3 weeks)?
> This list can't function if we can't have more exact data or theory.
>
> The availability of infinite obtainable energy in a small container would
> make a large part of the subjects of this list useless. This is not a
> problem, however such devices need more backup than a single university
> friend who "believes" that it will work. Only freedom of information (if
> necessary through a patent) about the device will serve as enough backup.
> This mailing list can't function in any other way.
>
> If your friend merely did want to ask how he could avoid rapid cooling of
> the device in space, then the answer is simple: Insulation.
> But of course the propulsion system we need should release enough energy
> per second to accelerate a heavy starship. The heating of the device would
> only be a fraction of the power compared to the power needed for acceleration.
>
> Timothy
>
>
Besides, as I've understood it most Starships would have trouble with
overheating (from all the waste heat of equipment and propulsion systems
on board) because of the lack of a medium to carry the internal termal
energy into space, rather than with "deep-freezing" anyway...
Bjornie
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To: Jonathan J Jay <jon_jay1@juno.com>
cc: starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: Re: starship-design: Power - T.E.M.I
Date: Mon, 10 Aug 1998 11:58:57 +0200 (MET DST)
On Fri, 7 Aug 1998, Jonathan J Jay wrote:
> This is what he wrote, not me:
> " I know what my device does. My bud sees major potential
> and just because I never learned advanced physics, or whatever,
> doesn't mean that I can't make it work. In answer to your points.
> ((A)). No it is not a battery.
> ((B)). The wires do not touch the rods.
> ((C)). As far as I know, it will last indefinitely.
ROFLMAO
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Subject: Re: starship-design: Freedom city ship
Date: Mon, 10 Aug 1998 13:33:41 -0700
Kyle R. Mcallister wrote:
>
KellySt@aol.com wrote:
<snip>
> (Hey it makes more
> sence then colonizing Mars!) I'm very interested to see how it will > come off.
What is wrong with colonizing Mars?
Kyle R. Mcallister
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To: lparker@cacaphony.net, starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: Re: RE: starship-design: Freedom city ship
Date: Mon, 10 Aug 1998 23:54:54 EDT
In a message dated 8/9/98 6:55:06 PM, lparker@cacaphony.net wrote:
>Kelly,
>
>
>
>I saw a news article on that several months ago, but didn't think about it
>in relationship to our search for a comparable model to an interstellar
>expedition. With two small exceptions, you are correct that this is the
>closest approach yet.
Actually I was thinking of it more as a model for space development,
specifically space stations, but they are obviously similar. Thou a 50,000
person floating city is a big jump past a 700 person interstellar survey ship.
>The exceptions are transport costs to the vessel and mission fuel
>requirements. It costs considerably less than the current $10,000 per pound
>to Earth orbit to send a supply vessel or ferry to this ship and the fuel to
>weight ratio is certainly in its favor as well.
>
>
>When we CAN match these two parameters in a spaceship, interstellar travel
>will be commonplace! In the meanwhile, we must go anyway and accept that it
>will take longer, cost more and we will have to send fewer people, but go we
>must.
Well the current cost to orbit is a side effect of political factors and the
current trivial flight rates. Obviously just lifting the fuel for a starship
like ours would drive the launch industry up orders of magnitude in size, and
down orders of magnitude in costs. However the resulting cost (assuming
current technology) might be less then an airliner, but far more then an ocean
frieghter.
>
>Historically speaking, we are at the stage of the Viking explorers when they
>found Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, and it is a long way, technically
>speaking, from a Viking longship to a floating city!
Well were not that far down. The Vikings could even dream of the technology
the floating city would use. We already have most of the technologies a
starship would need. Thou obviously some wild cards like zero=point energy
would be a BIG help. ;)
>
>Lee
Kelly
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Subject: starship-design: Interstellar Probes
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 10:05:32 -0500
Using current and near-term technology, how fast could we get a 2
kilogram probe to nearby stars such as Tau Ceti, Epsilon Eridani,
Proxima Centauri, and 61 Cygni?
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Sender: owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
To: starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: Re: starship-design: Interstellar Probes
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 11:30:07 -0700
Gene Marlin wrote:
>
> Using current and near-term technology, how fast could we get a 2
> kilogram probe to nearby stars such as Tau Ceti, Epsilon Eridani,
> Proxima Centauri, and 61 Cygni?
Depends on what kind of propulsion you use. To get it there fast is
virtually impossible with current technology.
To give you an example of how bad it really is, this is how much it
would take to send a school bus sized payload past Alpha Centauri in 900
years:
Propellant: Specific Imp.: Fuel mass:
=======================================================
Chemical 500 10^137kg (not enough mass in
universe)
Nuclear fission 5000 10^17kg (a billion
supertankers)
Nuclear fusion 10000 10^11kg (a thousand
supertankers)
Antimatter 50000 10^5kg (ten railway tankers)
If you want to get there faster that 900 years, it gets worse. If you
want to actually stop at the destination, it gets even worse. That's why
I don't believe we will make it with any of these propulsion systems. It
would be better for a 2 kg probe, but not good.
Kyle R. Mcallister
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Subject: Re: Re: starship-design: Freedom city ship
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 22:17:45 EDT
In a message dated 8/10/98 1:42:50 PM, stk@sunherald.infi.net wrote:
>Kyle R. Mcallister wrote:
>>
>KellySt@aol.com wrote:
>
><snip>
>
>> (Hey it makes more
>> sence then colonizing Mars!) I'm very interested to see how it will > come
off.
>
>What is wrong with colonizing Mars?
None of the Mars coloinization concepts offer a plausibly way the Colony could
pay its way (colonies and cities that arn't profitable become ghost towns),
this flosting city can, and its: cheaper, more accesable, has a greater
surface area to colonize, and far less servicing and transport problems.
Kelly
>
>Kyle R. Mcallister
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Subject: Re: starship-design: Freedom city ship
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 22:43:40 -0700
> None of the Mars coloinization concepts offer a plausibly way the Colony could
> pay its way (colonies and cities that arn't profitable become ghost towns),
> this flosting city can, and its: cheaper, more accesable, has a greater
> surface area to colonize, and far less servicing and transport problems.
Ah, I understand. I thought you were adverse to exploring Mars.
Colonizing it also does not make much sense to me.
Kyle R. Mcallister
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Subject: Re: starship-design: Interstellar Probes
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1998 09:24:45 +0100
Kyle wrote:
>Depends on what kind of propulsion you use. To get it there fast is
>virtually impossible with current technology.
>
>To give you an example of how bad it really is, this is how much it
>would take to send a school bus sized payload past Alpha Centauri in 900
>years:
>
>Propellant: Specific Imp.: Fuel mass:
>=======================================================
>Chemical 500 10^137kg (not enough mass in
>universe)
>Nuclear fission 5000 10^17kg (a billion
>supertankers)
>Nuclear fusion 10000 10^11kg (a thousand
>supertankers)
>Antimatter 50000 10^5kg (ten railway tankers)
>
>If you want to get there faster that 900 years, it gets worse. If you
>want to actually stop at the destination, it gets even worse. That's why
>I don't believe we will make it with any of these propulsion systems. It
>would be better for a 2 kg probe, but not good.
I'm not so sure whether the numbers in the table are correct, however the
table does depict an important characteristics: (Kyle, next time you do
calculations please include some rough guide of how you got the numbers.)
- A low specific impulse (Isp) is really bad from a total energy (and thus
mass) point of view.
- A relative small increasing in the Isp will yield spectacular decreases
in energy consumption and thus mass of the fuel.
I'd like to remark that of the 10^5 kg in the last case, only VERY LITTLE
(140 gram) has to be anti-matter, because the amount of energy needed to
give 10^5 kg a velocity of about 5E5 m/s is "relatively" small.
Increasing the Isp to more than 3E5 seconds (exhaust velocities of more
than 1% of the speed of light) will be necessary before any serious probe
will be sent.
>From an energy point of view this doesn't need anti-matter, fusion can
provide enough energy in a relative small package as well. The question is
whether that energy can deliver what we need: few but fast particles.
Timothy
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CC: Starship Design <owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu>
Subject: Re: starship-design: Interstellar Probes
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 23:46:43 -0700
L. Parker wrote:
>
> Kyle,
>
> You weren't being fair, you simply quoted from NASA's "Warp Drive When?"
> page.
Well, they should know, they're the experts.
> A 2 kg probe is in the starwisp class and we already know how to get
> one of those up to 30 percent of lightspeed with virtually no fuel.
What can you put in a 2kg package that will justify the expense? If
nanotech procedes, there is hope, but if not...
You can't stop the thing; so what are you going to observe flying
through so quickly? After all, this group is for discussing sending a
manned mission to another star. I posted the real, if somewhat
dissapointing, fuel needs. The only hope I see for a manned mission
anyways is if we figure out how to manipulate gravitation and
space-time. Then we might get somewhere. How to do it...we don't know.
Yet.
Kyle R. Mcallister
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We had some problems with darkwing.uoregon.edu last night that
seem to have prevented a few posts from being redistributed (and
I was busy trying to bring darkwing back to life so I haven't
gotten to them until now). I'll be forwarding them back into the
list momentarily.
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To: "Gene Marlin" <rmarlin@network-one.com>
Cc: "Starship Design" <owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu>
Subject: RE: starship-design: Interstellar Probes
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 23:01:36 -0500
Gene,
Robert Forward proposed an interstellar probe based on a perforated sail
design combined with gravity assist and beamed microwave power. The payload
was to be 4 grams of intelligent microcircuitry embedded within the actual
structure of the craft - something that is not so far fetched any more - we
actually know how to do this!
Forward's calculations showed that we could accelerate starwisp (his name
for it) to 20 percent of the speed of light within only a few days. This
would deliver the probe to Alpha Centauri within about twenty years.
You must note however, that this is a "flyby" at twenty percent of the speed
of light with a very limited payload and extremely limited data return. It
may not be very useful, especially in light of what we can potentially see
from Earth orbit with advanced optics.
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
[mailto:owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu]On Behalf Of Gene Marlin
Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 1998 10:06 AM
To: starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: starship-design: Interstellar Probes
Using current and near-term technology, how fast could we get a 2
kilogram probe to nearby stars such as Tau Ceti, Epsilon Eridani,
Proxima Centauri, and 61 Cygni?
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To: "Kyle R. Mcallister" <stk@sunherald.infi.net>
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Subject: RE: starship-design: Interstellar Probes
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 23:01:29 -0500
Kyle,
You weren't being fair, you simply quoted from NASA's "Warp Drive When?"
page. A 2 kg probe is in the starwisp class and we already know how to get
one of those up to 30 percent of lightspeed with virtually no fuel. that
would put it passing through any of these systems within fifty to a hundred
years. Well, maybe not 61 Cygni...
Lee
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
[mailto:owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu]On Behalf Of Kyle R.
Mcallister
Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 1998 1:30 PM
To: starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: Re: starship-design: Interstellar Probes
Gene Marlin wrote:
>
> Using current and near-term technology, how fast could we get a 2
> kilogram probe to nearby stars such as Tau Ceti, Epsilon Eridani,
> Proxima Centauri, and 61 Cygni?
Depends on what kind of propulsion you use. To get it there fast is
virtually impossible with current technology.
To give you an example of how bad it really is, this is how much it
would take to send a school bus sized payload past Alpha Centauri in 900
years:
Propellant: Specific Imp.: Fuel mass:
=======================================================
Chemical 500 10^137kg (not enough mass in
universe)
Nuclear fission 5000 10^17kg (a billion
supertankers)
Nuclear fusion 10000 10^11kg (a thousand
supertankers)
Antimatter 50000 10^5kg (ten railway tankers)
If you want to get there faster that 900 years, it gets worse. If you
want to actually stop at the destination, it gets even worse. That's why
I don't believe we will make it with any of these propulsion systems. It
would be better for a 2 kg probe, but not good.
Kyle R. Mcallister
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Subject: Re: starship-design: Interstellar Probes
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1998 20:13:35 -0500
> What can you put in a 2kg package that will justify the expense? If
> nanotech procedes, there is hope, but if not...
It is a thought experiment. And you could put a radio beacon in there to
justify the expense. TV signals may not be reaching nearby stars.
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Subject: Re: Re: starship-design: Interstellar Probes
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1998 23:24:18 EDT
In a message dated 8/11/98 11:37:56 AM, stk@sunherald.infi.net wrote:
>Gene Marlin wrote:
>>
>> Using current and near-term technology, how fast could we get a 2
>> kilogram probe to nearby stars such as Tau Ceti, Epsilon Eridani,
>> Proxima Centauri, and 61 Cygni?
>
>Depends on what kind of propulsion you use. To get it there fast is
>virtually impossible with current technology.
>
>To give you an example of how bad it really is, this is how much it
>would take to send a school bus sized payload past Alpha Centauri in 900
>years:
>
>Propellant: Specific Imp.: Fuel mass:
>=======================================================
>Chemical 500 10^137kg (not enough mass in
>universe)
>Nuclear fission 5000 10^17kg (a billion
>supertankers)
>Nuclear fusion 10000 10^11kg (a thousand
>supertankers)
>Antimatter 50000 10^5kg (ten railway tankers)
>
>If you want to get there faster that 900 years, it gets worse. If you
>want to actually stop at the destination, it gets even worse. That's why
>I don't believe we will make it with any of these propulsion systems. It
>would be better for a 2 kg probe, but not good.
>
>Kyle R. Mcallister
Actually the numbers for a couple hundred thousand ton ship with a max speed
of .4 light (with a external Boost to speed) was 25 million tons, not billions
of tons. Thou carrying the accel and decel fuel internally would add several
0's.
Kelly
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To: starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: [Fwd: Re: starship-design: Interstellar Probes]
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1998 22:35:38 -0700
Message-ID: <35D26C68.5B1E@sunherald.infi.net>
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1998 21:39:40 -0700
From: "Kyle R. Mcallister" <stk@sunherald.infi.net>
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References: <a05d3998.35cfc090@aol.com>
<35D05DBB.558C@network-one.com> <3.0.1.32.19980812092445.007a5580@pop.xs4all.nl>
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Timothy van der Linden wrote:
> I'm not so sure whether the numbers in the table are correct, however the
> table does depict an important characteristics: (Kyle, next time you do
> calculations please include some rough guide of how you got the numbers.)
Didn't do the caluculations, they were from a NASA web page.
> Increasing the Isp to more than 3E5 seconds (exhaust velocities of more
> than 1% of the speed of light) will be necessary before any serious probe
> will be sent.
Agreed.
Kyle R. Mcallister
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Subject: starship-design: SD subjects
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1998 12:01:18 +0100
At 20:30 12-08-98 -0500, L. Parker wrote:
>Timothy et al,
>
>First of all, Kyle, didn't compute the numbers, so don't blame him. They
>come form NASA's "Warp Drive When" page which is a converted slide from a
>presentation done several years ago.
>
>For the lay public this presentation (and hence, this site) provides an
>excellent review of just how difficult a problem we face. However, as
>Timothy points out, these figures are (were) based on certain assumptions
>which are not necessarily valid. It is theoretically possible to reach ISP's
>as high as the ones given for antimatter without resorting to a pure
>antimatter reaction, which we don't know how to do anyway.
>
>Second, the ISP's given for antimatter are estimates based on theory - there
>is no actual proof that these figures are correct. They may be higher or
>lower.
>
>Third, no allowance is made in these figures for any sort of enhancement
>which might increase the ISP.
>
>Of course, the purpose of the site is to point out that we need something
>better - a "Warp Drive".
Lee Parker wrote:
>Meanwhile, all we can do is continue to plan for
>what we know how to do. I might point out that ninety percent of the design
>will remain the same no matter what the drive is. The change is in gross
>mass and mission duration, so why don't we focus on the rest of it?
Excellent, this used to be at least half of the lists messages several
years ago. Maybe the newer members like to write down some of their ideas
about it, and surprise the "old gang".
The following is a compilation of the subjects suggested by David Levine
the originator of this list. I've used his descriptions as closely possible
while trying to create a compact overview.
(The original descriptions can be found in the Starship Design mail-archives.)
Engineering Design Group
- Propulsion: The main method of interstellar travel. What is
technically possible? How much energy do we have? Or how much are
we willing to use? How long do we want the trip to last?
- Structures: The design of the basic structure of the starship. We
will have to consider several different configurations for several
different possible propulsion types.
- Shielding: The method of shielding the vessel from debris and radiation.
Mission Operations Group
- Target Selection: How far is the target to be?
Do we think the
journey should be accomplished in a human lifetime? In a crewmember's
lifetime, or the lifetime of someone on Earth? Should we choose a
star similar to the sun? Or one in which we are fairly certain there
is a planetary system?
- Navigation
- Mission Objectives: We also need to consider if we will be stopping
at this system or just flying through. Will we be returning to Earth?
Continuing on to another star? Or staying at the target?
- Starship
Operating Procedures
Support Systems Group
- Crew Selection: How do we decide who is to be sent
on this mission?
Is the trip to be one way or two? How long will it take? Do we have
to consider future generations on the trip, or just this one?
- Ship-Astronaut Interaction: The design of the interactive aspects
of the vehicle: How will it be controlled? How will those controls
be designed? This is partly ergonomics, but there are other Human
Factors issues, as well. We must consider many things: will the
astronauts experience free-fall or gravity? If gravity, how much?
If this ship is multigenerational, how will the descendents be
different from the original crew of the vehicle? Will they be
taller? Will they be less physically strong? How will this affect
their ability to use the same control system their ancestors did?
Very few control systems have been used for as long as these will
need to be. Will they be efficient? Will they last?
- Habitation Systems:
The design of the living areas of the
astronauts. Again, these are places that will have to be lived in
for at least a few years, and possibly centuries. We have to concern
ourselves with the mental well-being of the crew, as well as the
possibility that in a multigenerational voyage, the descendents
of the crew may be different from their ancestors.
- Computer Systems
- Secure Systems
- Payload
- Science Studies: What type of science we will be doing while we are
en route, and when we get to our destination. And we have to look at
_how_ this science will be accomplished. What kind of instruments?
Will we carry any Voyager- or Viking-like probes? How will they be
designed?
Speculative Studies Group
- Encountering extraterrestrials (intelligent,
dumb, macro or micro organisms)
Other unknowns, not part of the other groups.
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Subject: Re: Re: starship-design: Freedom city ship
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 00:06:24 EDT
In a message dated 8/11/98 10:46:24 PM, stk@sunherald.infi.net wrote:
>> None of the Mars coloinization concepts offer a plausibly way the Colony
could
>> pay its way (colonies and cities that arn't profitable become ghost towns),
>> this flosting city can, and its: cheaper, more accesable, has a greater
>> surface area to colonize, and far less servicing and transport problems.
>
>Ah, I understand. I thought you were adverse to exploring Mars.
>Colonizing it also does not make much sense to me.
No exploring anywhere is a good idea, but you don't settle there without a
reason and a cash flow. ;)
>Kyle R. Mcallister
Kelly
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From: Bjorn Nilsson <f96bni@student.tdb.uu.se>
Sender: owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
To: "L. Parker" <lparker@cacaphony.net>
cc: Starship Design <starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu>
Subject: RE: starship-design: Interstellar Probes
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 10:43:23 +0200 (MET DST)
On Thu, 13 Aug 1998, L. Parker wrote:
> Bjorn,
>
> Umm, yes, no, maybe....
>
> It is possible to use a star's magnetic field to swing a probe around a star
> and onto a different trajectory (even a reciprocal). The actual amount of
> deflection possible is determined by the velocity of the probe and the
> strength of the magnetic field of the star in question. Obviously, the
> higher the velocity the less deflection or steering that can be
> accomplished.
I assume you're actually refering to the GRAVITATIONAL field or else
you've got me really lost... :/
Now how high Velocity could our probe have if we want it to do a 180???
Does anyone know the equation?
>
> But you still have to stop it when it gets home.
Of course, but then you'll have access to whatever machinery was used to
launch it. That's got to be a big advantage? :)
>
> In our discussions, we have been able to pretty much agree that there are
> several viable methods of accelerating a ship up about .3 or maybe even .4
> c. Unfortunately, these methods almost always rely on some trick which
> cannot be provided at the other end to slow the vehicle down. Simply
> doubling onboard reaction mass or fuel is not the answer. If you do the math
> you will discover that doubling the mass of the vehicle will decrease the
> cruise velocity significantly and drastically increase mission length.
Yeah, you'll have to accelerate the propellant too :(
>
> Propulsion wise, what we need as a BARE MINIMUM is a self contained
> accelerate/decelerate capability in the 100,000 m/sec range, or put another
> way, a 200,000 m/sec total change in delta v. This would enable us to reach
> the nearer stars within the lifespan of a single person (but not necessarily
> to return within one person's lifetime.)
>
> I am working from memory here, but I think the best we can currently manage
> is only 200 m/sec, which is quite a bit shy of the minimum. We may be able
> to reach 100,000 m/sec buy combining several different systems i.e. a
> powered perihelion maneuver with a maser sail last stage, but this is again,
> only one way.
>
> Lee
>
I just have a funny feeling that there is something that I/we have
missed... There just might be some way of using all these Magnetic fields,
sheets and pauses to provide SOME sort of brakeing :|
Or what about brakeing via a solar sail?
Or (worst-case and ONLY for a really tough probe) what about hard-landing
it???
These are just some wild guesses but there's GOT to be something we can
work with???
Bjorn
Ever so Hopefull...
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Subject: starship-design: misdirected postings
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 14:02:55 -0700 (PDT)
When I sent out some of the postings that initially failed to
deliver Tuesday night because of problems on lists.uoregon.edu, I
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owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu in the headers. I've
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To: "Bjorn Nilsson" <f96bni@student.tdb.uu.se>
Cc: "Starship Design" <starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu>
Subject: RE: starship-design: Interstellar Probes
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1998 17:56:44 -0500
Bjorn,
Umm, yes, no, maybe....
It is possible to use a star's magnetic field to swing a probe around a star
and onto a different trajectory (even a reciprocal). The actual amount of
deflection possible is determined by the velocity of the probe and the
strength of the magnetic field of the star in question. Obviously, the
higher the velocity the less deflection or steering that can be
accomplished.
But you still have to stop it when it gets home.
In our discussions, we have been able to pretty much agree that there are
several viable methods of accelerating a ship up about .3 or maybe even .4
c. Unfortunately, these methods almost always rely on some trick which
cannot be provided at the other end to slow the vehicle down. Simply
doubling onboard reaction mass or fuel is not the answer. If you do the math
you will discover that doubling the mass of the vehicle will decrease the
cruise velocity significantly and drastically increase mission length.
Propulsion wise, what we need as a BARE MINIMUM is a self contained
accelerate/decelerate capability in the 100,000 m/sec range, or put another
way, a 200,000 m/sec total change in delta v. This would enable us to reach
the nearer stars within the lifespan of a single person (but not necessarily
to return within one person's lifetime.)
I am working from memory here, but I think the best we can currently manage
is only 200 m/sec, which is quite a bit shy of the minimum. We may be able
to reach 100,000 m/sec buy combining several different systems i.e. a
powered perihelion maneuver with a maser sail last stage, but this is again,
only one way.
Lee
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To: "L. Parker" <lparker@cacaphony.net>
cc: Gene Marlin <rmarlin@network-one.com>,
Starship Design <starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu>
Subject: RE: starship-design: Interstellar Probes
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1998 11:30:16 +0200 (MET DST)
On Tue, 11 Aug 1998, L. Parker wrote:
> Gene,
>
> Robert Forward proposed an interstellar probe based on a perforated sail
> design combined with gravity assist and beamed microwave power. The payload
> was to be 4 grams of intelligent microcircuitry embedded within the actual
> structure of the craft - something that is not so far fetched any more - we
> actually know how to do this!
> Forward's calculations showed that we could accelerate starwisp (his name
> for it) to 20 percent of the speed of light within only a few days. This
> would deliver the probe to Alpha Centauri within about twenty years.
>
> You must note however, that this is a "flyby" at twenty percent of the speed
> of light with a very limited payload and extremely limited data return. It
> may not be very useful, especially in light of what we can potentially see
> from Earth orbit with advanced optics.
>
Excuse my Ignorance but wouldn't it be possible to Use the target Star's
Gravity to "swing" the probe around and into a return orbit to Earth (or
at least close enough to our solar system to be recovered in some way.)
Just curious...
Bjorn
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To: "Bjorn Nilsson" <f96bni@student.tdb.uu.se>
Cc: "Starship Design" <starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu>
Subject: RE: starship-design: Interstellar Probes
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 17:39:41 -0500
Bjorn,
> I assume you're actually refering to the GRAVITATIONAL field or else
> you've got me really lost... :/
>
> Now how high Velocity could our probe have if we want it to do a 180???
>
> Does anyone know the equation?
Yes, I meant MAGNETIC. It's called Lorentz Force Turning. A charged object
moving through a magnetic field experiences a force at right angles ti its
direction of motion and the magnetic field. The magnitude of the force is
described by the equation:
|Fbar| = |QVbar * Bbar| = QVBsin theta
where Q is the charge on the object, Bbar is the magnetic field vector, Vbar
is the velocity vector, and theta is the angle between Vbar and Bbar.
Skipping a bit of math involving the application of Newton's Second Law,
this can be reduced to:
r = mV/QB
where r is the radius of the orbit, m is the object's mass.
Hope this helps <G>
Lee
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Sender: owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
To: starship design <starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu>
Subject: starship-design: Staged Fusion Power
Date: Sun, 16 Aug 1998 14:35:49 -0700 (PDT)
I was reading some of the numbers for the various engines that
could be used to power a starship, and I noticed that every fusion
reaction shown only used its fuel once. If a closed powerplant (not
rocket) could be run hot enough, there's no reason I can see not to run
the fuel up to heavier elements instead of just throwing it away after it
turns to helium. Note: I didn't do any math for this one, it might be
impractical. Although I realize that a scheme like this would require
reactors far superior to a today's can't-quite-ignite tokamaks, it might
be doable in fifty years. The power from this type of reactor could be
used to power a laser or ion drive, the latter prehaps adding the
reactor exhaust to the Xenon reaction mass.
The upshot is, exhaust recycling could reduce the amount of fuel
required by which is one of the major hurdles of starflight.
Best Regards,
Nels Lindberg
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From: Zach Johnson <zachjo@ibm.net>
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To: "N. Lindberg" <nlindber@u.washington.edu>
CC: starship design <starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu>
Subject: Re: starship-design: Staged Fusion Power
Date: Sun, 16 Aug 1998 16:56:08 -0600
N. Lindberg wrote:
> I was reading some of the numbers for the various engines that
> could be used to power a starship, and I noticed that every fusion
> reaction shown only used its fuel once. If a closed powerplant (not
> rocket) could be run hot enough, there's no reason I can see not to run
> the fuel up to heavier elements instead of just throwing it away after it
> turns to helium. Note: I didn't do any math for this one, it might be
> impractical. Although I realize that a scheme like this would require
> reactors far superior to a today's can't-quite-ignite tokamaks, it might
> be doable in fifty years. The power from this type of reactor could be
> used to power a laser or ion drive, the latter prehaps adding the
> reactor exhaust to the Xenon reaction mass.
> The upshot is, exhaust recycling could reduce the amount of fuel
> required by which is one of the major hurdles of starflight.
> Best Regards,
> Nels Lindberg
Could you combine fusion and fission to produce a continuos reaction?
From,
Zachary Johnson
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CC: starship design <starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu>
Subject: Re: starship-design: Staged Fusion Power
Date: Sun, 16 Aug 1998 16:55:27 -0600
N. Lindberg wrote:
> I was reading some of the numbers for the various engines that
> could be used to power a starship, and I noticed that every fusion
> reaction shown only used its fuel once. If a closed powerplant (not
> rocket) could be run hot enough, there's no reason I can see not to run
> the fuel up to heavier elements instead of just throwing it away after it
> turns to helium. Note: I didn't do any math for this one, it might be
> impractical. Although I realize that a scheme like this would require
> reactors far superior to a today's can't-quite-ignite tokamaks, it might
> be doable in fifty years. The power from this type of reactor could be
> used to power a laser or ion drive, the latter prehaps adding the
> reactor exhaust to the Xenon reaction mass.
> The upshot is, exhaust recycling could reduce the amount of fuel
> required by which is one of the major hurdles of starflight.
> Best Regards,
> Nels Lindberg
Could you combine fusion and fision to produce a continous reaction?
From,
Zachary Johnson
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To: "Zach Johnson" <zachjo@ibm.net>
Cc: "Starship Design" <starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu>
Subject: RE: starship-design: Staged Fusion Power
Date: Sun, 16 Aug 1998 18:43:51 -0500
Nels and Zach,
While the idea is doable (Project Dumbo, 1960 something) The output is far
below what we can achieve through other means. There is a lot of energy loss
to waste heat, etc.
Check the site I uploaded on AIMSTAR and antimatter catalyzed microfusion.
Lee
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
[mailto:owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu]On Behalf Of Zach
Johnson
Sent: Sunday, August 16, 1998 5:55 PM
To: N. Lindberg
Cc: starship design
Subject: Re: starship-design: Staged Fusion Power
N. Lindberg wrote:
> I was reading some of the numbers for the various engines that
> could be used to power a starship, and I noticed that every fusion
> reaction shown only used its fuel once. If a closed powerplant (not
> rocket) could be run hot enough, there's no reason I can see not to run
> the fuel up to heavier elements instead of just throwing it away after it
> turns to helium. Note: I didn't do any math for this one, it might be
> impractical. Although I realize that a scheme like this would require
> reactors far superior to a today's can't-quite-ignite tokamaks, it might
> be doable in fifty years. The power from this type of reactor could be
> used to power a laser or ion drive, the latter prehaps adding the
> reactor exhaust to the Xenon reaction mass.
> The upshot is, exhaust recycling could reduce the amount of fuel
> required by which is one of the major hurdles of starflight.
> Best Regards,
> Nels Lindberg
Could you combine fusion and fision to produce a continous reaction?
From,
Zachary Johnson
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To: Zach Johnson <zachjo@ibm.net>
Cc: "N. Lindberg" <nlindber@u.washington.edu>,
starship design <starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu>
Subject: Re: starship-design: Staged Fusion Power
Date: Sun, 16 Aug 1998 19:12:58 -0700 (PDT)
Zach Johnson writes:
> N. Lindberg wrote:
>
> > I was reading some of the numbers for the various engines that
> > could be used to power a starship, and I noticed that every fusion
> > reaction shown only used its fuel once. If a closed powerplant (not
> > rocket) could be run hot enough, there's no reason I can see not to run
> > the fuel up to heavier elements instead of just throwing it away after it
> > turns to helium. Note: I didn't do any math for this one, it might be
> > impractical. Although I realize that a scheme like this would require
> > reactors far superior to a today's can't-quite-ignite tokamaks, it might
> > be doable in fifty years. The power from this type of reactor could be
> > used to power a laser or ion drive, the latter prehaps adding the
> > reactor exhaust to the Xenon reaction mass.
> > The upshot is, exhaust recycling could reduce the amount of fuel
> > required by which is one of the major hurdles of starflight.
> > Best Regards,
> > Nels Lindberg
>
> Could you combine fusion and fision to produce a continous reaction?
Well, conservation of energy says that there has to be some limit
to that. You should also remember that both fission and fusion
conserve nucleons (although beta decay and inverse beta decay may
change a neutron into a proton and electron and neutrino, or vice
versa). So that puts an even more stringent limit on the amount
of energy you could get; no matter what happens, the energy tied
up in the nucleon's masses is never released, only the binding
energy holding them together.
One problem with a multi-element fusion reactor is that it takes
progressively higher temperatures and pressures to induce fusion
in heavier nuclei. So the cost of fusing the heavier elements
may not be well offset by the additional energy provided.
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Subject: Re: RE: starship-design: Interstellar Probes
Date: Sun, 16 Aug 1998 23:24:33 EDT
In a message dated 8/14/98 6:06:37 PM, f96bni@student.tdb.uu.se wrote:
>On Tue, 11 Aug 1998, L. Parker wrote:
>
>> Gene,
>>
>> Robert Forward proposed an interstellar probe based on a perforated sail
>> design combined with gravity assist and beamed microwave power. The payload
>> was to be 4 grams of intelligent microcircuitry embedded within the actual
>> structure of the craft - something that is not so far fetched any more - we
>> actually know how to do this!
>> Forward's calculations showed that we could accelerate starwisp (his name
>> for it) to 20 percent of the speed of light within only a few days. This
>> would deliver the probe to Alpha Centauri within about twenty years.
>>
>> You must note however, that this is a "flyby" at twenty percent of the
speed
>> of light with a very limited payload and extremely limited data return. It
>> may not be very useful, especially in light of what we can potentially see
>> from Earth orbit with advanced optics.
>>
>
>Excuse my Ignorance but wouldn't it be possible to Use the target Star's
>Gravity to "swing" the probe around and into a return orbit to Earth (or
>at least close enough to our solar system to be recovered in some way.)
>
>Just curious...
Not at those speeds. When you get up to fractions of light speed, gravity
manuvers need close apraoches to a black hole.
Kelly
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Subject: Re: RE: starship-design: Interstellar Probes
Date: Sun, 16 Aug 1998 23:24:30 EDT
In a message dated 8/14/98 4:07:10 PM, lparker@cacaphony.net wrote:
>In our discussions, we have been able to pretty much agree that there are
>
>several viable methods of accelerating a ship up about .3 or maybe even .4
>
>c. Unfortunately, these methods almost always rely on some trick which
>
>cannot be provided at the other end to slow the vehicle down. Simply
>
>doubling onboard reaction mass or fuel is not the answer. If you do the math
>
>you will discover that doubling the mass of the vehicle will decrease the
>
>cruise velocity significantly and drastically increase mission length.
>
>
>
>Propulsion wise, what we need as a BARE MINIMUM is a self contained
>
>accelerate/decelerate capability in the 100,000 m/sec range, or put another
>
>way, a 200,000 m/sec total change in delta v. This would enable us to reach
>
>the nearer stars within the lifespan of a single person (but not necessarily
>
>to return within one person's lifetime.)
>
>
>
>I am working from memory here, but I think the best we can currently manage
>
>is only 200 m/sec, which is quite a bit shy of the minimum. We may be able
>
>to reach 100,000 m/sec buy combining several different systems i.e. a
>
>powered perihelion maneuver with a maser sail last stage, but this is again,
>
>only one way.
>
>
>
>Lee
>
Ah My two concepts used a fuel launcher to boost the ship to speed without
internal fuel. or a maaser sail here to accelerate it to speed. Both used
onboard fuel to decel it into the target starsystem, and used mined fuel to
accelerate it back toward Sol.
Round trip time was about 25-30 years.
Kelly
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To: Steve VanDevender <stevev@efn.org>
cc: starship design <starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu>
Subject: Re: starship-design: Staged Fusion Power
Date: Mon, 17 Aug 1998 10:21:32 +0200 (MET DST)
On Sun, 16 Aug 1998, Steve VanDevender wrote:
> Zach Johnson writes:
> > N. Lindberg wrote:
> >
> > > I was reading some of the numbers for the various engines that
> > > could be used to power a starship, and I noticed that every fusion
> > > reaction shown only used its fuel once. If a closed powerplant (not
> > > rocket) could be run hot enough, there's no reason I can see not to run
> > > the fuel up to heavier elements instead of just throwing it away after it
> > > turns to helium. Note: I didn't do any math for this one, it might be
> > > impractical. Although I realize that a scheme like this would require
> > > reactors far superior to a today's can't-quite-ignite tokamaks, it might
> > > be doable in fifty years. The power from this type of reactor could be
> > > used to power a laser or ion drive, the latter prehaps adding the
> > > reactor exhaust to the Xenon reaction mass.
> > > The upshot is, exhaust recycling could reduce the amount of fuel
> > > required by which is one of the major hurdles of starflight.
> > > Best Regards,
> > > Nels Lindberg
> >
> > Could you combine fusion and fision to produce a continous reaction?
>
> Well, conservation of energy says that there has to be some limit
> to that. You should also remember that both fission and fusion
> conserve nucleons (although beta decay and inverse beta decay may
> change a neutron into a proton and electron and neutrino, or vice
> versa). So that puts an even more stringent limit on the amount
> of energy you could get; no matter what happens, the energy tied
> up in the nucleon's masses is never released, only the binding
> energy holding them together.
>
> One problem with a multi-element fusion reactor is that it takes
> progressively higher temperatures and pressures to induce fusion
> in heavier nuclei. So the cost of fusing the heavier elements
> may not be well offset by the additional energy provided.
>
Actually combining fusion and fission is a total waste...
For all elements ligther than Iron (Fe) Fusion produces power and fision
costs power... Vice Versa for elements Heavier than Iron.
As for using some kinda multi-stage Fusion device I personnaly think that
it will both be MUCH simpler (from an engineering POV) and more efficient
to just use the fusion products (probably Helium) as reaction mass.
Just my 2c
Bjorn...
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To: starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: Re: starship-design: Staged Fusion Power
Date: Mon, 17 Aug 1998 14:02:12 +0100
Hi Nels,
Multistaged fusion all the way up to iron should be theoretically possible,
but the yield isn't spectacular more than a well chosen single stage:
Take:
( I) 1 (2H) + 2 (3He) -> 1 (4He) + 1 (1H) + 18.4 MeV
(II) 24 (2H) + 2 (3H) -> 1 (54)Fe + 401.4 MeV
24 (2H) means 24 atoms of Hydrogen, where the Hydrogen has atomic mass 2.
Reaction (I) is the most efficient single fusion reaction.
Reaction (II) is the short-circuit of the multi stage fusion.
The input mass of reaction (I) is 1*2 + 2*3 = 5
The input mass of reaction (II) is 24*2 + 2*3 = 54
So we can repeat reaction (I) 54/5=10.8 times before we've used the same
amount of mass as needed for reaction (II).
Doing reaction (I) 10.8 times will yield: 10.8*18.4=198.7 MeV
So fusing all the way to Iron has a yield (401.4/198.7)=2 times better than
fusing merely to light elements.
So, all the trouble (eg. higher fusion temperature, unwanted fusion
ractions) for a two times higher yield, is likely not worth it.
Timothy
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To: "Starship Design" <starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu>
Subject: starship-design: FW: SpaceViews Update -- 1998 August 15
Date: Sat, 15 Aug 1998 23:10:22 -0500
-----Original Message-----
From: SpaceViews-approval@nss.org [mailto:SpaceViews-approval@nss.org]
Sent: Saturday, August 15, 1998 10:33 AM
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: SpaceViews Update -- 1998 August 15
S P A C E V I E W S U P D A T E
1998 August 15
http://www.spaceviews.com/1998/0815/
*** Top Stories ***
Titan 4 Explodes After Launch
SOHO Spacecraft Condition Improves
More Delays for the International Space Station?
Soyuz Launches Mir Relief Crew
*** Technology ***
Possible Antenna Problem with Mars Global Surveyor
Japanese Docking Experiment Malfunctions
Eight ORBCOMM Satellites Launched
Boeing, Air Force Test Space Maneuver Vehicle
*** Policy ***
Senate Approves Commercial Space Act
SEC Files Action Against SpaceDev
Government Suspends Sea Launch
*** Science ***
New Studies Cast Doubt on Mars Life Claims
Two Earth-Crossing Asteroids Discovered
*** CyberSpace ***
CyberSpace Reviews
CD-ROM Review: "Russians in Space"
*** Space Capsules ***
SpaceViews Event Horizon
Other News
Editor's Note: We Will be switching over to a new mail list service later
this month, so that we can better meet the needs of our growing number of
subscribers. Because of this, you may have problems trying to unsubscribe
or resubscribe in the next couple weeks. If you have any problems, please
contact me at jeff@spaceviews.com.
Our next issue will be published on September 1.
Regards,
Jeff Foust
Editor, SpaceViews
=============
*** Top Stories ***
Titan 4 Explodes After Launch
An Air Force Titan 4A booster exploded less than a minute
after liftoff early Wednesday, August 12, scattering debris into the
Atlantic Ocean off the coast from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The booster, carrying a classified military payload, exploded
42 seconds after its 7:30 am EDT (1130 UT) launch. Debris from the
explosion fell into the Atlantic Ocean. No injuries or damage were
reported.
According to the Air Force, the Titan 4A began to
self-destruct 42 seconds into the flight. Range safety officers,
charged with preventing the rocket from going off course and
threatening lives and property, destroyed the rocket two seconds
later.
The force of the explosion was powerful enough to set off car
alarms in the city of Cocoa Beach, well south of the Cape Canaveral
launch site, the Associated Press reported.
A toxic cloud of fumes from the Titan 4's propellant did form,
but drifted northeast away from land and dissipated, Florida Today
reported. There was no danger to anyone from the cloud.
The launch had been delayed by 90 minutes because of fueling
problems.
While classified, analysts believe the booster was carrying a
signals intelligence satellites valued at up to $1 billion. The
satellite, which would have gone into a geosynchronous orbit, would
have been capable of intercepting radio and other communications. It
was similar to existing signals inteligence satellites.
The Titan 4 explosion is the first for that rocket since a
launch explosion 5 years ago at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
The explosion is the first launch accident at Cape Canaveral since a
Delta 2 exploded just a few seconds after launch in January 1997.
That explosion caused damage to the launch site and nearby buildings,
but no injuries.
The launch was the last Titan 4A launch planned. The Air
Force will be using the upgraded Titan 4B, a more powerful booster,
for future missions. The Titan 4B entered service last year and was
used to launch the Cassini mission to Saturn last October.
SOHO Spacecraft Condition Improves
The health of the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)
spacecraft, which was out of contact with ground controllers for six
weeks, continues to improve, the European Space Agency reported
Tuesday, August 11.
Engineers received the first on-board telemetry from SOHO over
the weekend, ESA reported, and were able to send SOHO commands
directing the spacecraft to transfer power generated by its solar
cells to its batteries.
"This is the best news I've heard since we lost contact with
SOHO on 25 June," said Roger Bonnet, ESA science director. "I never
gave up hope of some recovery of this fantastic mission. We should
just hope that the damage sustained by SOHO's enforced period of deep
freeze does not affect the scientific payload too much."
Ground controllers first detected signals from SOHO on August
3, the first time the spacecraft was heard from since it went out of
contact late June 24. No telemetry was included with those signals,
but contact with SOHO over the weekend included information on the
voltages and temperatures of the instruments onboard the spacecraft.
"I am truly satisfied with the information the data we
acquired gives us," said Francis Vanderbussche, in charge of the SOHO
recovery team. "Conditions on-board are as good as we expected them to
be".
Ground controllers instructed SOHO to fully charge its onboard
batteries, so it can begin to thaw out its supply of hydrazine fuel
used for attitude control. Once thawed, engineers hope to be able to
stabilize the slowly-spinning spacecraft. They expect the batteries
to be fully charged later this week.
NASA's Deep Space Network has declared a "Spacecraft
Emergency", giving 24-hours-a-day coverage of SOHO over other
missions, so engineers can continue to monitor SOHO's status.
Contact was lost with SOHO on the evening of June 24. A
preliminary investigation indicates that a combination of errors in
preprogrammed ground sequences sent to SOHO, combined with the
decision by ground controllers to send a command to the spacecraft
after receiving "unexpected" telemetry readings.
SOHO is a joint ESA/NASA mission to study the Sun from the
Earth-Sun L1 Lagrange point, 1.5 million kilometers (900,000 miles)
Sunward of the Earth. It was launched in December 1995 and completed
its nominal two-year mission in April of this year.
More Delays for the International Space Station?
While NASA Administrator Dan Goldin told members of the House
Science Committee Wednesday, August 5, that the International Space
Station was on track for its first launches this fall, sources within
the space agency indicate that the station may be delayed yet again,
for up to six months.
Acknowledging Russian funding shortfalls, Goldin said plans
were underway to modify the shuttle's maneuvering thrusters to allow
it reboost the station, a task originally planned for Russian
spacecraft, while a Clinton Administration budget official said
non-station shuttle flights might be cancelled to cover station cost
overruns.
A number of reports, including public Internet postings from
people at or with contacts at NASA, have claimed that internal NASA
schedules have pushed back the launch of the first station elements to
April 1999, with the service module pushed back from April to
September or October of 1999.
While Goldin made no mention of planned delays in the launch
schedule in Congressional testimony, he did mention the possibility of
future delays. Noting the problems the Russian Space Agency (RSA) has
had getting money from the Russian government, he said, "NASA is
concerned that the shortfall in funding available to RSA places the
scheduled April 1999 launch date of the Russian Service Module at some
risk."
If true, it would be yet another delay for the station, whose
first elements were originally planned for launch last fall. Those
launches were delayed first to this summer, then to this November and
December, because of problems with the Russian Service Module.
According to Goldin, the first station elements are ready for
launch as currently scheduled. A Russian Proton booster is set to
launch the Zarya ("Sunrise") control module in November, followed by a
December launch of shuttle mission STS-88 to deliver the Unity docking
node.
Goldin acknowledged other problems with the Russian space
program, including that production of Soyuz and Progress spacecraft
"has virtually ceased" because of a lack of parts. Soyuz spacecraft
are scheduled to deliver some crews to the station and serve as a
lifeboat in the event of an emergency on the station, while unmanned
Progress vehicles would deliver supplies.
The Progress vehicles would also periodically reboost the
station, whose orbit would be gradually lowered by drag from the
tenuous atmosphere is passed through. Goldin said plans are underway
to modify the shuttles' maneuvering thrusters to reboost the station,
reducing the need for Progress spacecraft.
Jacob Lew, the new director of the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB), told committee members that the Clinton Administration
would first seek to cover space station cost overruns from other
sections of the NASA budget related to human space flight, rather than
other science and research programs. "We will look for offsets first
from within the $6 billion spent annually in the Human Space Flight
account, as long as they do not compromise Shuttle safety," Lew said.
Such a decision would imply that shuttle flights unrelated to
the station could be cancelled. While most shuttle launches during
the ISS assembly period are dedicated to the station, a small number
-- mostly involving the orbiter Columbia, which is too heavy to loft
space station components -- will be dedicated to microgravity, remote
sensing, and other missions, including reservicing visits to the
Hubble Space Telescope.
Member of the committee were skeptical such a plan could work.
"I don't believe you can get the money you need by canceling shuttle
flights or continuing to raid the shuttle budget," Rep. Dave Weldon
(R-FL) said.
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) was more blunt. "After hearing
your review of these costs, I wonder what planet you've been on."
Soyuz Launches Mir Relief Crew
A Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying a replacement crew for the
Mir space station, as well as a visiting former bureaucrat, lifted off
early Thursday, August 13.
Soyuz TM-28 lifted off at 5:43 am EDT (0943 UT) from the
Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The launch proceeded normally and
the Soyuz is scheduled to dock with Mir on Saturday, August 15. An
unmanned Progress cargo spacecraft undocked with Mir on August 12 to
allow the Soyuz to dock with Mir.
On board the Soyuz are two cosmonauts, commander Gennady
Padalka and engineer Sergei Avdeyev, who will relieve the current Mir
crew of Talgat Musabayev and Nikolai Budarin, who have been on Mir for
six months.
Also on board is Nikolai Baturin, a former aide to Russian
president Boris Yeltsin. Baturin was originally named to the crew to
report on the status of Mir to Yeltsin, but since being removed from
his post earlier this year his post-mission plans are uncertain.
Baturin will return to Earth with Musabayev and Budarin in
Soyuz TM-27, the Soyuz craft currently docked with Mir, after spending
12 days in space.
The launch of TM-28 was scheduled for August 3, but was
delayed by ten days last month when power and water were shut down to
the Baikonur launch site. Unpaid bills, caused by a lack of funding
from the Russian government, caused the utility shutdown. This launch
was funded by credit extended from a Russian bank.
Padalka and Avdeyev will be the next-to-last crew to fly Mir.
A relief crew, likely to include one Russian cosmonaut and French and
Slovak guest cosmonauts, will fly to the station in early 1999. One
or more members of that crew will stay on Mir until mid-1999, when the
station is abandoned and reenters the Earth's atmosphere.
*** Technology ***
Possible Antenna Problem with Mars Global Surveyor
A potential problem with the extension mechanism of the
high-gain antenna on Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) may delay its
deployment next year by up to nine months, impacting the science data
returned by the spacecraft, NASA reported Monday, August 10.
Engineers believe air bubbles may have formed in viscous fluid
in a damper that is used to cushion a spring used to deploy the
antenna, located at the end of a two-meter (6.6-foot) boom. The
bubbles would keep the damper from working properly, pushing the boom
out at high speed before the damper would have any effect. Such a
deployment could damage or disable the antenna.
"To the best of our knowledge, we could deploy the antenna
boom without any adverse effect," said MGS project manager Glenn
Cunningham. "However, the forces that the damper and boom would be
subjected to as a result of the bubble formation are close enough to
the maximum force that they are designed to withstand that we want to
take a cautious approach in evaluating the deployment."
The antenna is in use now, folded up on the side of the
spacecraft. The spacecraft must be turned in order for the antenna to
send and receive data, interrupting science observations.
Engineers plan to deploy the antenna boom in March 1999, when
the spacecraft entered its final orbit after aerobraking. The
deployed boom will allow the spacecraft to maintain contact with Earth
while continuing observations of Mars.
MGS team members are now considering delaying the deployment
to after December 1999, when the Mars Polar Lander and Deep Space 2
land on Mars. Deep Space 2, a small "hitchhiker" payload on the
lander, will penetrate into the Martian surface and rely on MGS as its
only communication link with Earth.
If the antenna remains undeployed after March 1999, some
science data could not be returned because of the limited
communications with Earth. A NASA statement said an estimated 40
percent of the original data would be returned in the first 30 days of
observations from its final mapping orbit if the antenna remained
undeployed. That figure could be increased, though, through the use
of larger receiver antennae on Earth.
No decision on antenna deployment will be made before February
1999, Cunningham said. "We have not made any decisions yet, but we
want to take a conservative approach in order to protect the mission
as fully as possible," he said.
The problem is not the first for MGS. The aerobraking
procedure was delayed by damage to a hinge on one of its solar panels,
causing it to bend beyond its design limits during aerobraking passes
in the Martian upper atmosphere. The problem was corrected by slowing
down the aerobraking, delaying the insertion of MGS into its mapping
orbit by one year to March 1999.
Japanese Docking Experiment Malfunctions
The second experiment in automated rendezvous and docking
between two Japanese spacecraft failed Friday, August 7, and a second
attempt to bring the two spacecraft together failed a week later.
The two sections of the Engineering Test Satellite VII (ETS-7)
separated early Friday morning, August 7. The 2,540 kg (5,590 lbs.)
chaser satellite, named Hikoboshi, moved 525 meters (1,730 feet) from
the 410 kg (900 lbs.) target satellite, named Orihime. The two
spacecraft then moved back together to redock.
However, the two spacecraft apparently became misaligned as
they attempted to redock, and one of them entered a safe mode,
aborting the docking. An attempt to redock the spacecraft later in
the day was foiled when Hikoboshi lost high-speed communications
contact temporarily.
A second attempt to redock the two spacecraft took place
Thursday, August 13, but again failed. A large attitude error in the
chaser spacecraft, caused by the inproper operation of the jet
thrusters on the spacecraft, was blamed for the failure, Japanese
engineers said.
Engineers originally said the smaller Orihime satellite had
only enough power to last 72 hours while undocked from Hikoboshi.
Hikoboshi provides power to both satellites while docked. However,
both spacecraft seem to have enough power to continue redocking after
being separated over a week.
The two spacecraft successfully undocked and redocked in July,
after separating by a distance of 2 meters (6.6 feet). Future
experiments planned to redock the two spacecraft from separations as
large as 9 kilometers (5.6 miles).
The spacecraft, launched last November, is designed to test
automated docking procedures for future use on the International Space
Station. The names of the two ETS-7 spacecraft come from an old
Japanese tale, where the princess Orihime and her lover Hikoboshi were
allowed to meet only once a year.
Eight ORBCOMM Satellites Launched
A Pegasus XL booster launched eight ORBCOMM communications
satellites into low-Earth orbit Sunday, August 2, bringing the global
messaging service system more than halfway to completion.
The Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC) Pegasus XL was dropped
from its L-1011 carrier aircraft at 12:24pm EDT (1624 UT) August 2,
while flying over the Atlantic Ocean east of Wallops Island, Virginia.
OSC reported August 3 that all eight satellites launched by the
Pegasus appeared to be operating normally.
The satellites, placed in an orbit 825 kilometers (510 miles)
above the Earth at an inclination of 45 degrees, join twelve others
previously launched. The new satellites will undergo several months
of tests before going into commercial service, OSC said.
Each satellite in the system weights about 40 kg (90 lbs.) and
has an eight-year lifetime. When completed, the 36-satellite
constellation will provide a low-cost system for sending short
messages worldwide. The addition of the eight satellites will
increase the total availability of the current system from 9 to 17
hours a day.
The next group of eight ORBCOMM satellites will complete
factory testing over the next several weeks. They are scheduled for
launch on a Pegasus XL off the West Coast in September.
Boeing, Air Force Test Space Maneuver Vehicle
The U.S. Air Force and Boeing conducted the first flight test
August 11 in New Mexico of the X-40A, a prototype of a future reusable
Space Maneuver Vehicle.
The X-40A was dropped from a helicopter at an altitude of
2,700 meters (9,000 feet). A parachute deployed to stabilize the
vehicle, and was jettisoned once the vehicle was in stable flight.
The X-40A then glided to a runway landing using satellite navigation.
"I am very pleased with the results of this flight test," said
John Fuller, Boeing project manager. "We wanted to validate low-speed
handling qualities and demonstrate autonomous approach and landing
capability. We did that today."
The X-40A is a scale model of the Space Maneuver Vehicle
(SMV), a proposed reusable spacecraft that would deliver satellite
payloads, perform on-orbit reconnaissance, and other duties. With a
wingspan of 3.6 meters (12 feet) and a fuselage length of 6.7 meters
(22 feet), the X-40A is 90 percent the size of the SMV.
The SMV would be launched into orbit on another rocket, and
could stay in orbit for up to a year to perform its tasks. It's
designed to then return to Earth, where it could be serviced and
launched again within 72 hours.
Future tests will more fully explore how the X-40A and SMV
would fly in the air and in space. "Our next step will be to
demonstrate the vehicle's capabilities, both in the atmosphere and
space," Fuller said.
*** Policy ***
Senate Approves Commercial Space Act
The U.S. Senate approved late Thursday, July 30, legislation
that would open new opportunities for commercial launch firms in the
United States.
The Commercial Space Act, H.R. 1702, was approved by unanimous
consent by the Senate. The bill allows the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) to license the launch and landing of reusable
launch vehicles. Currently the FAA is limited to issuing launch
licenses.
The bill also mandates the use of commercial launch services
for most government payloads, the purchase of space science data from
private companies, a study on the commercialization of the
International Space Station, and improved licensing regulations for
remote sensing satellites.
The ability to issue launch and reentry licenses was seen by
many analysts as the key section of the bill. With new reusable
launch vehicles being developed by private industry, such regulation
is critical to permit them to be launched from the United States.
In one case, Kistler Aerospace, developer of the K-1 reusable
launch vehicle, has planned to launch from Australia instead of the
United States, thanks to a regulatory environment more conducive to
commercial space ventures. Other launch firms have also considered
offshore launch sites.
"Can you imagine the Wright Brothers flight at Kitty Hawk ever
being made if the government told them, `Sure you can fly it, just
don't land,'" said Sen. Bob Graham (D-FL), one of the leading supports
of the legislation. "The way the law presently exists, commercial
companies can launch but cannot land any vehicle returning from space.
Only the U.S. government is allowed this privilege."
"This is good news for America's commercial space
transportation industry, and for the long-term economic and national
security of this nation," said Charles Miller, president of ProSpace,
a grassroots lobbying group that supported H.R. 1702. "We have been
fighting for this legislation for 4 years, and the U.S. Senate was the
last major hurdle."
The bill was introduced in the House last year, and was
approved there in November. The bill moved over to the Senate side,
where it was approved by the Commerce Committee in March. A
conference committee will now iron out the differences between the
House and Senate versions.
"I expect the House/Senate conference will be concluded
quickly this September, and that the President will sign it into law
this Fall," Miller said.
SEC Files Action Against SpaceDev
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced
Thursday, August 6, that it was requesting action against SpaceDev,
Inc., claiming the private space exploration company made "false and
misleading" statements to the public.
SpaceDev, however, denied any wrongdoing and planned to
"vigorously contest" the planned SEC action.
The SEC, in a request for a public hearing with an
administrative law judge, said the publicly-traded company made a
number of fraudulent statements, including claiming projected revenues
of $10 million and earnings of $2 million in 1998, without noting that
those numbers required NASA approval of specific projects.
The SEC also said the company erroneously claimed it had a
deal with NASA for the use of the space agency's Deep Space Network to
communicate with SpaceDev's Near Earth Asteroid Prospector (NEAP)
spacecraft, scheduled for launch in 2000.
Such administrative hearings usually take place within 60
days, Don Hurl, an official with the SEC's Denver office, told
SpaceViews, although legal maneuvering can often delay the hearing.
No penalties would result from the hearing, Hurl said, as the SEC was
only seeking a cease-and-desist order to keep SpaceDev from making
claims that are not "accurate and complete."
Of the about four hundred cases a year the SEC handles, Hurl
said, a "good number" involve false statements like the SEC's action
against SpaceDev.
Dan Shea, director of the SEC's Denver office, told the
Associated Press that few investors were involved with SpaceDev.
"Some people invested in this, but we caught it very quickly," he
said.
The SEC declined to said how it became aware of SpaceDev's
claims, but Hurl told SpaceViews that the SEC generally gets its
information from a wide range of sources, including press releases and
information posted on the Internet.
In a statement issued Friday, August 7, SpaceDev claimed no
wrongdoing and planned to fight the SEC. "While the Company disagrees
with the views expressed by the SEC in its Order Instituting
Proceedings, the Company had attempted to resolve the issues raised by
the SEC through a settlement," the statement read. "The Company now
intends to vigorously contest the SEC's allegations."
SpaceDev president and founder Jim Benson told SpaceViews that
the SEC's action was comparable to "shooting at ants with an elephant
gun." He said he was confident that the SEC's case would be
dismissed.
"This is a legitimate, hardworking business," Benson told the
Associated Press. "This is a serious effort and it's being taken
seriously by the scientific community."
SpaceDev is traded on the over-the-counter bulletin board
(OTCBB) under symbol SPDV. As of late Wednesday afternoon, August 12,
the stock was trading at 1.562, off about 0.25 from its August 7
close.
Government Suspends Sea Launch
The U.S. State Department has suspended Boeing's license to
work with Russian and Ukrainian engineers on the Sea Launch project,
effectively bringing the project to a halt just months before its
first launch, the Washington Post reported Saturday, August 8.
The suspension, which was issued July 27 but not publicly
announced, was issued because of lax security Boeing had in its
communications between American and Russian and Ukrainian engineers.
The Post reported that a government official said the
suspension would be lifted once the government's security concerns are
met. Russian and Ukrainian engineers working at Sea Launch's offices
in Long Beach, California, have left for home in the last few days
because of the suspension.
The suspension comes at a time when American dealings with
foreign companies has come under intense scrutiny, stemming from
reports that Chinese officials obtained restricted technical
information from an American company in the aftermath of a 1996
explosion of a Chinese booster carrying an American satellite.
The Post article said Boeing officials were ill-prepared to
deal with the restrictions required by the State Department on
communications with Russian and Ukrainian engineers. Boeing might not
have been aware of some of the regulations, one industry executive
told the Post.
A Boeing spokesman said the problems existed from the
inception of the project in 1995 through early 1997, when the company
brought in additional experts to deal with the flow of technical
information.
The Sea Launch project is a multinational venture headed up by
Boeing to launch payloads from a portable launch site in the ocean.
The Ukrainian company KB Yuzhnoye/PO Yuzhmash provides the Zenit
booster and Russia's RSC Energia provides an upper stage for the
Zenit. Norway's Kvaerner Maritime built the command ship and launch
platform, a converted oil-drilling rig. Boeing serves as the "system
integrator" for the project.
Sea Launch was slated to launch its first booster late this
year. The launch will take place in on the Equator in the Pacific,
south of Hawaii. Launches from the Equator get the maximum push from
the Earth's rotation, requiring less energy from the booster to reach
orbit.
*** Science ***
New Studies Cast Doubt on Mars Life Claims
Several independent new studies published this week have added
their voices to the growing doubts that a Martian meteorite contains
evidence of past Martian life.
The work, much of it published in the current issue of the
journal Meteoritics and Planetary Sciences, attacks the two-year-old
claims of Martian life in meteorite ALH 84001 on several fronts, from
the temperature of formation of the meteorite to the shapes of the
"nanofossils" seen within it.
Researchers at the University of Hawaii reported that studies
of carbonate crystals seen in the meteorite show the carbonates formed
at high temperatures, not low ones as required for them to be a
product of biological processes.
Studies of various carbonate crystals under electron and
optical microscopes show the disk-shaped carbonates were squeezed in
and completely enclosed by rock. This is consistent with their
formation from a hot liquid that passed through fissured in the rock,
and not with percolation of a low-temperature liquid through the rock.
Another group at the University of Arkansas studied a number
of Martian and lunar meteorites under a scanning microscope. They
found a number of structures in the lunar meteorites that were
indistinguishable from features claimed to be "nanofossils" in ALH
84001. Since the Moon has likely been inhospitable to life throughout
its history, it casts doubt on claims that the Martian features as
fossils of tiny bacteria.
Meanwhile, in a paper published in the August 14 issue of
Science, a team at the University of Massachusetts has found that a
chemical reaction used to explain the existence of microbes deep under
the Earth and possible on Mars is not feasible.
Scientists had believed that the formation of hydrogen gas in
basalt deep underground could support microbes. However, the
Massachusetts group found that hydrogen is not formed under those
conditions, depriving microbes of a key energy source.
The studies are some of many recent assaults on the claim,
first announced in August 1996, that ALH 84001 contains evidence of
Mars life. While the original team of scientists from NASA's Johnson
Space Center and Stanford University continue to believe their claims,
an increasing number of scientists are voicing their doubts.
"The evidence against life in the Martian meteorite has been
steadily accumulating during the past year," said Ed Scott of the
Hawaii Institute of of Geophysics and Planetology.
John Bradley, an adjunct professor at Georgia Tech who
published a separate paper arguing against life in ALH84001 last
month, was more blunt. "I do not know of a single other individual
who believes it at this point," he said.
Still, the announcement, even if incorrect, has focused the
attention of the planetary science community on the possibilities of
Martian life, and raised awareness in the nascent field of
astrobiology. "More scientists than ever before are studying Martian
meteorites for clues to past conditions on Mars," said Scott.
The reports are also coming out as the founding convention of
the Mars Society takes place in Boulder, Colorado. Everett Gibson, a
member of the NASA/JSC team that first announced evidence of past life
in the meteorite, was scheduled to speak at the conference.
Two Earth-Crossing Asteroids Discovered
A JPL telescope project designed to search for near-Earth
objects has discovered two asteroids whose orbits cross that of the
Earth, but astronomers emphasized that these asteroids pose no threat
to the planet for at least several decades.
The two asteroids, designed 1998 OH and 198 OR2, are notable
because of their size. Each is estimated to be 1-3 km (0.6-1.8 mi.)
in diameter, enough to cause serious global effects if one struck the
Earth. They join about 125 other "potentially hazardous objects",
sizable asteroids whose orbits take them near the Earth.
Neither asteroid is expected to pose any threat to Earth for
the foreseeable future, although follow-up observations will be made
to accurately determine their orbits. With current data, they know
that one of the asteroids, 1998 OH, can come no closer than 5 million
kilometers (3 million miles) to the Earth.
The asteroids were discovered using the Near Earth Asteroid
Tracking (NEAT) telescope, an automated 1-meter (39-inch) telescope
located on the summit of Haleakala, the tallest mountain on the
Hawaiian island of Maui.
"Our goal is to discover and track all the potentially
dangerous asteroids and comets long before they are likely to approach
Earth," said NEAT Principal Investigator Eleanor Helin, a JPL
astronomer. "The discovery of these two asteroids illustrates how NEAT
is doing precisely what it is supposed to do."
The discovery came after the NEAT telescope was upgraded last
month. "Our upgraded equipment has speeded up the data processing
allowing us to analyze up to 40 gigabytes of data each night,
equivalent to 1,200 images of the sky," said project manager Steven
Pravdo. "This shows that our efforts to find near-Earth objects are
paying off."
*** CyberSpace ***
The Mars Society
The Mars Society is a new organization dedicated to the exploration
and eventual settlement of Mars, through public outreach, support of
government-funded exploration, and future private exploration. The
organization's Web site features information on the upcoming founding
convention of the society, taking place in August in Boulder,
Colorado. There's also an online e-zine, "New Mars", and bulletins on
related topics, including efforts to get more funding for future Mars
missions.
http://www.marssociety.org/
Science@NASA
As you might expect, the research performed by NASA scientists spans a
wide range of fields. Science@NASA, a Web site by the Marshall Space
Flight Center (the same people who have provided previous winners on
space weather and microgravity), showcases some current science
research, from space science to materials science to Earth
observations. The creators of this site have done a great job
explaining current research in an interactive and interesting format,
so that a visitor doesn't need much background to understand the work
presented here and why it is important.
http://science.nasa.gov/
go-Ariane
If you're looking for information on European space activities, from
ESA to private aerospace firms, check out go-Ariane. This site has
updated news on ESA, Ariane launches, and related topics, schedules of
upcoming launches, historical and technical information, and more.
Go-Ariane is one of the leading online resources for European space
information.
http://www.go-ariane.com/
SETI@home
Interested in contributing to the search for extraterrestrial
intelligence (SETI)? If you have a PC, consider contributing to
SETI@home, a project to help reduce the massive amounts of data
collected by SETI observing projects. A screensaver, running at your
computer while you're not using it, will help analyze sections of data
collected. The software is in the final stages of development, so be
sure to check out the Web site for more information about the project
and sign up to receive further information as the project gets
underway.
http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/
CD-ROM Review: "Russians in Space" by The Ultimax Group
by Jeff Foust
CD-ROMs with information about the American space program are
relatively plentiful, but those with information about Soviet and
Russian efforts are much more difficult to find. "Russians in Space",
a Russian CD-ROM translated into English for sale in the United
States, helps fill this gap with a multimedia exploration of Russian
and Soviet space history.
The CD-ROM is divided into four sections: people, programs,
technology, and basics. Each sections includes useful written content
in addition to photos and videos. It's the photos and videos that
really make this CD-ROM, as they provide imagery not readily available
elsewhere for the average space enthusiast, from the launch of an
Energia-Buran to a map of the Plesetsk Cosmodrome.
The content seems a little hit-and-miss, though: the
cosmonauts section includes information on Gagarin and Tereshkova but
not Leonov or any of the modern Mir cosmonauts. Some of the section
descriptions seem to have suffered a little in the translation from
Russian: the "Personalia" (people) section includes section titles
"Those Who Made Rockets Fly" and "They Taught Rockets to Fly". The
former is about rocket designers and the latter about cosmonauts,
although it's not readily obvious.
Overall, "Russians in Space" is a good overview of the history
of Russian space efforts. The collection of photos, videos, and other
information will make this a useful resource for those seeking to
learn more about Russian space programs.
"Russians in Space" is a hybrid PC/Mac CD-ROM. It can run on
PCs with Windows 3.1, 95/98, and NT and requires a 386SX or faster
processor, 4MB RAM (8MB recommended), a 2x or faster CD-ROM drive,
SVGA graphic card (640x480 with 256 colors or better), and an
MPC-compliant sound card. It can run on Macs with System 7.0 or later
with a 68030 or faster processor, 4MB RAM (8MB recommended), a 2x or
faster CD-ROM, and at least a 256-color display. See
http://www.catalog.com/ultimax for more information. The cost is $29.95
plus shipping and handling, with 10% discounts for members of some
organizations, including the NSS and The Planetary Society.
*** Space Capsules ***
SpaceViews Event Horizon
August 13-16: Mars Society Founding Convention, Boulder, Colorado
August 15: Soyuz TM-28 docks with Mir
August 15: Deadline to submit names to be included on the
Stardust spacecraft
August 24: Delta 3 inaugural launch of the Galaxy 10 satellite
from Cape Canaveral, Florida
August 25: Ariane 4 launch of the ST-1 satellite from Kourou,
French Guiana
August 25: Proton launch of the Astra-2A satellite from Baikonur,
Kazakhstan
October 9-11: Space Frontier Foundation Conference, Los Angeles,
California
October 29: Launch of shuttle on mission STS-95 (John Glenn
flight)
Other News
NSS Demands Station Changes: As words leaks out of yet more delays in
the International Space Station project, the National Space Society is
calling for changes in how the project in managed. In a special
section of its Web site, the NSS laid out a five-part plan that calls
for a decision to remove or keep the Russians in the project,
commercialization of the station, and greater interest and involvement
by the Clinton Administration. More information and a petition are
available at http://www.nss.org/alerts/iss/home.html
Cerf Named JPL Visiting Scientist: A computer scientist that has
advocated the growth of the Internet throughout the solar system was
named as a Distinguished Visiting Scientist at the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory Tuesday, August 4. Vint Cerf, a vice president at the
telecommunications giant MCI and co-developer of the TCP/IP protocol
used to convey Internet traffic, will work with JPL scientists and
engineers and other industry experts to develop new protocols for
handling communications among spacecraft. "It took 20 years for the
Internet to take-off here on Earth," he said. "It's my guess that in
the next 20 years, we will want to interact with systems and people
visiting the Moon, Mars and possibly other celestial bodies."
Stardust Passes One Million Names Mark: More that one million names
have been submitted to fly on the Stardust comet sample return
mission, the National Space Society reported Thursday, August 6. The
names will be etched onto one of two microchips that will be attached
to the Stardust spacecraft, scheduled for launch early next year. The
spacecraft will fly by the comet Wild-2, collecting samples of
cometary particles that will be returned to Earth in 2006. The
original signup effort garnered 136,000 signatures last fall. The
second microchip was added in a promotion with the NSS in the spring
in conjunction with the release of the Paramount and Dreamworks
Pictures movie Deep Impact. The deadline for adding names was August
15.
New Mars Meteorite Found: Scientists reported last month that they had
found a new Mars meteorite, the thirteenth such object found on Earth.
The meteorite, found in the Sahara Desert and owned by a private
collector, weights 2 kg (4.4 lbs.) and is thought to be a shergotite,
the most common class of Mars meteorites. The meteorite is the first
Martian once discovered since 1994 and the first discovered outside
Antarctica since 1962.
Canadian Space Telescope: The Canadian Space Agency is moving forward
with plans to build the world's smallest space telescope, the agency
announced August 5. The Microvariability and Oscillations of Stars
(MOST) project will feature a 50 kg (110 lbs.) satellite with an
telescope no bigger than a pie plate to measure rapid oscillations in
stars, providing clues to their interior structure and ages. The CSA
is providing C$4 million (US$2.6 million) for project, which includes
participants from Canada and the United States.
Media Watch: John Glenn is on the cover of the August 17 issue of Time
magazine. The cover asks if Glenn's upcoming flight is a "gimmick",
but concludes, "No, a timely reminder that we can still have
beroes."... The September issue of Discover magazine, just hitting
newsstands now, features a cover story on "What Should We Do With The
Moon?" The article goes over a wide range of possibilities, from
industry to tourism, and includes quotes from a wide range of people,
from NASA moon advocate Wendell Mendell to Artemis Society head Greg
Bennett... What does astronaut Cady Coleman have in common with Bill
Cosby, Boston Celtics head coach Rick Pitino, and CEOs of several
major corporations? All are graduates of the University of
Massachusetts and all promote their alma mater in a radio ad playing
on New England radio stations...
=============
This has been the August 15, 1998, issue of SpaceViews Update.
SpaceViews Update is also available on the World Wide web from the
SpaceViews home page:
http://www.spaceviews.com/
or via anonymous FTP from ftp.seds.org:
/pub/info/newsletters/spaceviews/update/980815.txt
For editorial questions and article submissions for SpaceViews or
Spaceviews Update, contact the editor, Jeff Foust, at jeff@spaceviews.com/
For questions about the SpaceViews mailing list, please contact
spaceviews-approval@ari.net.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
____ | "SpaceViews" (tm) -by Boston Chapter
// \ // | of the National Space Society (NSS)
// (O) // | Dedicated to the establishment
// \___// | of a spacefaring civilization.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
From VM Tue Aug 18 07:44:18 1998
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From: "L. Parker" <lparker@cacaphony.net>
Sender: owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
To: "Timothy van der Linden" <Shealiak@XS4ALL.nl>
Cc: "Starship Design" <starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu>
Subject: RE: starship-design: Staged Fusion Power
Date: Mon, 17 Aug 1998 20:12:01 -0500
Timothy,
You seem to have chosen a reaction that is rather poor in terms of energy
produced for this comparison. Perhaps you would like to illustrate the same
relationship using something like He3 and Li6?
Lee
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
[mailto:owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu]On Behalf Of Timothy van
der Linden
Sent: Monday, August 17, 1998 8:02 AM
To: starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: Re: starship-design: Staged Fusion Power
Hi Nels,
Multistaged fusion all the way up to iron should be theoretically possible,
but the yield isn't spectacular more than a well chosen single stage:
Take:
( I) 1 (2H) + 2 (3He) -> 1 (4He) + 1 (1H) + 18.4 MeV
(II) 24 (2H) + 2 (3H) -> 1 (54)Fe + 401.4 MeV
24 (2H) means 24 atoms of Hydrogen, where the Hydrogen has atomic mass 2.
Reaction (I) is the most efficient single fusion reaction.
Reaction (II) is the short-circuit of the multi stage fusion.
The input mass of reaction (I) is 1*2 + 2*3 = 5
The input mass of reaction (II) is 24*2 + 2*3 = 54
So we can repeat reaction (I) 54/5=10.8 times before we've used the same
amount of mass as needed for reaction (II).
Doing reaction (I) 10.8 times will yield: 10.8*18.4=198.7 MeV
So fusing all the way to Iron has a yield (401.4/198.7)=2 times better than
fusing merely to light elements.
So, all the trouble (eg. higher fusion temperature, unwanted fusion
ractions) for a two times higher yield, is likely not worth it.
Timothy
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Sender: owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
To: starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: RE: starship-design: Staged Fusion Power
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1998 21:15:52 +0100
Hello Lee,
You requested:
>You seem to have chosen a reaction that is rather poor in terms of energy
>produced for this comparison. Perhaps you would like to illustrate the same
>relationship using something like He3 and Li6?
BTW. I just discovered to have made a typo in my last letter, which luckely
did not continue in the calculations.
I originally wrote:
( I) 1 (2H) + 2 (3He) -> 1 (4He) + 1 (1H) + 18.4 MeV
But instead of 2 helium cores one needs only 1.
Here the correct version:
( I) 1 (2H) + 1 (3He) -> 1 (4He) + 1 (1H) + 18.4 MeV
------
Here's an example as closely to your choice:
- I've switched to the apparently more conventional notation.
- I don't know what the result of fusing He3 and Li6 will be.
The simplest result would be B9 which is highly unstable (doesn't
appear in my table), H1 + Be8 isn't ideal either because Be8 is
also very unstable.
So let me modify your which into He4 + Li6 -> B10
(III) 1 (He4) + 1 (Li6) -> 1 (B10) + 4.5 MeV
The initial weight is 4+6=10, so one can do reaction (III) 54/10=5.4 times
before one has used the same weight as reaction (II)
Doing reaction (III) 5.4 times will yield: 5.4*4.5MeV=24.3MeV
In this case fusing all the way to Iron would have given a 401.4/24.3=16.5
times higher yield.
So you may conclude that multi-stage fusion may be worth the effort. I can
even think of a multitude of reactions that have much lower yields per unit
of weight and which thus would show to be over 100 times worse than fusing
all the way to Iron.
But this approach is not very useful. We are trying to optimize "ease" and
"yield per unit weight". He4+Li6 is harder to fuse than H2+He3 AND has a
lower yield per unit of weight, thus two reasons for it being a bad choice.
My H2+He3 was one of the best choices according to the mentioned criteria.
I think there is no point in trying to find a worst case scenario.
If you feel this is not correct, don't hesitate to comment.
Timothy
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To: "Timothy van der Linden" <Shealiak@XS4ALL.nl>
Cc: "Starship Design" <starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu>
Subject: RE: starship-design: Staged Fusion Power
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1998 17:01:57 -0500
Hi Timothy,
Try this table:
Table I: Fusion Reactions Among Various Light Elements
D+D -> T (1.01 MeV) + p (3.02 MeV) (50%)
-> He3 (0.82 MeV) + n (2.45 MeV) (50%) <- most abundant fuel
-> He4 + about 20 MeV of gamma rays (about 0.0001%; depends
somewhat on temperature.)
(most other low-probability branches are omitted below)
D+T -> He4 (3.5 MeV) + n (14.1 MeV) <-easiest to achieve
D+He3 -> He4 (3.6 MeV) + p (14.7 MeV) <-easiest aneutronic reaction
"aneutronic" is explained below.
T+T -> He4 + 2n + 11.3 MeVHe3+T -> He4 + p + n + 12.1 MeV (51%)
-> He4 (4.8) + D (9.5) (43%)
-> He4 (0.5) + n (1.9) + p (11.9) (6%) <- via He5 decay
p+Li6 -> He4 (1.7) + He3 (2.3) <- another aneutronic reaction
p+Li7 -> 2 He4 + 17.3 MeV (20%)
-> Be7 + n -1.6 MeV (80%) <- endothermic, not good.
D+Li6 -> 2He4 + 22.4 MeV <- also aneutronic, but you
get D-D reactions too.
p+B11 -> 3 He4 + 8.7 MeV <- harder to do, but more energy than p+Li6
n+Li6 -> He4 (2.1) + T (2.7) <- this can convert n's to T's
n+Li7 -> He4 + T + n - some energy
As you can see from the table D+He3 is a good candidate for the second stage
if you use D+D as the first stage and then somehow manage to fuse the He3
produced before it can escape. Of course you also have to worry about
neutrons from the D+D reaction. Too bad we can't use the gamma rays produced
in the D+D reaction though... As you said, your notation is a little
different but it is understandable. Where did you get the 18.4 MeV though?
Notice that most of the reactions in this table produce He4 as a by-product.
My first choice would be a straight single stage D+Li6 or p+B11 using
antimatter catalysis or muon catalysis to start the reaction.
Lee
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To: starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: RE: starship-design: Staged Fusion Power
Date: Wed, 19 Aug 1998 13:53:41 +0100
Hello again Lee,
>Table I: Fusion Reactions Among Various Light Elements
>D+D -> T (1.01 MeV) + p (3.02 MeV) (50%)
> -> He3 (0.82 MeV) + n (2.45 MeV) (50%) <- most abundant fuel
> -> He4 + about 20 MeV of gamma rays (about 0.0001%; depends
> somewhat on temperature.)
> (most other low-probability branches are omitted below)
>D+T -> He4 (3.5 MeV) + n (14.1 MeV) <-easiest to achieve
>D+He3 -> He4 (3.6 MeV) + p (14.7 MeV) <-easiest aneutronic reaction
> "aneutronic" is explained below.
>T+T -> He4 + 2n + 11.3 MeVHe3+T -> He4 + p + n + 12.1 MeV (51%)
> -> He4 (4.8) + D (9.5) (43%)
> -> He4 (0.5) + n (1.9) + p (11.9) (6%) <- via He5 decay
>
>p+Li6 -> He4 (1.7) + He3 (2.3) <- another aneutronic reaction
>p+Li7 -> 2 He4 + 17.3 MeV (20%)
> -> Be7 + n -1.6 MeV (80%) <- endothermic, not good.
>D+Li6 -> 2He4 + 22.4 MeV <- also aneutronic, but you
> get D-D reactions too.
>p+B11 -> 3 He4 + 8.7 MeV <- harder to do, but more energy than p+Li6
>n+Li6 -> He4 (2.1) + T (2.7) <- this can convert n's to T's
>n+Li7 -> He4 + T + n - some energy
>
>As you can see from the table D+He3 is a good candidate for the second stage
>if you use D+D as the first stage and then somehow manage to fuse the He3
>produced before it can escape. Of course you also have to worry about
>neutrons from the D+D reaction.
The first stage D+D->He3+n+3.27MeV does not really add a lot of energy
relative to 18.3MeV and as you mention it has a neutron as reaction product
which may disturb the second stage so much that the second stage reaction
isn't as efficient anymore. (Maybe even more than 3.27MeV less efficient.)
I wonder why our tables don't show p+D->He3+5.5MeV it looks like an
excellent candidate to be followed by a second stage (as do all single
end-product reactions). If this is a valid reaction, it may be followed by
my D+He3->He4+p+18.4MeV that would give a yield of 4.78MeV per nucleon.
(Fusing upto Fe54 starting with H2 and H3 will give a yield of 7.43MeV per
nucleon.)
But again I'm not sure if a second stage is as "easy" as we hope, it still
is very far away from the current fusion technology.
>Too bad we can't use the gamma rays produced in the D+D reaction though...
What would you use them for?
>As you said, your notation is a little different but it is understandable.
>Where did you get the 18.4 MeV though?
D+He3 -> He4 (3.6 MeV) + p (14.7 MeV)
3.6+14.7=18.3MeV My 18.4MeV is actually 18.35MeV, so the difference is
likely due to rounding errors.
>Notice that most of the reactions in this table produce He4 as a by-product.
>My first choice would be a straight single stage D+Li6 or p+B11 using
>antimatter catalysis or muon catalysis to start the reaction.
p+B11 would be better since it doesn't have D+D reactions as D+Li6 has. And
a bonus is that both p and B11 are abundant in nature, while D and Li6 are
harder to find. The only disadvantage is that it only yields 8.7MeV while
its reaction materials consist of already 12 nuclei in total. (0.725MeV
per nucleon)
I wonder if a second stage reaction could significantly increase this.
Regards, Timothy
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From: Steve VanDevender <stevev@efn.org>
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To: Timothy van der Linden <Shealiak@XS4ALL.nl>
Cc: starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: RE: starship-design: Staged Fusion Power
Date: Wed, 19 Aug 1998 13:17:15 -0700 (PDT)
Timothy van der Linden writes:
> Hello again Lee,
>
> >Too bad we can't use the gamma rays produced in the D+D reaction though...
>
> What would you use them for?
Raw energy, of course. Gamma rays are high-energy photons.
My brief thoughts on the whole fusion power thing are:
Any fusion drive that depends on uncommon elements or isotopes
probably implies that the fuel has to be gathered ahead of time
and stored on board. Deuterium, tritium, helium-3, and so on are
not easy to come by and take significant time and energy to
refine out of a planetary atmosphere or ocean or the interstellar
medium. The main reason such isotopes are considered for fusion
power plants on Earth is that the lower cost of fusing them looks
attractive even compared to the cost of refining them out of
seawater. For spacecraft fuel I really believe that becomes a
significant disadvantage. I think the only mitigating factor is
that it might not be too expensive to synthesize the uncommon
isotopes from the far more abundant common isotopes in order to
be able to run the fusion reactor with lower temperatures.
I also don't know where you got the fusion reaction that produces
iron directly from a bunch of hydrogen and helium, unless it's
the abbreviation of a whole bunch of intermediate reactions. If
it's possible, it's really darn unlikely to be able to do it all
in one step.
I could see running a fusion reactor that would allow for a
few stages (say fusing from hydrogen up to relatively light stuff
like carbon and oxygen). Isn't the most common fusion reaction
in the universe the carbon cycle that fuses hydrogen with carbon
to produce an unstable nitrogen isotope that decays back into
carbon again?
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To: "Timothy van der Linden" <Shealiak@XS4ALL.nl>
Cc: "Starship Design" <starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu>
Subject: RE: starship-design: Staged Fusion Power
Date: Wed, 19 Aug 1998 16:19:19 -0500
Timothy,
> The first stage D+D->He3+n+3.27MeV does not really add a lot of energy
> relative to 18.3MeV and as you mention it has a neutron as reaction
product
> which may disturb the second stage so much that the second stage reaction
> isn't as efficient anymore. (Maybe even more than 3.27MeV less efficient.)
Probably much less.
> I wonder why our tables don't show p+D->He3+5.5MeV it looks like an
> excellent candidate to be followed by a second stage (as do all single
> end-product reactions). If this is a valid reaction, it may be followed by
> my D+He3->He4+p+18.4MeV that would give a yield of 4.78MeV per nucleon.
> (Fusing upto Fe54 starting with H2 and H3 will give a yield of 7.43MeV per
> nucleon.)
> But again I'm not sure if a second stage is as "easy" as we hope, it still
> is very far away from the current fusion technology.
>>Too bad we can't use the gamma rays produced in the D+D reaction though...
> What would you use them for?
Well, I just hate to see 20 MeV go to waste!
>>As you said, your notation is a little different but it is understandable.
>>Where did you get the 18.4 MeV though?
> D+He3 -> He4 (3.6 MeV) + p (14.7 MeV)
> 3.6+14.7=18.3MeV My 18.4MeV is actually 18.35MeV, so the difference is
> likely due to rounding errors.
Umm, I don't think the 3.6 MeV is usable, that is potential energy bound up
in the He4.
> p+B11 would be better since it doesn't have D+D reactions as D+Li6 has.
And
> a bonus is that both p and B11 are abundant in nature, while D and Li6 are
> harder to find. The only disadvantage is that it only yields 8.7MeV while
> its reaction materials consist of already 12 nuclei in total. (0.725MeV
> per nucleon)
> I wonder if a second stage reaction could significantly increase this.
Li6 is common as mud on the back side of the moon. The D+D reactions are
very dependent upon temperature. If the D+Li6 reaction is hot enough there
are virtually no D+D reactions and hence very few neutrons.
Lee
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From: "L. Parker" <lparker@cacaphony.net>
Sender: owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
To: "Steve VanDevender" <stevev@efn.org>
Cc: "Starship Design" <starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu>
Subject: RE: starship-design: Staged Fusion Power
Date: Wed, 19 Aug 1998 16:29:42 -0500
Steve and Timothy,
> > What would you use them for?
>
> Raw energy, of course. Gamma rays are high-energy photons.
>
It would seem that if we could somehow reflect this energy back into the
reaction it would provide enough energy to "pump" the reaction. Except of
course that unless it was made to reflect back and forth many millions of
times, it wouldn't hit anything, even at the core of a dense plasma. Ohh
well...
> My brief thoughts on the whole fusion power thing are:
>
> Any fusion drive that depends on uncommon elements or isotopes
> probably implies that the fuel has to be gathered ahead of time
> and stored on board. Deuterium, tritium, helium-3, and so on are
> not easy to come by and take significant time and energy to
> refine out of a planetary atmosphere or ocean or the interstellar
> medium. The main reason such isotopes are considered for fusion
> power plants on Earth is that the lower cost of fusing them looks
> attractive even compared to the cost of refining them out of
> seawater. For spacecraft fuel I really believe that becomes a
> significant disadvantage. I think the only mitigating factor is
> that it might not be too expensive to synthesize the uncommon
> isotopes from the far more abundant common isotopes in order to
> be able to run the fusion reactor with lower temperatures.
>
Actually, this is one of the driving factors behind colonies on the moon.
Both of these elements are very common there and extraction from lunar
regolith of relatively concentrated He3 and Li6 using solar power has GOT to
be cheaper than extraction from seawater.
Lee
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Sender: owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
To: starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: RE: starship-design: Staged Fusion Power
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 1998 13:10:17 +0100
Hello Steve,
>Any fusion drive that depends on uncommon elements or isotopes
>probably implies that the fuel has to be gathered ahead of time
>and stored on board.
In the past we calculated that scooping matter during travel in
interstellar space would likely get us too little mass. So I indeed assumed
that mass would be stored on board or that it would be launched in advance
along the track that the starship will follow.
>Deuterium, tritium, helium-3, and so on are
>not easy to come by and take significant time and energy to
>refine out of a planetary atmosphere or ocean or the interstellar
>medium. The main reason such isotopes are considered for fusion
>power plants on Earth is that the lower cost of fusing them looks
>attractive even compared to the cost of refining them out of
>seawater. For spacecraft fuel I really believe that becomes a
>significant disadvantage.
For multiple flights that may be true, but for a single interstellar flight
optimizing the fuel may be worth the additional work of refining the wanted
isotopes for the fuel. Isolating isotopes may not be easy, but the
technology to do it is available.
>I think the only mitigating factor is
>that it might not be too expensive to synthesize the uncommon
>isotopes from the far more abundant common isotopes in order to
>be able to run the fusion reactor with lower temperatures.
I think another reason that makes isolating or synthesizing special
isotopes worth the expenses is that some of the reactions involving less
common isotopes may deliver more than 2 times the amount of energy per unit
of mass.
>I also don't know where you got the fusion reaction that produces
>iron directly from a bunch of hydrogen and helium, unless it's
>the abbreviation of a whole bunch of intermediate reactions. If
>it's possible, it's really darn unlikely to be able to do it all
>in one step.
In my 8/17 letter I wrote:
(II) 24 (2H) + 2 (3H) -> 1 (54)Fe + 401.4 MeV
...
Reaction (II) is the short-circuit of the multi stage fusion.
I don't actually have/know all the steps in between, but it wasn't my
purpose to display what in reality was possible. I merely wanted to compare
a single-stage fusion reaction with the best possible way (energy-wise) to
get iron. (I could have chosen worse possibilities, that would have
strengthened my point that multistage fusion isn't worth the trouble.)
My goal was to show that some of the best single stage fusion reactions
would not be that much worse than complex and likely hard to realize multi
staged fusion reactions.
Timothy
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Sender: owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
To: starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: RE: starship-design: Staged Fusion Power
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 1998 12:26:08 +0100
Hi Lee,
>>>Too bad we can't use the gamma rays produced in the D+D reaction though...
>>
>> What would you use them for?
>
>Well, I just hate to see 20 MeV go to waste!
But aren't the gamma rays absorbed by the the plasma?
>>>As you said, your notation is a little different but it is understandable.
>>>Where did you get the 18.4 MeV though?
>
>> D+He3 -> He4 (3.6 MeV) + p (14.7 MeV)
>> 3.6+14.7=18.3MeV My 18.4MeV is actually 18.35MeV, so the difference is
>> likely due to rounding errors.
>
>Umm, I don't think the 3.6 MeV is usable, that is potential energy bound up
>in the He4.
I'm pretty sure that both the 3.6 and 14.7 MeV are kinetic (heat) energy
(since the energy ratio of both particles is exactly what one would expect
from their mass ratio). Can anyone confirm this?
Timothy
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Subject: starship-design: FW: SSRT: Space Access Society Political Alert 8/20/98 (fwd)
Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1998 07:21:08 -0500
-----Original Message-----
From: listserv@ds.cc.utexas.edu [mailto:listserv@ds.cc.utexas.edu] On
Behalf Of Chris W. Johnson
Sent: Friday, August 21, 1998 8:32 PM
To: Single Stage Rocket Technology News
Subject: SSRT: Space Access Society Political Alert 8/20/98 (fwd)
Date: Fri, 21 Aug 1998 17:55:01 -0400 (EDT)
From: Donald L Doughty <spacelst@world.std.com>
To: delta-clipper@world.std.com
Subject: SAS Political Alert, Military Spaceplane Funding - 8/20/98 (fwd)
Sender: delta-clipper-approval@world.std.com
Reply-To: delta-clipper@world.std.com
>Resent-From: hvanderbilt@BIX.com
>Resent-To: spacelst@world.std.com
Space Access Society Political Alert 8/20/98
"Military Spaceplane" Technology Project Funding
___________________________________________________________________
The impression among many of our advisors a year ago was that we'd
just about won, and could all go tend our own gardens. This, alas,
has turned out not to be the case. (On a personal note, being burnt
out from spending much of the last twelve years at this has gotten
boring. - HV) There's work to do. We're back.
We were never all that far gone, actually - we've been keeping an
eye on developments, butting in once or twice when needed, and of
course we put on Space Access '98 this spring, the latest of our
annual gettogethers of some of the more interesting players in the
cheap access field. (We'll be doing it again next spring; we're
currently looking at Friday April 16th through Sunday April 18th -
drop us a note ASAP if you know of a major schedule conflict we've
missed that weekend; we're close to closing the hotel contract.)
The specific thing that's stirred us out of our public silence is
a chance to usefully increase the diversity of the US government's
reusable launcher technology development efforts. Your help over
the next couple weeks can improve the odds of this happening
considerably.
___________________________________________________________________
- Summary
The USAF Military Spaceplane (MSP) technology project was line-item
vetoed last fall. Now that the line-item veto has been tossed out
by the courts, we want to see that $10 million in MSP funding for
this year restored, and we want to see at least $25 million added
for MSP to next years budget. The Congress is in recess until after
Labor Day - your Representative and Senators will likely be making
appearances locally at "town meetings", Labor Day events etc. You
may be able to find an opportunity to ask them personally to support
adding at least $25 million for USAF Military Spaceplane research to
the FY'99 Defense budget. You can definitely let their DC offices
know what you want.
___________________________________________________________________
- Background
The USAF "Military Spaceplane" (MSP) technology project grew out of
the DC-X program office at Phillips Labs in New Mexico. The
project's goal is to put together and test technologies to support
eventual development of low-cost fast-turnaround reusable military
spacecraft.
USAF MSP has been severely budget-limited, bottoming out with last
year's line-item veto, but they have managed to bring one project,
the X-40A "Space Maneuver Vehicle" (SMV), a reusable recoverable
autonomous upper stage, to the point of its successful first flight
test last week - an unpowered drop-test that checked out the X-40A's
low-speed aerodynamics and autoland capability.
USAF MSP has other worthwhile projects stuck at the planning stage
for lack of funds, in particular their Integrated Technology Testbed
(ITTB), an expandable ground-test rig that would bring together
representative reusable launcher hardware and run it through
repeated realistic space-mission simulations.
ITTB might eventually, depending on both funding and interim
results, be evolved into some sort of son-of-DC-X low-cost flight
demonstrator - but the project is designed to return useful
knowledge across a range of funding levels.
Space Access Society believes that USAF MSP is a good value for
taxpayer dollars, for a number of reasons.
- They have a good track record, building the DC-X reusable rocket
demonstrator and flying it eight times (before NASA took it over)
for roughly a hundred million dollars total, not to mention their
recent first-flight X-40A success.
- The potential USAF requirements MSP is aiming at have much in
common with potential commercial RLV operator requirements - fast
turnaround, small ground crews, minimal fixed ground infrastructure
for dispersed operations, and both ground-to-orbit and high-speed
point-to-point flight. The operational characteristics and also the
technologies USAF MSP is looking at are largely complementary to,
not competitive with, the direction various NASA RLV efforts are
taking. (NASA RLV has displayed a tendency to concentrate on
radical technological advances while paying less attention to the
mundane operational considerations that are of critical interest to
both potential military and commercial operators.) Put another way,
USAF and Fedex requirements have a lot more in common with each
other than either has with NASA's.
- MSP is cheap insurance against both hostile space competition in
the next century, and against possible problems with NASA RLV
efforts, about which the jury is still very much out. If nothing
else, a little friendly competition concentrates minds no end...
Congressional Background
Congress is out of session until after Labor Day, when they'll
reconvene for the final push to pass all the FY'99 budget bills by
early October, leaving them some time to campaign before the
November elections. The House and Senate versions of the Defense
Appropriation bill are already passed and ready for the conference
committee to hammer out the differences, and neither contains
anything for Military Spaceplane.
Normally this would mean no chance for MSP; Congressional procedure
usually forbids adding anything in conference that wasn't in at
least one version of the bill. But these are unusual circumstances:
the reason there was no MSP money in either bill was that MSP was
among the handful of items line-item vetoed last year, and until the
courts overturned the line-item veto, there seemed no point in
including MSP again only to be line-item vetoed again.
___________________________________________________________________
- SAS Action Recommendations
Who To Target
Members of the House and Senate Appropriations Defense subcommittees
(plus the overall Appropriations Committee bosses) are key; they
will most likely be the Defense Appropriations conference members.
Other members of the Appropriations Committees also have influence
here and are worth contacting, as are members of the House and
Senate Defense Authorizations committees. And even those not in any
of these positions can if they choose put in a word with their
colleagues who are.
See attached lists for whether your Representative or Senators are
on the Defense subcommittees. (Your 9-digit zip code and www.vote-
smart.org will tell you who your Representative and Senators are,
what committees they're on, and what their DC and local office phone
and fax numbers are.)
What To Do
Congress is out of session until after Labor Day - this means many
Representatives and some Senators will be back in the home districts
warming up for this fall's reelection campaigns, appearing at
numerous public and private events. Those of you who have some
previous experience at this might want to prepare a five-minute
presentation on why USAF MSP should be funded and try to make an
appointment to brief your Representative or Senator.
Any of you feeling moderately ambitious, articulate, and presentable
might want to call your Representative or Senator's local office and
ask for their local event schedule with an eye toward one where you
might have a chance to give MSP funding a ten-second pitch, and go
do it. A "town meeting" event where you can deliver a question from
the audience, a picnic where you can walk up, introduce yourself as
a constituent, and ask support for MSP funding, etc...
If you do this, bring along a one-page letter describing what it is
you're asking for, as below, so you can hand it to one of the
staffers likely to be nearby after you make your point. Then follow
up by contacting the DC office of the person you've pitched, as
below, mentioning this is something you asked their boss for at
whatever the event was.
The default is to call, write, or fax your Congressman's and/or your
Senators' DC offices, and ask that they support adding $25 million
to the (FY'99) Defense budget for Military Spaceplane technology
work in Program Element 603401F, in the Defense Appropriations
Conference.
If you call, ask to speak to the person who handles defense matters.
(If they tell you their boss isn't on any of the defense committees,
ask them if their boss could pass this along to one of his/her
colleagues who is.) Chances are you'll get switched to their
voicemail. Voicemail or in person, identify yourself as a
constituent (Hi, I'm Joe Smith from Sheboygan), make your pitch
briefly, give them a one-sentence reason why you think it's
important, thank them for their time, and ring off. If you do get
them live and they have questions, do your best to answer them.
If you write or fax, keep it short, one page max, and state your
main point at the start, then briefly give supporting points. Make
sure to sign it with where you're from ("Joe Smith, Sheboygan") so
they know you're an actual constituent.
And of course, either way, be polite - the staffers who'll likely be
handling your contact are chronically underpaid and overworked. One
bad impression can waste a lot of good impressions.
___________________________________________________________________
(Space Access Society's sole purpose is to promote near-term radical
reductions in the cost of reaching space. We encourage you to
redistribute this Alert in any medium you choose.
___________________________________________________________________
Space Access Society
http://www.space-access.org
space.access@space-access.org
"Reach low orbit and you're halfway to anywhere in the Solar System"
- Robert Anson Heinlein
___________________________________________________________________
Congressional Committee Lists
LIKELY DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS CONFERENCE MEMBERS
House Appropriations Committee, National Security Subcommittee
(Appropriations Chair) voice fax
Livingston, Robert (R-01 LA) 1-202-225-3015 1-202-225-0739
(Appropriations Ranking Minority Member)
Obey, David R. (D-07) 1-202-225-3365 1-202-225-0561
(NatSec Subcommittee Chair)
Young, C. W. Bill (R-10 FL) 1-202-225-5961 1-202-225-9764
(NatSec Subcommittee RMM)
Murtha, John P. (D-12 PA) 1-202-225-2065 1-202-225-5709
Lewis, Jerry (R-40 CA) 1-202-225-5861 1-202-225-6498
Dixon, Julian C. (D-32 CA) 1-202-225-7084 1-202-225-4091
Randy Cunningham (R CA) 1-202-225-5452 1-202-225-2558
Visclosky, Peter J. (D-01 IN) 1-202-225-2461 1-202-225-2493
Sabo, Martin Olav (D-05 MN) 1-202-225-4755 1-202-225-4886
Hefner, Bill (D-08 NC) 1-202-225-3715 1-202-225-4036
Skeen, Joseph (R-02 NM) 1-202-225-2365 1-202-225-9599
Hobson, David L. (R-07 OH) 1-202-225-4324 1-202-225-1984
Istook, Ernest Jim (R-05 OK) 1-202-225-2132 1-202-226-1463
McDade, Joseph M. (R-10 PA) 1-202-225-3731 1-202-225-9594
Bonilla, Henry (R-23 TX) 1-202-225-4511 1-202-225-2237
Nethercutt, George (R-05 WA) 1-202-225-2006 1-202-225-7181
Dicks, Norman D. (D-06 WA) 1-202-225-5916 1-202-226-1176
Senate Appropriations Committee, Defense Subcommittee
(chair, SAC Defense Subcommittee) voice fax
Sen. Stevens, Ted (R AK) 1-202-224-3004 1-202-224-1044
(Ranking Minority Member, SAC Defense Subcommittee)
Sen. Inouye, Daniel (D HI) 1-202-224-3934 1-202-224-6747
Sen. Cochran, Thad (R MS) 1-202-224-5054 1-202-224-3576
Sen. Domenici, Pete V. (R NM) 1-202-224-6621 1-202-224-7371
Sen. McConnell, Mitch (R KY) 1-202-224-2541 1-202-224-2499
Sen. Specter, Arlen (R PA) 1-202-224-4254 1-202-224-1893
Sen. Bond, Christopher (R MO) 1-202-224-5721 1-202-224-8149
Sen. Shelby, Richard C. (R AL) 1-202-224-5744 1-202-224-3416
Sen. Hollings, Ernest (D SC) 1-202-224-6121 1-202-224-4293
Sen. Byrd, Robert (D WV) 1-202-224-3954 1-202-224-4025
Sen. Leahy, Patrick (D VT) 1-202-224-4242 1-202-224-3595
Sen. Harkin, Thomas (D IA) 1-202-224-3254 1-202-224-7431
Sen. Lautenberg, Frank (D NJ) 1-202-224-4744 1-202-224-9707
Sen. Hutchison, Kay Bailey (R TX) 1-202-224-5922 1-202-224-0776
Sen. Gregg, Judd (R NH) 1-202-224-3324 1-202-224-4952
Sen. Bumpers, Dale (D AR) 1-202-224-4843 1-202-224-6435
Sen. Dorgan, Byron (D ND) 1-202-224-2551 1-202-224-1193
___________________________________________________________________
DEFENSE AUTHORIZATIONS COMMITTEE MEMBERS
House National Security Committee
(Committee chairman)
Spence, Floyd (R 2 SC) 1-202-225-2452 1-202-225-2455
Stump, Robert (R 3 AZ) 1-202-225-4576 1-202-225-6328
Hunter, Duncan L. (R 52 CA) 1-202-225-5672 1-202-225-0235
Kasich, John R. (R 12 OH) 1-202-225-5355 na
Bateman, Herbert H. (R 1 VA) 1-202-225-4261 1-202-225-4382
Hansen, James V. (R 1 UT) 1-202-225-0453 1-202-225-5857
Weldon, Curt (R 7 PA) 1-202-225-2011 1-202-225-8137
Hefley, Joel (R 5 CO) 1-202-225-4422 1-202-225-1942
Saxton, H. James (R 3 NJ) 1-202-225-4765 1-202-225-0778
Buyer, Steve (R 5 IN) 1-202-225-5037 1-202-225-2267
Fowler, Tillie (R 4 FL) 1-202-225-2501 1-202-225-9318
McHugh, John M. (R 24 NY) 1-202-225-4611 1-202-226-0621
Talent, James M. (R 2 MO) 1-202-225-2561 1-202-225-2563
Everett, Terry (R 2 AL) 1-202-225-2901 1-202-225-8913
Bartlett, Roscoe G. (R 6 MD) 1-202-225-2721 1-202-225-2193
Lewis, Ron (R 2 KY) 1-202-225-3501 1-202-226-2019
Watts, J.C. (R 4 OK) 1-202-225-6165 1-202-225-3512
Chambliss, Saxby (R 8 GA) 1-202-225-6531 1-202-225-3013
Riley, Bob (R 3 AL) 1-202-225-3261 1-202-225-5827
(Committee ranking minority member)
Dellums, Ronald V. (D 9 CA) 1-202-225-2661 1-202-225-9817
Skelton, Ike (D 4 MO) 1-202-225-2876 1-202-225-2695
Sisisky, Norman (D 4 VA) 1-202-225-6365 1-202-226-1170
Spratt Jr., John M. (D 5 SC) 1-202-225-5501 1-202-225-0464
Ortiz, Solomon P. (D 27 TX) 1-202-225-7742 1-202-226-1134
Pickett, Owen B. (D 2 VA) 1-202-225-4215 1-202-225-4218
Evans, Lane (D 17 IL) 1-202-225-5905 1-202-225-5396
Taylor, Gene (D 5 MS) 1-202-225-5772 1-202-225-7074
Abercrombie, Neil (D 1 HI) 1-202-225-2726 1-202-225-4580
Meehan, Martin T. (D 5 MA) 1-202-225-3411 1-202-226-0771
Harman, Jane (D 36 CA) 1-202-225-8220 1-202-226-0684
McHale, Paul (D 15 PA) 1-202-225-6411 1-202-225-5320
Kennedy, Patrick (D 1 RI) 1-202-225-4911 1-202-225-3290
Blagojevich, Rod (D 5 IL) 1-202-225-4061 1-202-225-5603
Snyder, Vic (D 2 AR) 1-202-225-2506 1-202-225-5903
Rodriguez, Ciro (D 28 TX) 1-202-225-1640 1-202-225-1641
Senate Armed Services Committee
Thurmond, Strom R SC 1-202-224-5972 1-202-224-1300
Warner, John W. R VA 1-202-224-2023 1-202-224-6079
McCain, John R AZ 1-202-224-2235 1-202-228-2862
Coats, Daniel R. R IN 1-202-224-5623 1-202-228-4137
Smith, Bob R NH 1-202-224-2841 1-202-224-1353
Kempthorne, Dirk R ID 1-202-224-6142 1-202-224-5893
Inhofe, James R OK 1-202-224-4721 1-202-228-0380
Santorum, Rick R PA 1-202-224-6324 1-202-228-0604
Snowe, Olympia R ME 1-202-224-5344 1-202-224-1946
Roberts, Pat R KS 1-202-224-4774 1-202-224-3514
Levin, Carl D MI 1-202-224-6221 1-202-224-1388
Kennedy, Edward M. D MA 1-202-224-4543 1-202-224-2417
Bingaman, Jeff D NM 1-202-224-5521 1-202-224-2852
Glenn, John D OH 1-202-224-3353 1-202-224-7983
Byrd, Robert C. D WV 1-202-224-3954 1-202-228-0002
Robb, Charles S. D VA 1-202-224-4024 1-202-224-8689
Lieberman, Joseph I. D CT 1-202-224-4041 1-202-224-9750
Cleland, Max D GA 1-202-224-3521 1-202-224-0072
for more info, have your 9-digit zip ready and check out
www.vote-smart.org
*end*
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From: KellySt@aol.com
Sender: owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
To: vid@zooid.org, starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: starship-design: Re:
Date: Sun, 23 Aug 1998 21:46:10 EDT
In a message dated 8/19/98 8:02:54 AM, you wrote:
>Hi,
>
>
>
> My friends and I were checking out your www page and we wish to
congratulate
>you
>
>on your contributions towards the future of science.
>
>
>
>Tally Ho!
>
>Garth Brooks
Thanks a lot, we try to inspire and inform.
Kelly Starks
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From: KellySt@aol.com
Sender: owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
To: husofluv@cio.net, starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Cc: KellySt@aol.com
Subject: starship-design: Re: Starhsip Design Project
Date: Sun, 23 Aug 1998 21:46:23 EDT
In a message dated 8/22/98 2:07:43 AM, husofluv@cio.net wrote:
>It is nice to see a web site that seriously considers interstellar travel.
>
>Some sites on this topic tend to devolve into "Star Trek" nonsense or
>
>scienceless sci-fi-speak fan sites. And while I am as big a Trekkie as they
>
>come, I like it even better when anyone can discuss or imagine space travel
>
>in practical, real-science terms. After all, we're going to have to get out
>
>there SOMEHOW, and we'd better start talking about it and learning what we
>
>need to learn about interstellar flight right now. Your web site is a breath
>
>of fresh air! Hence I have added it to my list of top sites for September.
>
>
>
>See your link at:
>
>http://www.home.cio.net/husofluv/Sagan/Sagan.htm
>
>
>
>
>
>Here is a web award graphic if you're so inclined. =^)
>
>
>
>---Brad R. Torgersen
Thank you very much for your interest. We are trying to seriously consider
the topic, and make folks think about space as something we can do in te near
future not a few centuries from now.
Glad you liked it, and thanks for the listing!
Kelly Starks
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Sender: owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
To: bazzi@EMAIL.MSN.COM, starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu,
Casanova334@hotmail.com
Subject: starship-design: Re: learn more
Date: Sun, 23 Aug 1998 21:46:15 EDT
In a message dated 8/20/98 12:59:52 PM, you wrote:
>Hi,
> Your website really attracted my attention!!!! Could u pls tell me what
>exactely is the LUNAR INSTITUTE of TECHNOLOGY? Is it sort of a University.
>The thing that interested me the most was the "starship design project". In
>the future, I want to do things that have to do with space. I'm really
>fascinated with that kind of stuff. Could u pls send me more info. and
>answer my question to my e-mail: Casanova334@hotmail.com
>
>Thanks!!!!!!
Thank you.
I'm afraid LIT isn't really a university. There was some intention
origionally that it could develop into an online one, but that didn't happen.
Its just an on-line group that debates ideas about practical mid 21st century
star travel concepts. Its gotten quieter over the last year or two, but for
the first couple of years their were hundreds of subcribers to the
newsletters, and a lot of debate and analysis. (You might want to browse
throu the newsletter archives.) Several of us aer or were people from NASA or
the aerospace busness. Lots more were everything from students to
submariners. What you se in the site and the archives is what we came up
with.
Hope this helps.
Kelly Starks
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Cc: zkulpa@zmit1.ippt.gov.pl
Subject: starship-design: URANOS Club
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1998 17:57:03 +0200 (MET DST)
-----------------------------------------------------------
--> http://www.uranos.eu.org/uranose.html <--
* * **** *** * * *** ****
* * * * * * * * ** * * * * * *
* * * * * **** ***** * * * * * *** * * *
* * * * * * * * * ** * * * * *
*** * * * * * * *** ****
CLUB * for * EXPANSION * of * CIVILIZATION * into * SPACE
grouping people interested in
the development of human civilization
and its expansion into extraterrestial space
-----------------------------------------------------------
WELCOME! WELCOME!
We would like to invite you for a visit to WWW pages
of a new Internet Club * URANOS *
In our opinion, expansion of humanity into space is
a prerequisite for further development of our civilization.
We are afraid, however, that recognition of this necessity
is still infrequent among people, which may constitute
a bigger problem than possible technological difficulties.
Hence it is necessary to constantly remind people that
the world does not end at the limit of Earth's athmosphere.
-----------------------------------------------------------
At the address:
http://www.uranos.eu.org/uranose.html
you will find, among others:
- Our Club Manifesto, spelling out our views on
the current challenges facing the Earth's civilization;
- A rich collection of links to the most interesting
WWW pages dedicated to space exploration;
- Many more attractions - in preparation!
PLEASE PAY US A VISIT AND HELP US IN OUR ACTIVITIES!
Club Founders:
-- Andrzej K. Brandt
-- Zenon Kulpa
"Earth is the cradle of humanity,
but one cannot live in a cradle forever."
[Konstantin E. Tsiolkovski]
-----------------------------------------------------------
PLEASE NOTE: The activities of our Club are aimed mostly
at the Polish-speaking community around the world.
However, since encouragements, advice, and any other help
from the rest of the world are also gladly received and
greatly appreciated by us, we maintain also English
versions of the more important pages of our site.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Please forward! * Please forward!
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To: "Starship Design" <starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu>
Subject: starship-design: Plasma Engine
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1998 15:40:32 -0500
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Does anyone know anything else about this?
"The most amazing thing I saw this week was the rocket engine of the future.
It's been the life's work of astronaut Franklin Chang-Diaz. He started
working on the plasma engine in college, and now, at age 48, he's got a
demonstration version of the engine in his lab in Houston. The scale model
is about 30 feet long.
I'm not a plasma physicist, but Chang-Diaz is, and he explains the engine
this way: You put a small amount of hydrogen into one end of the engine.
It's turned into plasma, a burning gas as hot as the surface of the sun.
Radio waves from an on-board transmitter are used to create the plasma and
then a series of electromagnets that circle the central chamber keep the
plasma from touching the metal sides of the engine. The super-hot plasma is
then moved down to the exhaust nozzle, where is pushes the engine away.
Unlike engines that use solid or liquid fuel, the plasma engine is much more
efficient. Chang-Diaz says it gets more miles per gallon than you can
imagine. In addition, it's much faster than anything in use today. It can
travel from the Earth to Mars in 90 days. That's twice as fast as current
technology allows.
Chang-Diaz is working with a group of college students to develop the engine
and one of them, Lenny Cassady, has worked out a flight plan. He believes it
will be ready to launch on May 16, 2018. That's about the time Lenny says
he'd be ready to fly the plasma-powered spaceship to Mars."
Lee
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<DIV><SPAN class=3D660213520-29081998><FONT color=3D#000000 face=3DArial =
size=3D2>Does=20
anyone know anything else about this?</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D660213520-29081998><FONT color=3D#000000 face=3DArial =
size=3D2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D660213520-29081998><FONT color=3D#000000 face=3DArial =
size=3D3>"</FONT></SPAN>The most amazing thing I saw this week was =
the rocket=20
engine of the future. It's been the life's work of astronaut Franklin=20
Chang-Diaz. He started working on the plasma engine in college, and now, =
at age=20
48, he's got a demonstration version of the engine in his lab in =
Houston. The=20
scale model is about 30 feet long. </DIV>
<P>I'm not a plasma physicist, but Chang-Diaz is, and he explains the =
engine=20
this way: You put a small amount of hydrogen into one end of the engine. =
It's=20
turned into plasma, a burning gas as hot as the surface of the sun. =
Radio waves=20
from an on-board transmitter are used to create the plasma and then a =
series of=20
electromagnets that circle the central chamber keep the plasma from =
touching the=20
metal sides of the engine. The super-hot plasma is then moved down to =
the=20
exhaust nozzle, where is pushes the engine away.=20
<P>Unlike engines that use solid or liquid fuel, the plasma engine is =
much more=20
efficient. Chang-Diaz says it gets more miles per gallon than you can =
imagine.=20
In addition, it's much faster than anything in use today. It can travel =
from the=20
Earth to Mars in 90 days. That's twice as fast as current technology =
allows.=20
<P>Chang-Diaz is working with a group of college students to develop the =
engine=20
and one of them, Lenny Cassady, has worked out a flight plan. He =
believes it=20
will be ready to launch on May 16, 2018. That's about the time Lenny =
says he'd=20
be ready to fly the plasma-powered spaceship to Mars.<SPAN=20
class=3D660213520-29081998><FONT color=3D#000000 face=3DArial=20
size=3D3>"</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN class=3D660213520-29081998><FONT color=3D#000000 face=3DArial=20
size=3D3></FONT></SPAN> </P>
<P><SPAN class=3D660213520-29081998><FONT color=3D#000000 face=3DArial=20
size=3D3>Lee</FONT></SPAN> </P></BODY></HTML>
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To: "L. Parker" <lparker@cacaphony.net>,
"Starship Design" <starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu>
Subject: Re: starship-design: Plasma Engine
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1998 21:32:03 -0400
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I am also not a plasma physicist, however, it would seem to me that if =
someone was able to create great amounts of energy (enough to hurl forth =
a starship at high velocity while powering a super elctro magnet) simply =
by juicing up some hydrogen with radio waves, there would be a lot more =
useful and accessible applications right here on earth.
William Thomas
wthomas@mint.net
-----Original Message-----
From: L. Parker <lparker@cacaphony.net>
To: Starship Design <starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu>
Date: Saturday, August 29, 1998 5:08 PM
Subject: starship-design: Plasma Engine
=20
=20
Does anyone know anything else about this?
=20
=20
"The most amazing thing I saw this week was the rocket engine of the =
future. It's been the life's work of astronaut Franklin Chang-Diaz. He =
started working on the plasma engine in college, and now, at age 48, =
he's got a demonstration version of the engine in his lab in Houston. =
The scale model is about 30 feet long.=20
I'm not a plasma physicist, but Chang-Diaz is, and he explains the =
engine this way: You put a small amount of hydrogen into one end of the =
engine. It's turned into plasma, a burning gas as hot as the surface of =
the sun. Radio waves from an on-board transmitter are used to create the =
plasma and then a series of electromagnets that circle the central =
chamber keep the plasma from touching the metal sides of the engine. The =
super-hot plasma is then moved down to the exhaust nozzle, where is =
pushes the engine away.=20
Unlike engines that use solid or liquid fuel, the plasma engine is =
much more efficient. Chang-Diaz says it gets more miles per gallon than =
you can imagine. In addition, it's much faster than anything in use =
today. It can travel from the Earth to Mars in 90 days. That's twice as =
fast as current technology allows.=20
Chang-Diaz is working with a group of college students to develop =
the engine and one of them, Lenny Cassady, has worked out a flight plan. =
He believes it will be ready to launch on May 16, 2018. That's about the =
time Lenny says he'd be ready to fly the plasma-powered spaceship to =
Mars."
=20
Lee=20
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</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=3D"Eras Demi ITC">I am also not a plasma physicist, =
however, it=20
would seem to me that if someone was able to create great amounts of =
energy=20
(enough to hurl forth a starship at high velocity while powering a super =
elctro=20
magnet) simply by juicing up some hydrogen with radio waves, there would =
be a=20
lot more useful and accessible applications right here on =
earth.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3D"Eras Demi ITC"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><EM><FONT color=3D#000000 face=3D"" size=3D4><FONT face=3D"Eras =
Demi ITC">William=20
Thomas<BR><A=20
href=3D"mailto:wthomas@mint.net">wthomas@mint.net</A></FONT></FONT></EM><=
FONT=20
face=3D"Eras Demi ITC"></FONT></DIV><FONT face=3D"Eras Demi ITC"></FONT>
<BLOCKQUOTE=20
style=3D"BORDER-LEFT: #000000 solid 2px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-LEFT: =
5px">
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2><B><FONT face=3D"Eras Demi =
ITC">-----Original=20
Message-----</B><BR><B>From: </B>L. Parker <<A=20
=
href=3D"mailto:lparker@cacaphony.net">lparker@cacaphony.net</A>><BR><B=
>To:=20
</B>Starship Design <<A=20
=
href=3D"mailto:starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu">starship-design@lists.u=
oregon.edu</A>><BR><B>Date:=20
</B>Saturday, August 29, 1998 5:08 PM<BR><B>Subject: =
</B>starship-design:=20
Plasma Engine<BR><BR></FONT></DIV><FONT=20
face=3D"Eras Demi ITC"></FONT></FONT><FONT face=3D"Eras Demi =
ITC"></FONT>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D660213520-29081998><FONT color=3D#000000 =
face=3D"" size=3D2><FONT=20
face=3D"Eras Demi ITC">Does anyone know anything else about=20
this?</FONT></FONT></SPAN><FONT face=3D"Eras Demi ITC"></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D660213520-29081998><FONT color=3D#000000 =
face=3D"" size=3D2><FONT=20
face=3D"Eras Demi ITC"></FONT></FONT></SPAN><FONT=20
face=3D"Eras Demi ITC"> </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3D"Eras Demi ITC"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D660213520-29081998><FONT color=3D#000000 =
face=3D"" size=3D3><FONT=20
face=3D"Eras Demi ITC">"</FONT></FONT></SPAN><FONT=20
face=3D"Eras Demi ITC">The most amazing thing I saw this week was =
the rocket=20
engine of the future. It's been the life's work of astronaut =
Franklin=20
Chang-Diaz. He started working on the plasma engine in college, and =
now, at=20
age 48, he's got a demonstration version of the engine in his lab in =
Houston. The scale model is about 30 feet long. </FONT></DIV>
<P><FONT face=3D"Eras Demi ITC">I'm not a plasma physicist, but =
Chang-Diaz is,=20
and he explains the engine this way: You put a small amount of =
hydrogen into=20
one end of the engine. It's turned into plasma, a burning gas as hot =
as the=20
surface of the sun. Radio waves from an on-board transmitter are =
used to=20
create the plasma and then a series of electromagnets that circle =
the=20
central chamber keep the plasma from touching the metal sides of the =
engine.=20
The super-hot plasma is then moved down to the exhaust nozzle, where =
is=20
pushes the engine away. </FONT>
<P><FONT face=3D"Eras Demi ITC">Unlike engines that use solid or =
liquid fuel,=20
the plasma engine is much more efficient. Chang-Diaz says it gets =
more miles=20
per gallon than you can imagine. In addition, it's much faster than =
anything=20
in use today. It can travel from the Earth to Mars in 90 days. =
That's twice=20
as fast as current technology allows. </FONT>
<P><FONT face=3D"Eras Demi ITC">Chang-Diaz is working with a group =
of college=20
students to develop the engine and one of them, Lenny Cassady, has =
worked=20
out a flight plan. He believes it will be ready to launch on May 16, =
2018.=20
That's about the time Lenny says he'd be ready to fly the =
plasma-powered=20
spaceship to Mars.<SPAN class=3D660213520-29081998><FONT =
color=3D#000000 face=3D""=20
size=3D3>"</FONT></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><SPAN class=3D660213520-29081998><FONT color=3D#000000 face=3D"" =
size=3D3><FONT=20
face=3D"Eras Demi ITC"></FONT></FONT></SPAN><FONT=20
face=3D"Eras Demi ITC"> </FONT></P>
<P><SPAN class=3D660213520-29081998><FONT color=3D#000000 =
face=3D"Eras Demi ITC"=20
size=3D3>Lee</FONT></SPAN> </P></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>
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From: "L. Parker" <lparker@cacaphony.net>
Sender: owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
To: "William Thomas" <wthomas@mint.net>
Cc: "Starship Design" <starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu>
Subject: RE: starship-design: Plasma Engine
Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1998 10:13:01 -0500
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On a small scale, it is used in welding and metal fabrication. Plasma beams
have been around for over ten years in industry. Of course, these
applications are the equivalent of a penlight when compared to a plasma
engine.
Lee
-----Original Message-----
From: William Thomas [mailto:wthomas@mint.net]
Sent: Saturday, August 29, 1998 8:32 PM
To: L. Parker; Starship Design
Subject: Re: starship-design: Plasma Engine
I am also not a plasma physicist, however, it would seem to me that if
someone was able to create great amounts of energy (enough to hurl forth a
starship at high velocity while powering a super elctro magnet) simply by
juicing up some hydrogen with radio waves, there would be a lot more useful
and accessible applications right here on earth.
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<DIV><SPAN class=3D60515813-30081998><FONT color=3D#0000ff face=3DArial =
size=3D2>On a=20
small scale, it is used in welding and metal fabrication. Plasma beams =
have been=20
around for over ten years in industry. Of course, these applications are =
the=20
equivalent of a penlight when compared to a plasma =
engine.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D60515813-30081998><FONT color=3D#0000ff face=3DArial=20
size=3D2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D60515813-30081998><FONT color=3D#0000ff face=3DArial=20
size=3D2>Lee</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV class=3DOutlookMessageHeader><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman"=20
size=3D2>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B> William Thomas=20
[mailto:wthomas@mint.net]<BR><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, August 29, 1998 =
8:32=20
PM<BR><B>To:</B> L. Parker; Starship Design<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re:=20
starship-design: Plasma Engine<BR><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3D"Eras Demi ITC">I am also not a plasma physicist, =
however,=20
it would seem to me that if someone was able to create great amounts =
of=20
energy (enough to hurl forth a starship at high velocity while =
powering a=20
super elctro magnet) simply by juicing up some hydrogen with radio =
waves,=20
there would be a lot more useful and accessible applications right =
here on=20
earth.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3D"Eras Demi ITC"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>
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Sender: owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
To: "Starship Design" <starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu>
Subject: starship-design: Plasma Engine (VASIMR)
Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1998 10:12:43 -0500
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I found more information on the plasma engine mentioned on CNN.
I knew about VASIMR before, but had not made the connection with Franklin
Chang-Diaz. These abstracts may help give a better understanding of his
plasma engine. I pointed out to the group once before that much of the
research going into VASIMR can also be applied to other concepts such as
ACMF that are not as far along.
This device is apparently is in test stand stage (it could be flyable in a
few years) while ACMF is in test bed stage. There are also several other
approaches such as Dense Plasma Focus, Star Thrust, Inertial Electrostatic
Confinement, and the Synchrotron Radiation Drive currently in various stages
of testing.
Both VASIMR and ACMF/AIMSTAR offer delta v in the +200km/sec range making
them suitable for relatively rapid interplanetary travel.
Mini-conference on Deep Space Plasma Thrusters.
MIXED session, Thursday afternoon, November 20
North 6, Convention Center
[pThpM2.01] Research Status of the Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma
Rocket
F. R. Chang-Diaz ((ASPL/JSC/NASA))
Research in the VASIMR approach to high-power rocket propulsion has
continued since 1980. The system consists of a three-stage asymmetric
magnetic mirror, featuring a hybrid magnetic nozzle. Plasma is injected,
heated and subsequently exhausted to provide modulated thrust and specific
impulse at constant power. Plasma injector studies initially involve a
modified Lorentz Force Accelerator. Other injector concepts, including
helicons and hollow cathodes are briefly examined. Plasma heating
methodsinvolve electron and ion cyclotron resonance, though other efficiency
enhancements such as whistlers and mode coupling are being explored. Plasma
detachment dynamics from the magnetic nozzle are considered. In the low
temperature, high density regime, the use of a co-axial, hypersonic neutral
gas boundary layer near the nozzle throat increases the thrust while
triggering collisional plasma detachment. In the high temperature, low
density regime, inducing time-dependent magnetic ripples in the nozzle is a
potential turbulence-inducing mechanism for plasma detachment. Experimental
studies currently focus on plasma injection and heating to power levels of
up to 200kW in pulses of several seconds. A diagnostics set characterizes
the plasma conditions throughout the system. Performance and advantages over
other rocket technologies are presented in the context of a mission to Mars.
[pThpM2.02] A Plasma Diagnostic Set for the Study of a Variable Specific
Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket
J. P. Squire, F. R. Chang-Diaz ((ASPL/JSC/NASA)), R. Bengtson, Jr. Bussell,
V. T. Jacobson, A. J. Wootton ((University of Texas at Austin)), E. A.
Bering, T. Jack, A. Rabeau ((University of Houston))
The Advanced Space Propulsion Laboratory (ASPL) is developing a Variable
Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR) using an RF heated magnetic
mirror operated asymmetrically. We will describe the initial set of plasma
diagnostics and data acquisition system being developed and installed on the
VASIMR experiment. A U.T. Austin team is installing two fast reciprocating
probes: a quadruple Langmuir and a Mach probe. These measure electron
density and temperature profiles, electrostatic plasma fluctuations, and
plasma flow profiles. The University of Houston is developing an array of 20
highly directional Retarding Potential Analyzers (RPA) for measuring ion
energy distribution function profiles in the rocket plume, giving a
measurement of total thrust. We have also developed a CAMAC based data
acquisition system using LabView running on a Power Macintosh communicating
through a 2 MB/s serial highway. We will present data from initial plasma
operations and discuss future diagnostic development.
[pThpM2.03] An Injector for the Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma
Rocket
T. W. Glover ((Rice University)), F. R. Chang-Diaz, J. P. Squire
((ASPL/JSC/NASA)), A. A. Chan ((Rice University))
We present a summary of progress on the development of a plasma injector for
NASA's VASIMR (Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket) engine. The
plasma rocket constrains a flowing plasma in an asymmetric magnetic bottle
and exhausts it through a magnetic nozzle to produce thrust. The injector is
a plasma source located on the axis of symmetry, forward of the series of
coils forming the constraining magnetic field. The injector is intended to
produce a well-collimated jet of highly ionized plasma which will enter the
central cell of the machine through its forward mirror. The prototype design
is based on that of a Lorentz Force Accelerator developed as a thruster by
the electric propulsion research group at Princeton. Our investigation
focuses on the effects of the rocket's magnetic field on the operation of
the injector, the effect of a local magnetic field on the discharge
behavior, and the effectiveness of discharge initiation by glow discharge
versus initiation by ECRH. We evaluate the performance of this prototype
injector by comparing the characteristics of the plasma it inserts into the
central cell of the engine with the characteristics called for in the design
of the plasma rocket.
[pThpM2.04] ICRF Development for the Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma
Rocket
P. M. Ryan ((Oak Ridge National Laboratory)), F. W. Baity, G. C. Barber, M.
D. Carter, D. J. Hoffman, E. F. Jaeger, D. J. Taylor ((ORNL)), F. R.
Chang-Diaz, J. P. Squire ((ASPL/NASA/JSC)), G. McCaskill ((Lockheed Martin
Corporation))
The feasibility of using magnetically vectored and rf-heated plasmas for
space propulsion (F. R. Chang-Diaz, et al.\rm, Bull. Am. Phys. Soc., 41,
1541 (1996)) is being investigated experimentally on an asymmetric magnetic
mirror device at the Advanced Space Propulsion Laboratory (ASPL), Johnson
Space Center, NASA. Analysis of the antenna interaction with and the wave
propagation through the dense plasma propulsion system is being studied at
ORNL(Oak Ridge National Laboratory, managed by Lockheed Martin Energy
Research Corp. for the U.S. Department of Energy under contract number
DE-AC05-96OR22464.), using antenna design codes developed for ICH systems
and mirror codes developed for the EBT experiment at ORNL. The present
modeling effort is directed toward the ASPL experimental device. Antenna
optimization and performance, as well as the design considerations for
space-qualified rf components and systems (minimizing weight while
maximizing reliability) will be presented.
[pThpM2.05] Single Particle Dynamics in a Variable Specific Impulse
Magnetoplasma Rocket
A. Ilin ((Lockheed Martin Space Mission Systems amp; Services)), F. R.
Chang-Diaz, J. P. Squire ((ASPL/JSC/NASA))
The behavior of single charged particles in a Variable Specific Impulse
Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR) is examined. Of particular importance is the
effect of a magnetic nozzle in enhancing the axial momentum of the exhaust.
Also, different geometries and rocket asymmetries are considered. The
magnetic configuration is modeled with an adaptable mesh which increases
accuracy without compromising the speed of the simulation. The single
particle trajectories are integrated with a finite difference approach which
can quickly solve for systems of thousands of particles in a reasonable time
(1-2 hours) and without the need for a powerful supercomputer. The magnetic
model is also used to examine the possibility for magnetic shielding of
human spacecraft, equipped with VASIMR propulsion systems, against some
forms of solar radiation.
------=_NextPart_000_0012_01BDD3FE.BABC52E0
Content-Type: text/html;
charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD W3 HTML//EN">
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<META content=3D"text/html; charset=3Diso-8859-1" =
http-equiv=3DContent-Type>
<META content=3D'"MSHTML 4.72.3110.7"' name=3DGENERATOR>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D180585814-30081998><FONT color=3D#000000 face=3DArial =
size=3D2></FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=3D180585814-30081998><FONT =
color=3D#000000=20
face=3D""><FONT face=3D"Courier New"><FONT size=3D2>I found more =
information on the=20
plasma engine mentioned on CNN.</FONT></FONT></FONT></SPAN><FONT =
size=3D2><FONT=20
face=3D"Courier New"></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D180585814-30081998><FONT color=3D#000000 =
face=3D""><FONT=20
face=3D"Courier New"><FONT size=3D2></FONT></FONT></FONT></SPAN><FONT =
size=3D2><FONT=20
face=3D"Courier New"></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D180585814-30081998><FONT color=3D#000000 =
face=3D""><FONT=20
face=3D"Courier New"><FONT size=3D2>I knew about VASIMR before, but had =
not made the=20
connection with Franklin Chang-Diaz. These abstracts may help give a =
better=20
understanding of his plasma engine. I pointed out to the group once =
before that=20
much of the research going into VASIMR can also be applied to other =
concepts=20
such as ACMF that are not as far =
along.</FONT></FONT></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D180585814-30081998><FONT color=3D#000000 =
face=3D""><FONT=20
face=3D"Courier New"><FONT size=3D2></FONT></FONT></FONT></SPAN><FONT =
size=3D2><FONT=20
face=3D"Courier New"></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D180585814-30081998><FONT color=3D#000000 =
face=3D"Courier New"=20
size=3D2>This device is apparently is in test stand stage (it could be =
flyable in=20
a few years) while ACMF is in test bed stage. There are also several =
other=20
approaches such as Dense Plasma Focus, Star Thrust, Inertial =
Electrostatic=20
Confinement, and the Synchrotron Radiation Drive currently in various =
stages of=20
testing.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D180585814-30081998><FONT color=3D#000000 =
face=3D"Courier New"=20
size=3D2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D180585814-30081998><FONT color=3D#000000 =
face=3D"Courier New"=20
size=3D2>Both VASIMR and ACMF/AIMSTAR offer delta v in the +200km/sec =
range making=20
them suitable for relatively rapid interplanetary =
travel.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D180585814-30081998><FONT color=3D#000000 =
face=3D""><FONT=20
face=3D"Courier New"><FONT size=3D2></FONT></FONT></FONT></SPAN><FONT =
size=3D2><FONT=20
face=3D"Courier New"></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3D"Courier New" size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3D"Courier New" size=3D2>Mini-conference on Deep Space =
Plasma=20
Thrusters.<BR><I>MIXED session, Thursday afternoon, November 20</I> =
<BR><I>North=20
6, Convention Center</I> <A name=3DSpThpM2.001></A></FONT></DIV><A=20
name=3DSpThpM2.001>
<H2><FONT face=3D"Courier New" size=3D2><A=20
href=3D"http://positron.aps.org/BAPSDPP97/abs/S7200001.html">[pThpM2.01]<=
/A>=20
Research Status of the Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma=20
Rocket</FONT></H2><FONT face=3D"Courier New" size=3D2></A><I>F. R. =
Chang-Diaz=20
((ASPL/JSC/NASA))</I> </FONT>
<P><FONT face=3D"Courier New" size=3D2></FONT>
<P><FONT face=3D"Courier New" size=3D2>Research in the VASIMR approach =
to high-power=20
rocket propulsion has continued since 1980. The system consists of a =
three-stage=20
asymmetric magnetic mirror, featuring a hybrid magnetic nozzle. Plasma =
is=20
injected, heated and subsequently exhausted to provide modulated thrust =
and=20
specific impulse at constant power. Plasma injector studies initially =
involve a=20
modified Lorentz Force Accelerator. Other injector concepts, including =
helicons=20
and hollow cathodes are briefly examined. Plasma heating methodsinvolve =
electron=20
and ion cyclotron resonance, though other efficiency enhancements such =
as=20
whistlers and mode coupling are being explored. Plasma detachment =
dynamics from=20
the magnetic nozzle are considered. In the low temperature, high density =
regime,=20
the use of a co-axial, hypersonic neutral gas boundary layer near the =
nozzle=20
throat increases the thrust while triggering collisional plasma =
detachment. In=20
the high temperature, low density regime, inducing time-dependent =
magnetic=20
ripples in the nozzle is a potential turbulence-inducing mechanism for =
plasma=20
detachment. Experimental studies currently focus on plasma injection and =
heating=20
to power levels of up to 200kW in pulses of several seconds. A =
diagnostics set=20
characterizes the plasma conditions throughout the system. Performance =
and=20
advantages over other rocket technologies are presented in the context =
of a=20
mission to Mars. </FONT>
<P><A name=3DSpThpM2.002><FONT face=3D"Courier New" size=3D2></FONT>
<H2><FONT face=3D"Courier New" size=3D2><A=20
href=3D"http://positron.aps.org/BAPSDPP97/abs/S7200002.html">[pThpM2.02]<=
/A> A=20
Plasma Diagnostic Set for the Study of a Variable Specific Impulse =
Magnetoplasma=20
Rocket</FONT></H2><FONT face=3D"Courier New" size=3D2></A><I>J. P. =
Squire, F. R.=20
Chang-Diaz ((ASPL/JSC/NASA)), R. Bengtson, Jr. Bussell, V. T. Jacobson, =
A. J.=20
Wootton ((University of Texas at Austin)), E. A. Bering, T. Jack, A. =
Rabeau=20
((University of Houston))</I> </FONT>
<P><FONT face=3D"Courier New" size=3D2></FONT>
<P><FONT face=3D"Courier New" size=3D2>The Advanced Space Propulsion =
Laboratory=20
(ASPL) is developing a Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket =
(VASIMR)=20
using an RF heated magnetic mirror operated asymmetrically. We will =
describe the=20
initial set of plasma diagnostics and data acquisition system being =
developed=20
and installed on the VASIMR experiment. A U.T. Austin team is installing =
two=20
fast reciprocating probes: a quadruple Langmuir and a Mach probe. These =
measure=20
electron density and temperature profiles, electrostatic plasma =
fluctuations,=20
and plasma flow profiles. The University of Houston is developing an =
array of 20=20
highly directional Retarding Potential Analyzers (RPA) for measuring ion =
energy=20
distribution function profiles in the rocket plume, giving a measurement =
of=20
total thrust. We have also developed a CAMAC based data acquisition =
system using=20
LabView running on a Power Macintosh communicating through a 2 MB/s =
serial=20
highway. We will present data from initial plasma operations and discuss =
future=20
diagnostic development. </FONT>
<P><A name=3DSpThpM2.003><FONT face=3D"Courier New" size=3D2></FONT>
<H2><FONT face=3D"Courier New" size=3D2><A=20
href=3D"http://positron.aps.org/BAPSDPP97/abs/S7200003.html">[pThpM2.03]<=
/A> An=20
Injector for the Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma =
Rocket</FONT></H2><FONT=20
face=3D"Courier New" size=3D2></A><I>T. W. Glover ((Rice University)), =
F. R.=20
Chang-Diaz, J. P. Squire ((ASPL/JSC/NASA)), A. A. Chan ((Rice =
University))</I>=20
</FONT>
<P><FONT face=3D"Courier New" size=3D2></FONT>
<P><FONT face=3D"Courier New" size=3D2>We present a summary of progress =
on the=20
development of a plasma injector for NASA's VASIMR (Variable Specific =
Impulse=20
Magnetoplasma Rocket) engine. The plasma rocket constrains a flowing =
plasma in=20
an asymmetric magnetic bottle and exhausts it through a magnetic nozzle =
to=20
produce thrust. The injector is a plasma source located on the axis of =
symmetry,=20
forward of the series of coils forming the constraining magnetic field. =
The=20
injector is intended to produce a well-collimated jet of highly ionized =
plasma=20
which will enter the central cell of the machine through its forward =
mirror. The=20
prototype design is based on that of a Lorentz Force Accelerator =
developed as a=20
thruster by the electric propulsion research group at Princeton. Our=20
investigation focuses on the effects of the rocket's magnetic field on =
the=20
operation of the injector, the effect of a local magnetic field on the =
discharge=20
behavior, and the effectiveness of discharge initiation by glow =
discharge versus=20
initiation by ECRH. We evaluate the performance of this prototype =
injector by=20
comparing the characteristics of the plasma it inserts into the central =
cell of=20
the engine with the characteristics called for in the design of the =
plasma=20
rocket. </FONT>
<P><A name=3DSpThpM2.004><FONT face=3D"Courier New" size=3D2></FONT>
<H2><FONT face=3D"Courier New" size=3D2><A=20
href=3D"http://positron.aps.org/BAPSDPP97/abs/S7200004.html">[pThpM2.04]<=
/A> ICRF=20
Development for the Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma=20
Rocket</FONT></H2><FONT face=3D"Courier New" size=3D2></A><I>P. M. Ryan =
((Oak Ridge=20
National Laboratory)), F. W. Baity, G. C. Barber, M. D. Carter, D. J. =
Hoffman,=20
E. F. Jaeger, D. J. Taylor ((ORNL)), F. R. Chang-Diaz, J. P. Squire=20
((ASPL/NASA/JSC)), G. McCaskill ((Lockheed Martin Corporation))</I> =
</FONT>
<P><FONT face=3D"Courier New" size=3D2></FONT>
<P><FONT face=3D"Courier New" size=3D2>The feasibility of using =
magnetically=20
vectored and rf-heated plasmas for space propulsion (F. R. Chang-Diaz, =
et=20
al.\rm, Bull. Am. Phys. Soc., 41, 1541 (1996)) is being investigated=20
experimentally on an asymmetric magnetic mirror device at the Advanced =
Space=20
Propulsion Laboratory (ASPL), Johnson Space Center, NASA. Analysis of =
the=20
antenna interaction with and the wave propagation through the dense =
plasma=20
propulsion system is being studied at ORNL(Oak Ridge National =
Laboratory,=20
managed by Lockheed Martin Energy Research Corp. for the U.S. Department =
of=20
Energy under contract number DE-AC05-96OR22464.), using antenna design =
codes=20
developed for ICH systems and mirror codes developed for the EBT =
experiment at=20
ORNL. The present modeling effort is directed toward the ASPL =
experimental=20
device. Antenna optimization and performance, as well as the design=20
considerations for space-qualified rf components and systems (minimizing =
weight=20
while maximizing reliability) will be presented. </FONT>
<P><A name=3DSpThpM2.005><FONT face=3D"Courier New" size=3D2></FONT>
<H2><FONT face=3D"Courier New" size=3D2><A=20
href=3D"http://positron.aps.org/BAPSDPP97/abs/S7200005.html">[pThpM2.05]<=
/A>=20
Single Particle Dynamics in a Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma=20
Rocket</FONT></H2><FONT face=3D"Courier New" size=3D2></A><I>A. Ilin =
((Lockheed=20
Martin Space Mission Systems amp; Services)), F. R. Chang-Diaz, J. P. =
Squire=20
((ASPL/JSC/NASA))</I> </FONT>
<P><FONT face=3D"Courier New" size=3D2></FONT>
<P><FONT face=3D"Courier New" size=3D2>The behavior of single charged =
particles in a=20
Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR) is examined. Of=20
particular importance is the effect of a magnetic nozzle in enhancing =
the axial=20
momentum of the exhaust. Also, different geometries and rocket =
asymmetries are=20
considered. The magnetic configuration is modeled with an adaptable mesh =
which=20
increases accuracy without compromising the speed of the simulation. The =
single=20
particle trajectories are integrated with a finite difference approach =
which can=20
quickly solve for systems of thousands of particles in a reasonable time =
(1-2=20
hours) and without the need for a powerful supercomputer. The magnetic =
model is=20
also used to examine the possibility for magnetic shielding of human =
spacecraft,=20
equipped with VASIMR propulsion systems, against some forms of solar =
radiation.=20
</FONT></P></BODY></HTML>
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To: "Starship Design" <starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu>
Subject: starship-design: Plasma Engine
Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1998 11:18:09 -0500
Correction, AIMSTAR is claiming delta v in excess of 900 km/sec, making it
almost four times better than the nearest plasma engine.
For interstellar use, we would need to boost this to at least 90,000
km/sec....
Lee
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Subject: Re: starship-design: Plasma Engine
Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1998 12:36:04 EDT
In a message dated 8/29/98 3:57:35 PM, lparker@cacaphony.net wrote:
>Does anyone know anything else about this?
>
>
>
>
>
>"The most amazing thing I saw this week was the rocket engine of the future.
>
>It's been the life's work of astronaut Franklin Chang-Diaz. He started
>
>working on the plasma engine in college, and now, at age 48, he's got a
>
>demonstration version of the engine in his lab in Houston. The scale model
>
>is about 30 feet long.
>
>I'm not a plasma physicist, but Chang-Diaz is, and he explains the engine
>
>this way: You put a small amount of hydrogen into one end of the engine.
>
>It's turned into plasma, a burning gas as hot as the surface of the sun.
>
>Radio waves from an on-board transmitter are used to create the plasma and
>
>then a series of electromagnets that circle the central chamber keep the
>
>plasma from touching the metal sides of the engine. The super-hot plasma is
>
>then moved down to the exhaust nozzle, where is pushes the engine away.
>
>
>
>Unlike engines that use solid or liquid fuel, the plasma engine is much more
>
>efficient. Chang-Diaz says it gets more miles per gallon than you can
>
>imagine. In addition, it's much faster than anything in use today. It can
>
>travel from the Earth to Mars in 90 days. That's twice as fast as current
>
>technology allows.
>
>
>
>Chang-Diaz is working with a group of college students to develop the engine
>
>and one of them, Lenny Cassady, has worked out a flight plan. He believes it
>
>will be ready to launch on May 16, 2018. That's about the time Lenny says
>
>he'd be ready to fly the plasma-powered spaceship to Mars."
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>Lee
In general, its like a very big ion drive. Very effectiv,but dependant on an
external power source. So while it may be much more "fuel efficent" on
reactino mass, it may not be in power plant fuel.
Kelly
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Cc: "Starship Design" <starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu>
Subject: RE: starship-design: Plasma Engine
Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1998 12:12:22 -0500
Kelly,
I don't recall seeing any power requirements mentioned anywhere, but a
Lithium Lorentz Force drive requires as a minimum a 30 kW power source. Only
Russian built space reactors currently supply this much, although there is a
40 kW design being tested by NASA.
There is mention of heating the plasma to power levels of up to 200 kW in
pulses of several seconds, but no mention of how much power that would
require.
I saw mention of a new, more powerful klystron being tested, but don't
remember the specifics.
Lee
-----Original Message-----
From: KellySt@aol.com [mailto:KellySt@aol.com]
Sent: Sunday, August 30, 1998 11:36 AM
To: lparker@cacaphony.net; starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: Re: starship-design: Plasma Engine
In general, its like a very big ion drive. Very effectiv,but dependant on
an
external power source. So while it may be much more "fuel efficent" on
reactino mass, it may not be in power plant fuel.
Kelly
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To: "Kevin Houston" <kevin@urly-bird.com>
Cc: "Starship Design" <starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu>
Subject: RE: starship-design: Plasma Engine (VASIMR)
Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1998 16:05:01 -0500
Kevin,
> Okay, I vote we accept VASIMR as our interplanetary vehicle engine of
> choice. The design seems advanced enough to suggest that we will have
> off-the-shelf versions by 2050. And it is powerful enough to get us
> around a star system. If the above delta V numbers are accurate, then
> there is enough thrust to send 20000 Kg (including engine weight and
> fuel, of course) at 10 m/s^2 as long as the Reaction Mass holds out.
The stated delta v's assume particular payload and mass ratios which include
the fuel. Simply adding engines does not give an equivalent increase in
delta v. Typical payload ratio are 0.2 which means each engine (with no
increase in payload) would only add 40 km/sec.
>
> I wonder if a cluster of such engines would work as an interstellar
> drive? As I've noted before, constant 1G acceleration/deacceleration
> applied over the course of the entire trip would build up a huge time
> dilation effect as even a relatively short range trip to tau ceti (12
> LY) would get up to .9925 C
No, see above.
>
> As i am writing this , another message from Lee says.
>
> > Correction, AIMSTAR is claiming delta v in excess of 900 km/sec, making
it
> > almost four times better than the nearest plasma engine.
> >
>
> Allows 90000 Kg masss to be driven at 10 m/s^2
>
> > For interstellar use, we would need to boost this to at least 90,000
> > km/sec....
>
>
> So would a cluster of 100 AIMSTAR drives give us the thrust we would
> need? Or have I misunderstood the math?
No, they won't. Too bad.
Power isn't really the problem. It is a combination of power (as thrust) and
ISP. Current engines with sufficiently high ISPs don't have sufficient
thrust and vice versa. You sort of put your finger on it with the constant 1
g acceleration thing. It isn't really necessary to accelerate at 1 g for the
whole trip - just until we have achieved a sufficiently high cruising
velocity to get there in a reasonable time period. To me that means 0.9 c or
better, other people on the group will settle for as little as 0.3 c.
Lee
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To: starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: Re: starship-design: Plasma Engine (VASIMR)
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 19:29:50 EDT
In a message dated 8/30/98 10:20:04 AM, lparker@cacaphony.net wrote:
>I found more information on the plasma engine mentioned on CNN.
>
>
>
>I knew about VASIMR before, but had not made the connection with Franklin
>
>Chang-Diaz. These abstracts may help give a better understanding of his
>
>plasma engine. I pointed out to the group once before that much of the
>
>research going into VASIMR can also be applied to other concepts such as
>
>ACMF that are not as far along.
>
>
>
>This device is apparently is in test stand stage (it could be flyable in a
>
>few years) while ACMF is in test bed stage. There are also several other
>
>approaches such as Dense Plasma Focus, Star Thrust, Inertial Electrostatic
>
>Confinement, and the Synchrotron Radiation Drive currently in various stages
>
>of testing.
>
>
>
>Both VASIMR and ACMF/AIMSTAR offer delta v in the +200km/sec range making
>
>them suitable for relatively rapid interplanetary travel.
These sound good, but how do they expect to generate the power to run these
engines? Great spec impulse isn't much help if you need to carry along a huge
reactor or something.
Kelly
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Subject: Re: starship-design: Plasma Engine
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 19:29:48 EDT
In a message dated 8/30/98 11:25:13 AM, lparker@cacaphony.net wrote:
>Correction, AIMSTAR is claiming delta v in excess of 900 km/sec, making it
>
>almost four times better than the nearest plasma engine.
>
>
>
>For interstellar use, we would need to boost this to at least 90,000
>
>km/sec....
>
>
>
>Lee
The fusion systems I used for the Explorer and Fuel/sail designs had spec imp
of over a million. Even with that the fuel ratios for the ships were
stagering.
Kelly
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From: Steve VanDevender <stevev@efn.org>
Sender: owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
To: starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: Re: starship-design: Plasma Engine
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 17:15:09 -0700 (PDT)
KellySt@aol.com writes:
> In a message dated 8/30/98 11:25:13 AM, lparker@cacaphony.net wrote:
> >Correction, AIMSTAR is claiming delta v in excess of 900 km/sec, making it
> >almost four times better than the nearest plasma engine.
> >
> >For interstellar use, we would need to boost this to at least 90,000
> >km/sec....
> >
> >Lee
>
> The fusion systems I used for the Explorer and Fuel/sail designs had spec imp
> of over a million. Even with that the fuel ratios for the ships were
> stagering.
>
> Kelly
The analysis I did a long time ago, which was in terms of
mass-energy conversion and fuel-to-payload ratios, implied that
fusion had pretty a exorbitant fuel-to-payload ratio for getting
to high relativistic speeds (0.8 - 0.9 c), on the order of 10^6:1
or worse. To get a fuel-to-payload ratio of less than 10:1 we
pretty much have to have an antimatter photon rocket.
Timothy did indicate that you can get pretty good thrust with
using lots of low-velocity reaction mass, but unfortunately if
you make the reasonable definition that "fuel" is really "energy
source plus reaction mass", this implies an even worse
fuel-to-payload ratio, especially if you're trying to go for long
continuous acceleration. Sure, you can get theoretically good
results if you make a reaction that pushes a lot of mass at a low
speed in one direction and a little mass to very high speed in
the other, but that only works if the reaction is essentially
instantaneous.
The ultimate result is that even for really fast interplanetary
transportation you don't need to have any major amount of
mass-energy conversion, but for relativistic interstellar travel
you do; you have to convert a mass larger than the payload to
energy to get a payload to speeds of 0.8c or higher, and this
requires either an incredible amount of low-efficiency fuel or
even a pretty amazing amount of antimatter.
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Cc: "Starship Design" <starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu>
Subject: RE: starship-design: Plasma Engine
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 20:34:33 -0500
Kelly,
> The fusion systems I used for the Explorer and Fuel/sail designs had spec
imp
> of over a million. Even with that the fuel ratios for the ships were
> stagering.
Hmmm, now that I think of it, I think I made a serious mistake on that
payload ratio of 0.2, that should have been 0.2 percent, which means
increasing the number of engines is even less helpful than I said.
Lee
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To: "Steve VanDevender" <stevev@efn.org>
Cc: "Starship Design" <starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu>
Subject: RE: starship-design: Plasma Engine
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 20:34:29 -0500
Steve,
> The analysis I did a long time ago, which was in terms of
> mass-energy conversion and fuel-to-payload ratios, implied that
> fusion had pretty a exorbitant fuel-to-payload ratio for getting
> to high relativistic speeds (0.8 - 0.9 c), on the order of 10^6:1
> or worse. To get a fuel-to-payload ratio of less than 10:1 we
> pretty much have to have an antimatter photon rocket.
>
> Timothy did indicate that you can get pretty good thrust with
> using lots of low-velocity reaction mass, but unfortunately if
> you make the reasonable definition that "fuel" is really "energy
> source plus reaction mass", this implies an even worse
> fuel-to-payload ratio, especially if you're trying to go for long
> continuous acceleration. Sure, you can get theoretically good
> results if you make a reaction that pushes a lot of mass at a low
> speed in one direction and a little mass to very high speed in
> the other, but that only works if the reaction is essentially
> instantaneous.
>
> The ultimate result is that even for really fast interplanetary
> transportation you don't need to have any major amount of
> mass-energy conversion, but for relativistic interstellar travel
> you do; you have to convert a mass larger than the payload to
> energy to get a payload to speeds of 0.8c or higher, and this
> requires either an incredible amount of low-efficiency fuel or
> even a pretty amazing amount of antimatter.
All true. To put it simplistically, an interstellar drive needs to expel
LOTS of reaction mass at HIGH velocity. Nothing we currently have can do
both at the same time. These newer plasma engine concepts come close and the
various concepts for "hybrid" antimatter catalyzed fusion may do even
better, but they all are still far short of what is really needed for a true
interstellar drive.
Being a science fiction author is SO much easier...
Lee
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Cc: "Starship Design" <starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu>
Subject: RE: starship-design: Plasma Engine (VASIMR)
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 20:34:26 -0500
Kelly,
> These sound good, but how do they expect to generate the power to run
these
> engines? Great spec impulse isn't much help if you need to carry along a
> > > huge
> reactor or something.
Well, I'll admit that 40kW is a lot of power, but it is possible, even with
current technology.
Lee
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Subject: Re: RE: starship-design: Plasma Engine
Date: Tue, 1 Sep 1998 00:12:29 EDT
In a message dated 8/30/98 12:14:56 PM, lparker@cacaphony.net wrote:
>Kelly,
>
>
>
>I don't recall seeing any power requirements mentioned anywhere, but a
>Lithium Lorentz Force drive requires as a minimum a 30 kW power source. Only
>Russian built space reactors currently supply this much, although there is a
>40 kW design being tested by NASA.
>
>There is mention of heating the plasma to power levels of up to 200 kW in
>pulses of several seconds, but no mention of how much power that would
>require.
>
>I saw mention of a new, more powerful klystron being tested, but don't
>remember the specifics.
>
>Lee
Yeah, the big factor is fuel consumption vrs thrust thing. You want to get up
to speed, you'll need to bring a monster fuel tank.
Kelly
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Subject: Re: Re: starship-design: Plasma Engine
Date: Tue, 1 Sep 1998 19:49:56 EDT
In a message dated 8/31/98 7:30:25 PM, stevev@efn.org wrote:
>KellySt@aol.com writes:
> > In a message dated 8/30/98 11:25:13 AM, lparker@cacaphony.net wrote:
> > >Correction, AIMSTAR is claiming delta v in excess of 900 km/sec, making
it
> > >almost four times better than the nearest plasma engine.
> > >
> > >For interstellar use, we would need to boost this to at least 90,000
> > >km/sec....
> > >
> > >Lee
> >
> > The fusion systems I used for the Explorer and Fuel/sail designs had spec
imp
> > of over a million. Even with that the fuel ratios for the ships were
> > stagering.
> >
> > Kelly
>
>The analysis I did a long time ago, which was in terms of
>mass-energy conversion and fuel-to-payload ratios, implied that
>fusion had pretty a exorbitant fuel-to-payload ratio for getting
>to high relativistic speeds (0.8 - 0.9 c), on the order of 10^6:1
>or worse. To get a fuel-to-payload ratio of less than 10:1 we
>pretty much have to have an antimatter photon rocket.===
True which is why Explorer and Fuel/Sail peak out at about .4 C.
However the 900 KM sec exaust velocity (power source unidentified) would be
far worse.
Kelly
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Subject: Re: RE: starship-design: Plasma Engine (VASIMR)
Date: Tue, 1 Sep 1998 19:50:02 EDT
In a message dated 8/31/98 8:42:54 PM, lparker@cacaphony.net wrote:
>Kelly,
>
>
>
>> These sound good, but how do they expect to generate the power to run
>
>these
>
>> engines? Great spec impulse isn't much help if you need to carry along a
>
>> > > huge
>
>> reactor or something.
>
>
>
>Well, I'll admit that 40kW is a lot of power, but it is possible, even with
>
>current technology.
>
>
>
>Lee
Thats not what I ment. To generate the power, you need fuel, lots of it. The
fuel weighht is what drage all this stuff down.
Kelly
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Subject: Re: RE: starship-design: Plasma Engine
Date: Tue, 1 Sep 1998 19:49:59 EDT
In a message dated 8/31/98 8:44:11 PM, lparker@cacaphony.net wrote:
>Steve,
>
>
>
>> The analysis I did a long time ago, which was in terms of
>
>> mass-energy conversion and fuel-to-payload ratios, implied that
>
>> fusion had pretty a exorbitant fuel-to-payload ratio for getting
>
>> to high relativistic speeds (0.8 - 0.9 c), on the order of 10^6:1
>
>> or worse. To get a fuel-to-payload ratio of less than 10:1 we
>
>> pretty much have to have an antimatter photon rocket.
>
>>
>
>> Timothy did indicate that you can get pretty good thrust with
>
>> using lots of low-velocity reaction mass, but unfortunately if
>
>> you make the reasonable definition that "fuel" is really "energy
>
>> source plus reaction mass", this implies an even worse
>
>> fuel-to-payload ratio, especially if you're trying to go for long
>
>> continuous acceleration. Sure, you can get theoretically good
>
>> results if you make a reaction that pushes a lot of mass at a low
>
>> speed in one direction and a little mass to very high speed in
>
>> the other, but that only works if the reaction is essentially
>
>> instantaneous.
>
>>
>
>> The ultimate result is that even for really fast interplanetary
>
>> transportation you don't need to have any major amount of
>
>> mass-energy conversion, but for relativistic interstellar travel
>
>> you do; you have to convert a mass larger than the payload to
>
>> energy to get a payload to speeds of 0.8c or higher, and this
>
>> requires either an incredible amount of low-efficiency fuel or
>
>> even a pretty amazing amount of antimatter.
>
>
>
>All true. To put it simplistically, an interstellar drive needs to expel
>
>LOTS of reaction mass at HIGH velocity. Nothing we currently have can do
>
>both at the same time. These newer plasma engine concepts come close and the
>
>various concepts for "hybrid" antimatter catalyzed fusion may do even
>
>better, but they all are still far short of what is really needed for a true
>
>interstellar drive.
>
>
>
>Being a science fiction author is SO much easier...
>
>
>
>Lee
Gives you an idea why ultra conservative NASA is geting desperate enough to
play withthe "breakthrough physics group." ;)
Kelly
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Subject: RE: Re: starship-design: Plasma Engine
Date: Wed, 2 Sep 1998 07:52:07 -0500
Kelly,
> True which is why Explorer and Fuel/Sail peak out at about .4 C.
>
> However the 900 KM sec exaust velocity (power source unidentified) would
be
> far worse.
That was a 900 km/sec delta v, or total change in velocity, not an exhaust
velocity. As such, it is the absolute best we can currently do.
Lee
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Subject: RE: RE: starship-design: Plasma Engine (VASIMR)
Date: Wed, 2 Sep 1998 07:52:09 -0500
Kelly,
> Thats not what I ment. To generate the power, you need fuel, lots of it.
The
> fuel weighht is what drage all this stuff down.
Huh? I was talking about a 40 kW space rated nuclear reactor such as those
designed for satellites. Yes it is heavy, but not because it requires lots
of fuel. The purpose of this power was to drive a very large klystron tube
which heats the hydrogen fuel into a plasma. NOW you have lots of fuel - for
the engines, not to generate power.
This engine approaches fusion engines in efficiency, making it ideal for
interplanetary missions. It could even put a probe through one of the nearer
star systems within fifty years.
Lee
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Subject: Re: RE: RE: starship-design: Plasma Engine (VASIMR)
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1998 00:26:30 EDT
In a message dated 9/2/98 7:52:44 AM, lparker@cacaphony.net wrote:
>Kelly,
>
>
>
>> Thats not what I ment. To generate the power, you need fuel, lots of it.
>
>The
>
>> fuel weighht is what drags all this stuff down.
>
>
>
>Huh? I was talking about a 40 kW space rated nuclear reactor such as those
>
>designed for satellites. Yes it is heavy, but not because it requires lots
>
>of fuel. The purpose of this power was to drive a very large klystron tube
>
>which heats the hydrogen fuel into a plasma. NOW you have lots of fuel - for
>
>the engines, not to generate power.
>
>
>
>This engine approaches fusion engines in efficiency, making it ideal for
>
>interplanetary missions. It could even put a probe through one of the nearer
>
>star systems within fifty years.
>
>
>
>Lee
I.E. the reactor fisionables are the fuel, and are heavy compared to fusion
fuel to generate the same power. This sounds like it would be pretty heavy
compared to a direct fusion system. I.E. all the fusion energy directly
converted to exaust kinetic energy.
Kelly
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Subject: Re: RE: Re: starship-design: Plasma Engine
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1998 00:26:28 EDT
In a message dated 9/2/98 7:52:41 AM, lparker@cacaphony.net wrote:
>Kelly,
>
>
>
>
>
>> True which is why Explorer and Fuel/Sail peak out at about .4 C.
>
>>
>
>> However the 900 KM sec exaust velocity (power source unidentified) would
>
>be
>
>> far worse.
>
>
>
>That was a 900 km/sec delta v, or total change in velocity, not an exhaust
>
>velocity. As such, it is the absolute best we can currently do.
>
>
>
>Lee
Oh, sory I thought you were talking about exaust velocity.
Kelly
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Subject: RE: RE: RE: starship-design: Plasma Engine (VASIMR)
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1998 08:25:18 -0500
Kelly,
> I.E. the reactor fisionables are the fuel, and are heavy compared
> to fusion
> fuel to generate the same power. This sounds like it would be
> pretty heavy
> compared to a direct fusion system. I.E. all the fusion energy directly
> converted to exaust kinetic energy.
No, it still uses hydrogen as fuel. The reactor fissionables are actually an
insignificant part of the mass. Especially compared to the mass requirements
of a true fusion system. Think of the reactor and its fissionables as simply
being the "engine", a 40 kW reactor weighs only slightly more than the RTG
that powers Cassini.
Lee
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Subject: Re: RE: RE: RE: starship-design: Plasma Engine (VASIMR)
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1998 23:07:44 EDT
In a message dated 9/3/98 8:25:52 AM, lparker@cacaphony.net wrote:
>Kelly,
>
>
>
>> I.E. the reactor fisionables are the fuel, and are heavy compared
>
>> to fusion
>
>> fuel to generate the same power. This sounds like it would be
>
>> pretty heavy
>
>> compared to a direct fusion system. I.E. all the fusion energy directly
>
>> converted to exaust kinetic energy.
>
>
>
>No, it still uses hydrogen as fuel. The reactor fissionables are actually an
>
>insignificant part of the mass. Especially compared to the mass requirements
>
>of a true fusion system. Think of the reactor and its fissionables as simply
>
>being the "engine", a 40 kW reactor weighs only slightly more than the RTG
>
>that powers Cassini.
>
>
>
>Lee
How much does it weigh.? How much thrust does it give?
Kelly
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Subject: starship-design: Plasma Engine - VASIMR
Date: Sun, 6 Sep 1998 06:53:01 -0500
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Kelly,
I don't have much in specifics on the plasma engine. This link is about all
there is. There used to be a great deal on the web earlier this year, but
most of those pages are gone (and the ones I could find are all blank,
hmmm).
I am fairly certain that it is lighter than AIMSTAR, but not by much. I
already posted links to the AIMSTAR site. If you need me to post them again
let me know.
Here is the link to CNN's story.
http://cnn.com/TECH/space/9808/26/holliman/
Lee
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Subject: Re: starship-design: Plasma Engine - VASIMR
Date: Mon, 7 Sep 1998 01:54:14 EDT
In a message dated 9/6/98 7:00:08 AM, lparker@cacaphony.net wrote:
> Kelly,
>
>
>
>I don't have much in specifics on the plasma engine. This link is about all
>
>there is. There used to be a great deal on the web earlier this year, but
>
>most of those pages are gone (and the ones I could find are all blank,
>
>hmmm).
Sounds like the web. Very fadish. Nothing stays on very long.
>I am fairly certain that it is lighter than AIMSTAR, but not by much. I
>
>already posted links to the AIMSTAR site. If you need me to post them again
>
>let me know.
Ok, thanks for the links. Thou I doubt CNN will have much tech detail. I
would have thought the NASA site would stay up?
Oh well.
>Here is the link to CNN's story.
>
>
>
> http://cnn.com/TECH/space/9808/26/holliman/
>
>
>
>Lee
Kelly
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Subject: RE: starship-design: Plasma Engine - VASIMR
Date: Mon, 7 Sep 1998 10:03:52 -0500
Kelly,
The link and the page at the University of Texas are still there, just no
information. There were two tables of performance data from the last test
but both tables' links are broken. I have tried another site that mirrors
the University site with the same results.
That was one of the reasons I posted the request for information in the
first place. I thought someone else might be familiar with this research and
could tell me more.
Lee
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Subject: Re: starship-design: Plasma Engine - VASIMR
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1998 13:09:38 -0300
http://positron.aps.org/BAPSDPP97/abs/S7200.html
http://positron.aps.org/BAPSDPP97/tocp.html#SpThpM2.001
http://www.langhe.com/marte/guidone.htm
http://www.logbarex.se/Svensk/TunaNet/Utbildning%20och%20Kunskap/OneNet%20Vetenskap/Astronomy%20&%20Space/%2335646
http://www.hpc.uh.edu/~ilin/
http://www.quepasa.cl/revista/1371/28.html
http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/space_level2/world2.html
http://www.mse-ta.com/news/magnozzl.htm
http://spacsun.rice.edu/baas.html
http://flux.aps.org/meetings/BAPSDPP96/abs/S550041.html
http://flux.aps.org/meetings/BAPSDPP96/toc7.html#S7P.041
http://positron.aps.org/BAPSDPP97/abs/S5800004.html
http://eo1.gsfc.nasa.gov/technology/ppt.html <<< URL
n.found?
http://cougarxp.princeton.edu:2112/eppdyl/projects/lilfa.html
<<< no response
http://positron.aps.org/BAPSDPP97/abs/S7800012.html
http://www.lerc.nasa.gov/WWW/RT1995/5000/5330m.htm
http://positron.aps.org/BAPSDPP97/abs/G5800004.html
http://scp.caltech.edu/html/ion_thruster_simulations.html
http://ctr-sgi1.stanford.edu/CITS/hall_main.html
http://flux.aps.org/meetings/BAPSPC95/abs/SJ0303.html
Practical: http://positron.aps.org/BAPSDPP97/abs/S5800.html
http://positron.aps.org/BAPSDPP97/abs/S2800002.html
http://flux.aps.org/meetings/BAPSDPP96/abs/S740012.html
http://positron.aps.org/BAPSDPP97/abs/S4300001.html
http://flux.aps.org/meetings/BAPSDPP96/abs/G450002.html
http://positron.aps.org/BAPSDPP97/abs/G1600004.html
http://flux.aps.org/meetings/BAPSDPP96/abs/G550037.html
http://www.fusion.kth.se/~andrej/Research/pub/CPC95/node18.html
Primer : http://www.naui.com/solar/plasma.html
http://burster.bgu.ac.il/~gedalin/fp83.html
http://e-plasma.physics.ucla.edu/ipels/space-table/space_table_abstracts/N_Sato.html
etc.......
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Subject: starship-design: VentureStar . Gallery . Images . Cameras (http://www.venturestar.com/pages/gall
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 06:59:26 -0500
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Take a look at this site...
http://www.venturestar.com/pages/gallery/cameras/assemblycams.cgi
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Subject: starship-design: Interstellar travel-using vacuum..ur point?
Date: Mon, 21 Sep 1998 02:21:33 EDT
Hi sir,
Forgive me, I'm just a lowly chemist with a huge interest in astronomy and
physics. The most plausible and acheivable goal for an STL (Slower than
light) ship sounds like a Bussard RAMJET (Elegent design) which could attain
speeds in excess of 50% the speed of light.
You have a better idea? i want to know. write me back
Garth Voigt
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Subject: Re: starship-design: Interstellar travel-using vacuum..ur point?
Date: Mon, 21 Sep 1998 12:19:47 -0700 (PDT)
On Mon, 21 Sep 1998 GVoigt8259@aol.com wrote:
> Hi sir,
>
> Forgive me, I'm just a lowly chemist with a huge interest in astronomy and
> physics. The most plausible and acheivable goal for an STL (Slower than
> light) ship sounds like a Bussard RAMJET (Elegent design) which could attain
> speeds in excess of 50% the speed of light.
>
> You have a better idea? i want to know. write me back
>
> Garth Voigt
>
The Bussard ramjet idea is indeed elegant. Unfortunately, the
interstellar medium is too thin to make this really practical. Also, i
understand that the interstellar medium is especially thin locally for
some reason (i forget). Bad luck. Check out the L.I.T pages having to do
with the engine for the "Explorer" type starship, I think it's
explained better there.`
Best regards,
Nels Lindberg
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Subject: Re: starship-design: Interstellar travel-using vacuum..ur point?
Date: Mon, 21 Sep 1998 14:17:00 -0700
GVoigt8259@aol.com wrote:
>
> Hi sir,
>
> Forgive me, I'm just a lowly chemist with a huge interest in astronomy and
> physics. The most plausible and acheivable goal for an STL (Slower than
> light) ship sounds like a Bussard RAMJET (Elegent design) which could attain
> speeds in excess of 50% the speed of light.
>
> You have a better idea? i want to know. write me back
A Bussard Ramjet will get you up to 30%c, if interstellar hydrogen fuel
is abundant enough, but will not go much faster. Drag with the
interstellar medium will soon equal thrusting ratio, and acceleration
will cease. This is not my idea, but one gleaned from quite a bit of
study on ramjets. If you want to really use the vacuum of space for
travel, you are venturing into something completely different, and not
yet understood.
Kyle R. Mcallister
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To: "Kyle R. Mcallister" <stk@sunherald.infi.net>,
starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: Re: starship-design: Interstellar travel-using vacuum..ur
point?
Date: Mon, 21 Sep 1998 21:54:05 +0100
>> Forgive me, I'm just a lowly chemist with a huge interest in astronomy and
>> physics. The most plausible and acheivable goal for an STL (Slower than
>> light) ship sounds like a Bussard RAMJET (Elegent design) which could
attain
>> speeds in excess of 50% the speed of light.
>>
>> You have a better idea? i want to know. write me back
>
>A Bussard Ramjet will get you up to 30%c, if interstellar hydrogen fuel
>is abundant enough, but will not go much faster. Drag with the
>interstellar medium will soon equal thrusting ratio, and acceleration
>will cease. This is not my idea, but one gleaned from quite a bit of
>study on ramjets. If you want to really use the vacuum of space for
>travel, you are venturing into something completely different, and not
>yet understood.
I believe there is increasing evidence that there are chains of organic
molecules evenly spread throught space (I assume this means through-out our
galaxy...) which could possibly explain away some of the 99% missing matter
we can observe through gravitational effects. If you could use this as
fuel, then there would be an abundant supply.
Andrew West
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Subject: RE: starship-design: Interstellar travel-using vacuum..ur point?
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1998 16:52:08 -0500
Nels,
Bubbles, we're in the middle of a bubble...
Lee
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From: "L. Parker" <lparker@cacaphony.net>
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To: "Starship Design" <starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu>
Subject: FW: starship-design: Interstellar travel-using vacuum..ur point?
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1998 16:52:11 -0500
Sorry, I sent this to Garth and forgot to cc the group...
-----Original Message-----
From: L. Parker [mailto:lparker@cacaphony.net]
Sent: Tuesday, September 22, 1998 4:44 PM
To: GVoigt8259@aol.com
Subject: RE: starship-design: Interstellar travel-using vacuum..ur
point?
Garth,
The original Bussard Ramjet concept, although meeting the basic interstellar
drive requirements of not carrying around huge amounts of fuel, quickly runs
into problems. Space is not homogeneous, that is, the concentration of
interstellar hydrogen and other matter is not consistent throughout space.
It is thought that a concentration of hydrogen of 1 atom per cubic
centimeter is necessary for a ramjet to work. Unfortunately, our solar
system is located in the middle of a giant cosmic "soap bubble" where the
interior concentrations of hydrogen are far lower than what is necessary for
a ramjet.
I'm not so sure about Kyle's assertion that drag places an upper limit of
.3c on a ramjet's velocity. I have also studied them for almost twenty years
and don't recall having ever seen that statement. (Kyle, citation please?)
It may be that once the craft is up to a certain speed, the "apparent"
density might be great enough to sustain a decent acceleration. Perhaps a
hybrid between onboard tankage and scoop collection...
Lee
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To: starship design <starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu>
Subject: RE: starship-design: Interstellar travel-using vacuum..ur point?
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1998 19:49:09 -0700 (PDT)
On Tue, 22 Sep 1998, L. Parker wrote:
> Nels,
>
> Bubbles, we're in the middle of a bubble...
>
> Lee
>
Lee,
What causes the bubble?
Nels
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To: starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: Re: starship-design: Interstellar travel-using vacuum..ur point?
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1998 22:13:44 -0700
> What causes the bubble?
> Nels
Nearby supernova explosion. The shock front cleanses the region
surrouding the supernova of interstellar elements (hydrogen, helium,
rarer heavy elements, etc.)
Kyle R. Mcallister
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From: "Kyle R. Mcallister" <stk@sunherald.infi.net>
Sender: owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
To: starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: Re: FW: starship-design: Interstellar travel-using vacuum..ur point?
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1998 22:30:26 -0700
> I'm not so sure about Kyle's assertion that drag places an upper limit of
> .3c on a ramjet's velocity. I have also studied them for almost twenty years
> and don't recall having ever seen that statement. (Kyle, citation please?)
My mistake...it wasn't 30%c; it was 10%c as an upper limit. Nick
Herbert, PhD, has done his work on this, and here is your requested
citation:
"In 1960 Robert Bussard of TRW Corporation proposed using the
interstellar medium itself--which contains a few hydrogen atoms per
cubic centimeter--as a rocket fuel. The fact that the ships fuel is
obtained from the outside eliminates the exhaust-velocity limit; the
Bussard jet is capable of efficiently accelerating to speeds greater
than its own exhaust. The Bussard ramjet would employ an enormous scoop
constructed out of electromagnetic fields to collect and funnel hydrogen
into a nuclear-reaction motor. The Bussard jet actually becomes more
efficient at high speeds, because the faster it goes, the more hydrogen
it collects. Many science fiction writers have used Bussard ramjets in
their flights of fancy, however the Bussard principle suffers from the
fact that at high ship speeds the fuel is not standing still but impacts
the ship's scoop at enormous velocity. The incoming fuel constitutes a
huge headwind, which becomes increasingly difficult to overcome as the
ship goes faster. The speed of the Bussard jet soon reaches an upper
limit--about 10 percent of light speed--where thrust is equal to wind
resistance and the ship can accelerate no further."
That from Nick Herbert's book "Faster than light: superluminal loopholes
in physics." It might get you to 30%c in this thinned out region, if you
can get enough fuel. But then, there is our viscious fuel/velocity
circle again. It's just my opinion, and I don't want to start a thread
on this, but we need two things if we ever wish to seriously attempt
interstellar flight: 1. A way to interact with spacetime to provide
fuel-less propulsion, and 2. A method of travelling faster than light.
Both of which I believe are possible.
Kyle R. Mcallister
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Subject: RE: starship-design: Interstellar travel-using vacuum..ur point?
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1998 22:38:02 -0500
> Lee,
> What causes the bubble?
> Nels
>
Something about the big bang and chaos and the way the universe formed. I
don't remember the whole theory, but I know that they have been able to
model it using chaos theory.
Anyway, the Universe looks like a big tub full of soap bubbles with most of
the stars and matter concentrated in the "film" of the bubbles. We aren't in
the "film", we're in the middle of one. I've got a picture around here
somewhere.
Lee
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Subject: RE: FW: starship-design: Interstellar travel-using vacuum..ur poi
nt?
Date: Wed, 23 Sep 1998 09:52:45 +0100
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Kyle,
regarding the discussion on the Bussard ramjet, you mentioned that:
> we need two things if we ever wish to seriously attempt
> interstellar flight: 1. A way to interact with spacetime to provide
> fuel-less propulsion, and 2. A method of travelling faster than light.
> Both of which I believe are possible.
I agree with both statements. However, I am curious as to your reason(s)
*why* you believe FTL travel is possible.
Chris Walker
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To: "Walker, Chris" <Chris.Walker@BSKYB.COM>
cc: starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: RE: FW: starship-design: Interstellar travel-using vacuum..ur poi nt?
Date: Wed, 23 Sep 1998 11:05:25 +0200 (MET DST)
On Wed, 23 Sep 1998, Walker, Chris wrote:
> Kyle,
>
> regarding the discussion on the Bussard ramjet, you mentioned that:
>
> > we need two things if we ever wish to seriously attempt
> > interstellar flight: 1. A way to interact with spacetime to provide
> > fuel-less propulsion, and 2. A method of travelling faster than light.
> > Both of which I believe are possible.
>
> I agree with both statements. However, I am curious as to your reason(s)
> *why* you believe FTL travel is possible.
>
> Chris Walker
>
Well I would also be VERY interested in WHY you think FTL is posible...
However I do not fully agree that those two condintions are that
neccesary, as long as you can fulfill the 1st one (reactionless drives)
then you can probably build a reasonably unexpensive (in global terms)
starship to get to the nearby stars in a decade or so. That should be
enough for the so called "planet-hoping" method of space conquest IMO.
Bjorn
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To: Bjorn Nilsson <f96bni@student.tdb.uu.se>
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Subject: RE: FW: starship-design: Interstellar travel-using vacuum..ur poi
nt?
Date: Wed, 23 Sep 1998 10:34:06 +0100
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Bjorn,
I meant that I agreed that FTL travel was *necessary* for attempting serious
interstellar exploration, rather than I thought FTL travel was *possible*.
I'm still learning much about the various theories regarding this subject,
so do not feel qualified to comment on whether or not it is possible -
that's why I was curious as to Kyle's beliefs in FTL flight.
The planet-hopping method may be a more realistic/achievable goal in the
shorter term (next century), given that without a major breakthrough in
propulsion technology, FTL flight may not be achieved for some considerable
time. It seems to me that production of a working reactionless drive is more
within our immediate reach than breaking the light barrier. However, even to
go from planet to planet within "a decade or so" per hop - whilst far
quicker than anything we could acheive today - would make for slow
exploration of our surroundings. Hence my belief that FTL travel is
necessary for serious and long-distance space exploration.
Does anyone know what is (theoretically) meant to happen re. time dilation
when you travel FTL? (eg. travelling back in time?)
Chris Walker
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To: starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: Re: FW: starship-design: Interstellar travel-using vacuum..ur poi
nt?
Date: Wed, 23 Sep 1998 21:52:08 +1000
Hi Group,
Hope I got this right. First time I've used a mailing list.
Walker, Chris wrote:
> Bjorn,
>
> I meant that I agreed that FTL travel was *necessary* for attempting serious
> interstellar exploration, rather than I thought FTL travel was *possible*.
> I'm still learning much about the various theories regarding this subject,
> so do not feel qualified to comment on whether or not it is possible -
> that's why I was curious as to Kyle's beliefs in FTL flight.
"Serious Interstellar exploration" - what does that involve? What are you trying
to achieve and on whose timescale? The Galaxy can be explored by replicating von
Neumann probes in a few hundred thousand years. That's pretty serious
exploration. I guess it's not "Star Trek" timescale [22% of the Galaxy had been
surveyed in 300 years, according to one episode] but then who's counting? If you
want a rapid survey of planetary systems then invest in gravity-lens telescopes
or something equally powerful. Then you could map planets across tens to
thousands of light years.
>
>
> The planet-hopping method may be a more realistic/achievable goal in the
> shorter term (next century), given that without a major breakthrough in
> propulsion technology, FTL flight may not be achieved for some considerable
> time.
AFAIK there's not much chance of interstellar travel on a human timescale within
50 years. By 2050 I expect particle beam propelled micro-probes will be
possible, but not much else.
> It seems to me that production of a working reactionless drive is more
> within our immediate reach than breaking the light barrier.
Seems FTL is more likely than inertialess drives. At least we know of physical
processes that have involved FTL in the past [cosmic expansion], whereas there's
nothing known that can alter inertia. Haisch and Puthoff's electromagnetic
theory of inertia is a start, but there's no guarantee that inertia can be
changed.
> However, even to
> go from planet to planet within "a decade or so" per hop - whilst far
> quicker than anything we could acheive today - would make for slow
> exploration of our surroundings.
Like I said it'd be easier with a telescope. We travel to other stars not to
explore, but to stay and live. That's the only reasonable justification. Until
someone builds a cheap FTL drive that is. How about a Superspace Translocator?
Transfers matter from one point to another via a short-cut through all eleven
dimensions.
> Hence my belief that FTL travel is
> necessary for serious and long-distance space exploration.
>
> Does anyone know what is (theoretically) meant to happen re. time dilation
> when you travel FTL? (eg. travelling back in time?)
Time reversal is supposed to occur, though I could never work out why. "Events
preceding their effects" - one result of space-like motion [FTL], though I still
don't see how. A distant observer might see the events as occuring out of order,
but how does that then violate causality? Locally nothing odd has occurred. No
one has ever gone FTL so who can say?
Using the Alcubierre drive [if the energy problem can ever be solved] it's
possible to travel FTL without time distortion because locally the ship would be
static. Surrounding the ship though would be extreme space-time distortions with
bizarre time-flows.
As for wormhole travel the time distortion would depend on the relative motions
between the mouths of the 'hole. A traversible wormhole has no fatal space-time
distortions, but will there be any such out there in the Galaxy. There'll be
natural ones, but they might not be suitable for humans. The only way to know
would be to send probes in, and big time flow differences could mean a long wait
for a returning probe.
Adam Crowl
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Subject: starship-design: Bussard drive
Date: Wed, 23 Sep 1998 16:31:01 +0100
Hi Kyle,
You quoted:
>The speed of the Bussard jet soon reaches an upper
>limit--about 10 percent of light speed--where thrust is equal to wind
>resistance and the ship can accelerate no further."
This thus means that the exhaust velocity of a Bussard drive is also about
0.1c (assuming minimal energy losses). If somehow the exhaust velocity
could be increased, then so would the maximum velocity.
Kyle, does the text from which you quoted also say something about maximum
exhaust velocity? Ie. Why can't the Bussard design be upgraded to say
exhaust velocities of 0.5c?
Timothy
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Subject: RE: starship-design: Bussard drive
Date: Wed, 23 Sep 1998 12:48:01 -0500
Timothy et. al.,
There seems to be two separate issues here, one of which may be valid and
one is not.
First, Kyle is correct that when drag equals thrust, acceleration will stop.
Note that I said acceleration, you will still have to maintain thrust in
order to maintain velocity or drag will slow you down. Of, course this
actually applies to the scoop area and assumes that scoop area is a
constant, so I suppose you could "fold" the scoop and reduce drag. For that
matter, you could reduce the scoop area constantly to maintain a constant
acceleration irregardless of drag...remember, drag is a function of area and
so is scoop efficiency. If the scoop area decreases for a given amount of
power, then its efficiency will increase as a function of field density
while drag is decreasing at a proportional rate. The trick is to balance
scoop area against the interstellar hydrogen density to maintain a more or
less constant thrust. If engine ISP is also increased then the area of the
scoop can be increased accordingly. There will always be some "magic point"
where scoop area, hydrogen density, and engine ISP will maximize thrust
WITHOUT an upper limit on velocity.
Second, the upper limit on velocity IS NOT the exhaust velocity of the
engine, go back to your freshman physics book if you don't believe me, and I
don't care who you've been reading. With enough reaction mass, you can get
to light speed by THROWING tennis balls off the back of the Santa Maria!
The only real problems (if one forgets the low local density) here are scoop
design and efficiency, engine efficiency (ISP) and design lifetime. An
antimatter drive fed by onboard hydrogen initially and later by interstellar
hydrogen could approach ANY fraction of the speed of light and do it fairly
quickly. By sacrificing a bit of thrust, it can even replenish its onboard
fuel enroute for the deceleration run.
Lee
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To: starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: Re: FW: starship-design: Interstellar travel-using vacuum..ur point?
Date: Wed, 23 Sep 1998 10:55:21 -0700 (PDT)
Since we have several new subscribers, and many new subscribers
immediately start wondering why our design project excludes FTL,
let me just make a few introductory remarks:
We exclude FTL drives from consideration (for now) for the same
reason we exclude a lot of other things like "vacuum energy" --
they're simply too speculative. The main point of this list is
to consider interstellar travel as an engineering problem, and to
think about sound engineering designs. That means that we limit
ourselves to things that are less speculative and known to be
physically possible. Relativity, hydrogen fusion and antimatter,
as examples, are observable and experimentally verifiable. Until
someone demonstrates FTL travel _of a massive particle_ or
successfully extracts "vacuum energy" in experimentally
verifiable ways, these things won't be considered because it's
impossible to make an engineering design without a real
understanding of such effects.
AJ Crowl writes:
> Seems FTL is more likely than inertialess drives. At least we
> know of physical processes that have involved FTL in the past
> [cosmic expansion], whereas there's nothing known that can
> alter inertia. Haisch and Puthoff's electromagnetic theory of
> inertia is a start, but there's no guarantee that inertia can
> be changed.
In general relativistic terms, superluminal expansion of
spacetime isn't at all the same as FTL travel of mass. Even
during that inflationary phase there was no mass traveling faster
than light through spacetime.
And just what other FTL processes do you think exist? Theorists
have yet to come up with anything tenable for allowing mass to
travel FTL. Things like quantum connectedness don't allow
transfer of mass or even information. Attempts to theoretically
describe FTL effects using general relativity have so far always
run into physical impossibilities like negative energy densities.
> > Hence my belief that FTL travel is
> > necessary for serious and long-distance space exploration.
> >
> > Does anyone know what is (theoretically) meant to happen re. time dilation
> > when you travel FTL? (eg. travelling back in time?)
>
> Time reversal is supposed to occur, though I could never work
> out why. "Events preceding their effects" - one result of
> space-like motion [FTL], though I still don't see how. A
> distant observer might see the events as occuring out of
> order, but how does that then violate causality? Locally
> nothing odd has occurred. No one has ever gone FTL so who can
> say?
Actually, it's not a problem with distant observers; if you can
go FTL you can trivially travel into your own past. Just do an
FTL jump, accelerate sufficiently, and then do another FTL jump
back to the location you started from. The amount of
acceleration needed to do this depends on how much faster than
light you went, how far your jump was, and how far back you want
to travel into your own past.
Unfortunately it's difficult to include a spacetime diagram of
this effect here.
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Subject: Re: FW: starship-design: Interstellar travel-using vacuum..ur poi
nt?
Date: Wed, 23 Sep 1998 13:33:11 -0700
Walker, Chris wrote:
<snip>
> I agree with both statements. However, I am curious as to your reason(s)
> *why* you believe FTL travel is possible.
I have many reasons. I will gladly discuss them off list with you.
However, as Steve points out, this list is not a place for discussing
speculative subjects.
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Subject: Re: FW: starship-design: Interstellar travel-using vacuum..ur poi nt?
Date: Wed, 23 Sep 1998 13:35:03 -0700
Bjorn Nilsson wrote:
> Well I would also be VERY interested in WHY you think FTL is posible...
I will send you an email explaining this.
>
> However I do not fully agree that those two condintions are that
> neccesary, as long as you can fulfill the 1st one (reactionless drives)
> then you can probably build a reasonably unexpensive (in global terms)
> starship to get to the nearby stars in a decade or so.
Yes, you can get there with a reactionless drive..but to do so
efficiently and quickly, FTL is quite attractive.
Kyle R. Mcallister
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From: Steve VanDevender <stevev@darkwing.uoregon.edu>
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To: starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: Re: FW: starship-design: Interstellar travel-using vacuum..ur point?
Date: Wed, 23 Sep 1998 11:50:53 -0700 (PDT)
Kyle R. Mcallister writes:
> Walker, Chris wrote:
> <snip>
> > I agree with both statements. However, I am curious as to your reason(s)
> > *why* you believe FTL travel is possible.
>
> I have many reasons. I will gladly discuss them off list with you.
> However, as Steve points out, this list is not a place for discussing
> speculative subjects.
I'm not sure I would put it in quite those terms. If someone
comes up with solid, verified results of something like FTL
propulsion of mass I'm sure we'd be the first to welcome the
information.
Some discussion of speculative topics here is unavoidable; as has
been pointed out before, even the sorts of things we're more
inclined to consider still involve a fair amount of speculation
(i.e. antimatter exists, but how would we make enough to fuel a
starship?).
I simply want to emphasize, for those people new to the list,
that this list is intended for the discussion of practical,
achievable methods for interstellar travel, and therefore is more
limited in speculation than other forums might be.
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To: starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: starship-design: FTL travel
Date: Wed, 23 Sep 1998 13:52:17 -0700
Walker, Chris wrote:
>
> Bjorn,
>
> I meant that I agreed that FTL travel was *necessary* for attempting serious
> interstellar exploration, rather than I thought FTL travel was *possible*.
> I'm still learning much about the various theories regarding this subject,
> so do not feel qualified to comment on whether or not it is possible -
> that's why I was curious as to Kyle's beliefs in FTL flight.
A theory cannot tell you if something is or is not possible. Many of the
scientists who hold power today fail to recongnize this. Experiments can
give you proof, but not theory. I am not saying theory is bad, however.
It is necessary to logically organize experimental results and make
predictions.
>
> The planet-hopping method may be a more realistic/achievable goal in the
> shorter term (next century), given that without a major breakthrough in
> propulsion technology, FTL flight may not be achieved for some considerable
> time. It seems to me that production of a working reactionless drive is more
> within our immediate reach than breaking the light barrier.
No one can say. It may happen tomorrow, or it may take hundreds of
years.
> Does anyone know what is (theoretically) meant to happen re. time dilation
> when you travel FTL? (eg. travelling back in time?)
According to special relativity, when an object travels FTL, it can
create what is known as a causality violation. What this is is when some
observer disagrees as to whether the FTL object left point A and went to
point B, or went from point B to point A. In other words, to this
observer, the ship's arrival at its destination occurred before it left
its origin. You can set up a situation with round trip FTL travel that
can allow a ship to return to its origin before it leaves (time travel).
(If you want to learn more about special relativity, read "Spacetime
Physics" by Taylor and Wheeler.)
What really happens? No one knows. If FTL is possible, then it certainly
will not involve time travel...there are many strong arguments against
time travel. But it is wrong, and quite arrogant for some scientists to
preclude FTL because time travel is impossible. Notice, I am not saying
time travel is impossible. It may or may not be. The same with FTL. FTL
and time dilation: First, calculate gamma. Gamma is equal to
1/((1-v^2)^.5) so gamma for an object travelling .6c relative to another
observer is 1.25. This means that the moving object's time goes 1.25
times slower than the stationary object. For an object going 3c, try it
on a scientific calculator. gamma=1/((1-3^2)^.5) gamma= approx
(0,-.35355) An imaginary number. This is where things really get
complicated. So, does this mean that FTL is impossible, or that
relativity can't correctly predict what happens for FTL? That is a very
good question, and if you can figure it out, you will likely be in the
textbooks. It is fun to theorize about FTL, but this really isn't the
place.
Best regards,
Kyle R. Mcallister
Note, if you get this a few times, sorry. My mail program is trying to
send it automatically.
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Subject: Re: FW: starship-design: Interstellar travel-using vacuum..ur point?
Date: Wed, 23 Sep 1998 14:19:50 -0700
Steve VanDevender wrote:
> I'm not sure I would put it in quite those terms. If someone
> comes up with solid, verified results of something like FTL
> propulsion of mass I'm sure we'd be the first to welcome the
> information.
But even if someone proves FTL motion of mass, it would take awhile to
develop the necessary system. Accelerating matter to FTL might not
directly lead to a 'warp drive'. I think that even if FTL is discovered
tommorow, it will be quite some time before we can seriously start
designing FTL starships. It would be interesting to discuss the results
though, and I'd be interested even if they figured out how to send
information FTL. Applying real FTL to a starship engine might take time
though.
>
> Some discussion of speculative topics here is unavoidable; as has
> been pointed out before, even the sorts of things we're more
> inclined to consider still involve a fair amount of speculation
> (i.e. antimatter exists, but how would we make enough to fuel a
> starship?).
By speculative, I meant things that have not yet been toatlly all out
demonstrated. Antimatter is real (albeit very expensive), but FTL motion
of matter...we haven't done that yet.
>
> I simply want to emphasize, for those people new to the list,
> that this list is intended for the discussion of practical,
> achievable methods for interstellar travel, and therefore is more
> limited in speculation than other forums might be.
Agreed.
Best regards,
Kyle R. Mcallister
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Subject: RE: starship-design: Bussard drive
Date: Wed, 23 Sep 1998 22:57:01 +0100
Lee,
You may want to reconsider the following:
>Second, the upper limit on velocity IS NOT the exhaust velocity of the
>engine, go back to your freshman physics book if you don't believe me, and I
>don't care who you've been reading. With enough reaction mass, you can get
>to light speed by THROWING tennis balls off the back of the Santa Maria!
Unfortunately that reaction mass has to be accelerated by the ship to
transfer momentum. The trouble is that the reaction mass is already having
a large velocity (0.1c) relative to the ship, because it is scooped. So to
add velocity (accelerate) to the particles, the exhaust velocity has to be
larger than 0.1c.
On the Santa Maria one doesn't scoop particles, but instead the particles
are at assumed to be stored on the ship. This makes it easy to accelerate
them.
So the comparison with the Santa Maria is totally off.
Timothy
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From: Bjorn Nilsson <f96bni@student.tdb.uu.se>
Sender: owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
cc: starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: Re: starship-design: FTL travel
Date: Thu, 24 Sep 1998 09:56:35 +0200 (MET DST)
On Wed, 23 Sep 1998, Kyle R. Mcallister wrote:
> Walker, Chris wrote:
> >
> > Bjorn,
> >
> > I meant that I agreed that FTL travel was *necessary* for attempting serious
> > interstellar exploration, rather than I thought FTL travel was *possible*.
> > I'm still learning much about the various theories regarding this subject,
> > so do not feel qualified to comment on whether or not it is possible -
> > that's why I was curious as to Kyle's beliefs in FTL flight.
>
> A theory cannot tell you if something is or is not possible. Many of the
> scientists who hold power today fail to recongnize this. Experiments can
> give you proof, but not theory. I am not saying theory is bad, however.
> It is necessary to logically organize experimental results and make
> predictions.
Well, that is VERY much a question of philosophy...
I personnaly think that it is well within the capacity of the human mind
to give proof from theory alone, as long as the base for the theory is
sound and your reasoning is stringent enough such a proof is at LEAST as
real to me as any experimental measurment.
It all depends on your view of what constitutes the (scientific) thruth!
To you it is limeted to what can be OBSERVED, to me it is limeted to what
can be EXPLAINED and to others it might be a combination of the two!
Sorry for straying so far OT
/Bjorn
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From: "L. Parker" <lparker@cacaphony.net>
Sender: owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
To: "Timothy van der Linden" <Shealiak@XS4ALL.nl>
Cc: "Starship Design" <starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu>
Subject: RE: starship-design: Bussard drive
Date: Thu, 24 Sep 1998 06:39:55 -0500
Timothy,
>
> You may want to reconsider the following:
>
<Deleted>
In the particular instance of ramjets, you are correct that you have to be
able to accelerate the reaction mass to greater than its original velocity
relative to the ship. In addition, you must also do so without slowing the
reaction mass down on its way through, that problem has been realized for
quite some time. But I was speaking of reaction mass propulsion in general.
After looking back at the original statement, I see it was applied during a
conversation about ramjets and was probably meant to apply to them
specifically. But the way it was worded made it appear to apply to reaction
mass thrust in general...a patently false idea.
The ramjet idea does have several difficulties to over come if it is to work
however:
1) A solid scoop will never work. Even if a thousand or ten thousand meter
scoop could be designed to withstand up to one tenth of a g of acceleration,
as the velocity increased, the mass of the matter impacting it would go up
proportionately. It would soon grow beyond any reasonable engineering.
2) If the scoop is immaterial, i.e. a field of some sort, then the same
argument still applies although a little differently. As speed increases,
the field strength must be increased without increasing the field area in
order to prevent more and more of the matter from slipping through before it
can be deflected far enough to bring it to the ship.
3) As you point out, all of this deflection must be done without generating
so much drag from slowing down the fuel that we can't get enough thrust out
of burning the fuel.
What I would suggest, is that IF we can generate a field sufficiently strong
to catch ionized hydrogen, then we can probably generate one strong enough
to function as a sort of inside out accelerator and simply magnetically (or
whatever) propel the hydrogen backward without even bothering to burn it.
The second possibility is that the field itself may be able to accelerate
the matter as it is deflected inward, before it is burned thereby gaining
additional thrust rather than drag.
Lee
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From: Timothy van der Linden <Shealiak@XS4ALL.nl>
Sender: owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
To: starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: RE: starship-design: Bussard drive
Date: Thu, 24 Sep 1998 22:56:45 +0100
Hello Lee,
>In the particular instance of ramjets, you are correct that you have to be
>able to accelerate the reaction mass to greater than its original velocity
>relative to the ship. In addition, you must also do so without slowing the
>reaction mass down on its way through, that problem has been realized for
>quite some time. But I was speaking of reaction mass propulsion in general.
You may stop the particles, but you shouldn't loose too much energy in
doing so, because you have to speed up the particles again. This scenario
is usually to difficult to realize, hence it is best to not slow down the
particles.
>After looking back at the original statement, I see it was applied during a
>conversation about ramjets and was probably meant to apply to them
>specifically.
Yes, applied to scooping only.
There is something I didn't think of before: Some of the particles that the
scoop tries to pick up will never reach the intake of the engine, because
the scoop field was just not strong enough (The magnetic scoop field does
not have a sharp edge, hence there will be particles that encounter a weak
field and they will be moved towards the intake, but not quite.). These
particles thus generate drag without contributing as reaction mass or fuel.
The larger the velocity of the ship, the more particles will slip through
the scoopfield and thus the more drag will be created.
So the sharper the edge (the greater the magnetic fieldstrength difference)
the better the performance of the scoop.
This thus also means that my initial assumption "final velocity equals
exhaust velocity" isn't valid per se, but depends on the efficiency of the
field.
>The ramjet idea does have several difficulties to over come if it is to work
>however:
>
>1) A solid scoop will never work. Even if a thousand or ten thousand meter
>scoop could be designed to withstand up to one tenth of a g of acceleration,
>as the velocity increased, the mass of the matter impacting it would go up
>proportionately. It would soon grow beyond any reasonable engineering.
>
>2) If the scoop is immaterial, i.e. a field of some sort, then the same
>argument still applies although a little differently. As speed increases,
>the field strength must be increased without increasing the field area in
>order to prevent more and more of the matter from slipping through before it
>can be deflected far enough to bring it to the ship.
This is what led me to the thought mentioned by me above. (I'm not sure you
[Lee] realized what I wrote above.)
>3) As you point out, all of this deflection must be done without generating
>so much drag from slowing down the fuel that we can't get enough thrust out
>of burning the fuel.
>
>What I would suggest, is that IF we can generate a field sufficiently strong
>to catch ionized hydrogen, then we can probably generate one strong enough
>to function as a sort of inside out accelerator and simply magnetically (or
>whatever) propel the hydrogen backward without even bothering to burn it.
We have to burn it partially, since we need to add kinetic energy. That is
unless we have another source of energy on the ship of course (this source
should not be underestimated!).
>The second possibility is that the field itself may be able to accelerate
>the matter as it is deflected inward, before it is burned thereby gaining
>additional thrust rather than drag.
Same argument, acceleration in this case means adding energy.
Timothy
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Sender: owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
To: starship design <starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu>
Subject: RE: starship-design: Bussard drive
Date: Thu, 24 Sep 1998 15:58:23 -0700 (PDT)
Timothy, Lee,
I like the point about the "sharpness" of the field affecting
efficiency. However, I question the basic premise of a non-burning scoop.
In all of the discussions on the list about propulsion (about 90%, I'd
say) the final question is always the weight/energy ratio of the fuel.
Even if your reaction mass _is_ gathered, if you carry 5000 times your dry
weight in fuel, you havent really gained much since the acceleration of
the ship is only dependent on how much wattage is put our the back.
Scooping then simply becomes a way to add extra weight and complexity to
the ship. In order for scooping to be a good idea, the interstellar
hydrogen should be burned enough to at least make up for the added weight
and drag of the scoop, and then some. How feasible this is
engineering-wise I can't say.
Best Regards,
Nels Lindberg
On Thu, 24 Sep 1998, Timothy van der Linden wrote:
> Hello Lee,
>
<SNIP>
> There is something I didn't think of before: Some of the particles that the
> scoop tries to pick up will never reach the intake of the engine, because
> the scoop field was just not strong enough (The magnetic scoop field does
> not have a sharp edge, hence there will be particles that encounter a weak
> field and they will be moved towards the intake, but not quite.). These
> particles thus generate drag without contributing as reaction mass or fuel.
> The larger the velocity of the ship, the more particles will slip through
> the scoopfield and thus the more drag will be created.
>
> So the sharper the edge (the greater the magnetic fieldstrength difference)
> the better the performance of the scoop.
>
> This thus also means that my initial assumption "final velocity equals
> exhaust velocity" isn't valid per se, but depends on the efficiency of the
> field.
>
> >The ramjet idea does have several difficulties to over come if it is to work
> >however:
> >
> >1) A solid scoop will never work. Even if a thousand or ten thousand meter
> >scoop could be designed to withstand up to one tenth of a g of acceleration,
> >as the velocity increased, the mass of the matter impacting it would go up
> >proportionately. It would soon grow beyond any reasonable engineering.
> >
> >2) If the scoop is immaterial, i.e. a field of some sort, then the same
> >argument still applies although a little differently. As speed increases,
> >the field strength must be increased without increasing the field area in
> >order to prevent more and more of the matter from slipping through before it
> >can be deflected far enough to bring it to the ship.
>
> This is what led me to the thought mentioned by me above. (I'm not sure you
> [Lee] realized what I wrote above.)
>
> >3) As you point out, all of this deflection must be done without generating
> >so much drag from slowing down the fuel that we can't get enough thrust out
> >of burning the fuel.
> >
> >What I would suggest, is that IF we can generate a field sufficiently strong
> >to catch ionized hydrogen, then we can probably generate one strong enough
> >to function as a sort of inside out accelerator and simply magnetically (or
> >whatever) propel the hydrogen backward without even bothering to burn it.
>
> We have to burn it partially, since we need to add kinetic energy. That is
> unless we have another source of energy on the ship of course (this source
> should not be underestimated!).
>
> >The second possibility is that the field itself may be able to accelerate
> >the matter as it is deflected inward, before it is burned thereby gaining
> >additional thrust rather than drag.
>
> Same argument, acceleration in this case means adding energy.
>
> Timothy
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From: Kevin Houston <kevin@urly-bird.com>
Sender: owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
To: Starship Design <starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu>
CC: "L. Parker" <lparker@cacaphony.net>,
Timothy van der Linden <Shealiak@XS4ALL.nl>
Subject: starship-design: scoops and sails and something to push against.
Date: Thu, 24 Sep 1998 20:10:11 -0500
Lee,
You have given me a great idea (experienced list members will be ducking
for cover I assume ;)
let's rethink the idea of "engine", "scoop", and "sail"
scoop is a means of interacting with the interstellar medium.
engine is a means of accelerating the medium thereby moving us.
sail in this sense is a means of gathering energy. a _trailing_ mesh of
some bits of silicon to turn UV radiation into electrical energy.
Please note, this is a very rough draft, there may be things I have not
thought out, I am thinking on the fly here.
What if a beaming system from earth simply created a "charge tunnel" in
the interstellar Hydrogen? Then a ship could gather electrical energy
from a trailing sail, and use this energy to push against the charged
Hydrogen. perhaps using an oscilating electrical field. The individual
hydrogen atoms, would not need to be drawn toward the ship, fused, and
expelled, but could be used in situ. As the ship passed, each atom
would gain a small accel towards earth, I think this would totally
eliminate the need for focusing the beam, earth would "paint" space a
fraction on an arc degree (limited by the wavelength of radiation
(ultraviolet would work best here)) around the target star, and the ship
could maneuver within that volume. The entire engine would be outside
the ship! the ship could be any size, but saucer shaped (to maximize
cross sectional area might be good) or cylindrical (to maximize
protection from speed induced radiation)
One main advantage is that you could establish this "charge tunnel" well
ahead of actual launch.
On the way back, you could wait to see the beam from earth before
heading back, and the hydrogen atoms that were accelerated towards earth
on the outbound trip would be accelerated towards Tau Ceti on the in
bound trip.
We have often wished for something to push against.
anyone care to shoot some holes in this?
Kevin Hosuton.
L. Parker wrote:
>
> Timothy,
>
> >
> > You may want to reconsider the following:
> >
> <Deleted>
>
> In the particular instance of ramjets, you are correct that you have to be
> able to accelerate the reaction mass to greater than its original velocity
> relative to the ship. In addition, you must also do so without slowing the
> reaction mass down on its way through, that problem has been realized for
> quite some time. But I was speaking of reaction mass propulsion in general.
>
> After looking back at the original statement, I see it was applied during a
> conversation about ramjets and was probably meant to apply to them
> specifically. But the way it was worded made it appear to apply to reaction
> mass thrust in general...a patently false idea.
>
> The ramjet idea does have several difficulties to over come if it is to work
> however:
>
> 1) A solid scoop will never work. Even if a thousand or ten thousand meter
> scoop could be designed to withstand up to one tenth of a g of acceleration,
> as the velocity increased, the mass of the matter impacting it would go up
> proportionately. It would soon grow beyond any reasonable engineering.
>
> 2) If the scoop is immaterial, i.e. a field of some sort, then the same
> argument still applies although a little differently. As speed increases,
> the field strength must be increased without increasing the field area in
> order to prevent more and more of the matter from slipping through before it
> can be deflected far enough to bring it to the ship.
>
> 3) As you point out, all of this deflection must be done without generating
> so much drag from slowing down the fuel that we can't get enough thrust out
> of burning the fuel.
>
> What I would suggest, is that IF we can generate a field sufficiently strong
> to catch ionized hydrogen, then we can probably generate one strong enough
> to function as a sort of inside out accelerator and simply magnetically (or
> whatever) propel the hydrogen backward without even bothering to burn it.
> The second possibility is that the field itself may be able to accelerate
> the matter as it is deflected inward, before it is burned thereby gaining
> additional thrust rather than drag.
>
> Lee
--
Kevin Houston http://www.lpmn.org/candidates/
Libertarian candidate for Congress - District 5
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From: Kevin Houston <kevin@urly-bird.com>
Sender: owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
To: Starship Design <starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu>
Subject: starship-design: Re: suitable punishments in hell.
Date: Thu, 24 Sep 1998 20:13:58 -0500
Lee,
I think this would be a suitable sentence in hell, you must spend
eternity throwing tennis balls out the back of a full-sized replica of
the santa maria, until you reach .9999 C. Sort of like Sisyphus.
;)
L. Parker wrote:
>
> Second, the upper limit on velocity IS NOT the exhaust velocity of the
> engine, go back to your freshman physics book if you don't believe me, and I
> don't care who you've been reading. With enough reaction mass, you can get
> to light speed by THROWING tennis balls off the back of the Santa Maria!
--
Kevin Houston http://www.lpmn.org/candidates/
Libertarian candidate for Congress - District 5
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From: "L. Parker" <lparker@cacaphony.net>
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To: "Kevin Houston" <kevin@urly-bird.com>
Cc: "Starship Design" <starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu>
Subject: RE: starship-design: scoops and sails and something to push against.
Date: Thu, 24 Sep 1998 21:22:09 -0500
Kevin,
This is pretty much what Timothy and I were discussing. To clear up a few
points for the rest of the list...
In order for an electromagnetic scoop to work, the particles that it
"scoops" must be charged, or ionized, you cannot scoop a neutral particle.
The most common method proposed for creating charged particles is to beam a
laser "fan" ahead of the ship. The photons impacting the interstellar
hydrogen will create a hydrogen ion with a negative charge which can then be
attracted to a positively charged scoop field.
In this much at least your idea is good. It removes the mass of the lasers
from the ship and you could actually use an uncollimated solar mirror which
is much simpler.
However, the density of the scoop field and the energy required to generate
it are still enormous. On board power generation would probably have to be
several times larger than a small city's supply.
Timothy,
How do you generate a field with a sharp boundary?
Lee
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Reply-To: Kevin Houston <kevin@urly-bird.com>
From: Kevin Houston <kevin@urly-bird.com>
Sender: owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
To: Starship Design <starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu>
Subject: Re: starship-design: scoops and sails and something to push against.
Date: Thu, 24 Sep 1998 23:21:31 -0500
Lee,
It seemed to me that you were talking about gathering the hydrogen in
toward the ship, then expelling it again. ( fig. 1.) (Note missed
hydrogen)
H H H H H H H
\ \ H | | | / /
\ | | | H | | /
\ \ \ | / H / / H
H \ H | | | | | H /
\ \ |H | | / /
\ | \ | / | / H H
H \ \ | | | / /
\ || | || /
H H \ V | V / H H
\ \ | / / H
H H \ \|/ /
\ | / H
\|/
|||
[S]
[H]
[I]
[P]
|||
HHH
HHH
|||
VVV
Whereas I am proposing this: (fig 2)
H H H
| | H | H H
V V | V | |
H V H V V
| H | H
H V H | V | H
| | V H V |
V V | V
V
- - - - - - - - - - - - negative charges
-----------[ship]-----------
+ + + + + + + + + + + + positive charges
H H H
| | H | H H
V V | V | |
H V H V V
| H | H
H V H | V | H
| | V H V |
V v | v
V
Where the dashed line is some sort of combination field conductor, and
energy collector. I see this ship as a large saucer, with living
quarters toward the middle, and a very thin mesh of wires, and energy
collectors spread out along the periphery. Rotation would keep the
whole thing stable, and spread out. the above view would be from the
side. Think of it as a giant version of starwisp, but instead of
reflecting the energy, the mesh collects the energy, turns it into
electricity, which supports an electric field of several megawatts
potential. I suppose we'll need two meshes, one for the positive
charge, and one for the negative. They only need to be separated enough
to prevent bridging.
I imagine the field must be pulsed to get any use out of it, but with a
"Sail" a few hundred kilometers across, we should find enough Hydrogen
to push against. Not much, granted, but with a big enough field, we
should be able to make the hydrogen ions move fast enough so as to push
us in the the opposite direction.
I think perhaps this would work better at higher speeds, where the
apparent density will increase.
L. Parker wrote:
>
> Kevin,
>
> This is pretty much what Timothy and I were discussing. To clear up a few
> points for the rest of the list...
>
> In order for an electromagnetic scoop to work, the particles that it
> "scoops" must be charged, or ionized, you cannot scoop a neutral particle.
>
> The most common method proposed for creating charged particles is to beam a
> laser "fan" ahead of the ship. The photons impacting the interstellar
> hydrogen will create a hydrogen ion with a negative charge which can then be
> attracted to a positively charged scoop field.
Umm... Negative? By stripping away an electron, wouldn't it be
positive? If I'm wrong, then reverse the charges on the above drawing.
>
> In this much at least your idea is good. It removes the mass of the lasers
> from the ship and you could actually use an uncollimated solar mirror which
> is much simpler.
mirror, really? That would be better, but would it be strong enough at
light years distance?
>
> However, the density of the scoop field and the energy required to generate
> it are still enormous. On board power generation would probably have to be
> several times larger than a small city's supply.
not if you are swimming in a sea of energy capable of ionizing hydrogen
;)
>
> Timothy,
>
> How do you generate a field with a sharp boundary?
>
> Lee
--
Kevin Houston http://www.lpmn.org/candidates/
Libertarian candidate for Congress - District 5
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From: "L. Parker" <lparker@cacaphony.net>
Sender: owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
To: "Kevin Houston" <kevin@urly-bird.com>
Cc: "Starship Design" <starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu>
Subject: RE: starship-design: scoops and sails and something to push against.
Date: Fri, 25 Sep 1998 08:41:56 -0500
Kevin,
This diagram would be the ramjet or hybrid ramjet
>
> It seemed to me that you were talking about gathering the hydrogen in
> toward the ship, then expelling it again. ( fig. 1.) (Note missed
> hydrogen)
>
>
>
> H H H H H H H
> \ \ H | | | / /
> \ | | | H | | /
> \ \ \ | / H / / H
> H \ H | | | | | H /
> \ \ |H | | / /
> \ | \ | / | / H H
> H \ \ | | | / /
> \ || | || /
> H H \ V | V / H H
> \ \ | / / H
> H H \ \|/ /
> \ | / H
> \|/
> |||
> [S]
> [H]
> [I]
> [P]
> |||
> HHH
> HHH
> |||
> VVV
>
>
This one is the external accelerator
> Whereas I am proposing this: (fig 2)
>
>
> H H H
> | | H | H H
> V V | V | |
> H V H V V
> | H | H
> H V H | V | H
> | | V H V |
> V V | V
> V
> - - - - - - - - - - - - negative charges
> -----------[ship]-----------
> + + + + + + + + + + + + positive charges
> H H H
> | | H | H H
> V V | V | |
> H V H V V
> | H | H
> H V H | V | H
> | | V H V |
> V v | v
> V
>
The problem is how to generate two monopolar fields? If you simply use two
grids, your net thrust will be zero.
>
> Umm... Negative? By stripping away an electron, wouldn't it be
> positive? If I'm wrong, then reverse the charges on the above drawing.
>
I'm not sure, but I think you would end up with both positive and negative
ions in roughly equal amounts.
> not if you are swimming in a sea of energy capable of ionizing hydrogen
Umm. there is not really that much usable energy there for the taking.
Lee
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From: Zenon Kulpa <zkulpa@zmit1.ippt.gov.pl>
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To: starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
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Subject: starship-design: Travel close to the speed of light as you fly a Star Ship to a distant Star
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 1998 17:41:06 +0100 (MET)
I received this letter some time ago, when I was on my holidays.
I have not yet checked the recommended site - maybe it contains
something interesting..
>From the letter it seems pretty well-known thing already.
-- Zenon Kulpa
----- Begin Included Message -----
>From holmsoft@dundee.net Wed Sep 16 04:58:55 1998
From: "Larry Holm" <holmsoft@dundee.net>
To: <zkulpa@ippt.gov.pl>
Cc: <holmsoft@dundee.net>
Subject: Travel close to the speed of light as you fly a Star Ship to a distant Star
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 23:08:03 -0400
Content-Length: 1164
Travel close to the speed of light as you fly a Star Ship to a distant
planet into orbit around a distant star.
I've written a program to make some calculations. I'm not sure if I'm crazy
or just wrong, but if I'm right, it might be something to think about and
share with the world.
Please check it out at http://www.dundee.net/holmsoft/StarTrip.html
Please let me know what you think about this at holmsoft@dundee.net
If you could share this with some friends, I would really appreciate it.
Accelerating at one Earth gravity, 32.2 feet per second per second.
The Ship will reach 99.9995750753503 percent Light Velocity.
At that velocity, one day on the Ship will equal about 343 Earth days.
The Ship will be traveling about one Earth Light Year per one Ship day.
To reach this velocity will take 11 months 18.13 Ship days or 1 year 6
months 5.41 Earth days.
Accelerated by a Ram Jet Fusion Engine using Interstellar Hydrogen for
fuel. At near light velocity the Engine Scoops will be collecting billions
of Hydogen protons per second.
I hope a rock doesn't hit the windshield.
Thanks for your time,
Larry Holm 09/13/98
holmsoft@dundee.net
Belleville, MI.
----- End Included Message -----
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Subject: starship-design: Target Selection (html)
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 1998 17:11:38 -0500
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This is a list of all the stars within 55 light years that match ALL of the
selection criteria for planets capable of supporting intelligent terrestrial
type life forms within acceptable limits. There may be habitable planets
around other stars not listed here, but the odds are very low.
The 46 Nearest Stars Similar to the Sun Name Distance (light-years)
Magnitude (visual) Luminosity (Sun=1) Spectrum
Tau Ceti 11.8 3.5 .4 G8
82 Eridani 20.2 4.3 .7 G5
Zeta Tucanae 23.3 4.2 .9 G2
107 Piscium 24.3 5.2 .4 K1
Beta Comae - - - -
Berenices 27.2 4.3 1.2 G0
61 Virginis 27.4 4.7 .8 G6
Alpha Mensae 28.3 5.1 .6 G5
Gliese 75 28.6 5.6 .4 K0
Beta Canum - - - -
Venaticorum 29.9 4.3 1.4 G0
Chi Orionis 32 4.4 1.5 G0
54 Piscium 34 5.9 .4 K0
Zeta 1 Reticuli 37 5.5 .7 G2
Zeta 2 Reticuli 37 5.2 .9 G2
Gliese 86 37 6.1 .4 K0
Mu Arae 37 5.1 .9 G5
Gliese 67 38 5.0 1.2 G2
Gliese 668.1 40 6.3 .4 G9
Gliese 302 41 6.0 .6 G8
Gliese 309 41 6.4 .4 K0
Kappa Fornacis 42 5.2 1.3 G1
58 Eridani 42 5.5 .9 G1
Zeta Doradus 44 4.7 2.0 F8
55 Cancri 44 6.0 .7 G8
47 Ursa Majoris 44 5.1 1.5 G0
Gliese 364 45 4.9 1.8 G0
Gliese 599A 45 6.0 .6 G6
Nu Phoenicis 45 5.0 1.8 F8
Gliese 95 45 6.3 .5 G5
Gliese 796 47 5.6 .5 G8
20 Leo Minoris 47 5.4 1.2 G4
39 Tauri 47 5.9 .8 G1
Gliese 290 47 6.6 .4 G8
Gliese 59.2 48 5.7 1.0 G2
Psi Aurigae 49 5.2 1.5 G0
Gliese 722 49 5.9 .9 G4
Gliese 788 49 5.9 .8 G5
Nu 2 Lupi 50 5.6 1.1 G2
14 Herculis 50 6.6 .5 K1
Pi Ursa Majoris 51 5.6 1.2 G0
Phi 2 Ceti 51 5.2 1.8 F8
Gliese 641 52 6.6 .5 G8
Gliese 97.2 52 6.9 .4 K0
Gliese 541.1 53 6.5 .6 G8
109 Piscium 53 6.3 .8 G4
Gliese 651 53 6.8 .4 G8
Gliese 59 53 6.7 .4 G8
This table lists all known stars within a radius of 54 light-years that are
single or part of a wide multiple star system. They have no known
irregularities or variabilities and are between 0.4 and 2.0 times the
luminosity of the sun. Thus, a planet basically identical to Earth could be
orbiting around any one of them. (Data from the Catalog of Nearby Stars,
1969 edition, by Wilhelm Gliese.)
Lee
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<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD W3 HTML//EN">
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<META content=3D"text/html; charset=3Diso-8859-1" =
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<META content=3D'"MSHTML 4.72.3509.100"' name=3DGENERATOR>
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<BODY><SPAN class=3D50385621-27091998><FONT color=3D#000000 face=3DArial =
size=3D2>This=20
is a list of all the stars within 55 light years that match ALL of the =
selection=20
criteria for planets capable of supporting intelligent terrestrial type =
life=20
forms within acceptable limits. There may be habitable planets around =
other=20
stars not listed here, but the odds are very low.</FONT></SPAN>=20
<TABLE bgColor=3D#008080 border=3D1 cellPadding=3D10>
<CAPTION>
<DIV align=3Dleft> </DIV>
<DIV><B><FONT size=3D+1>The 46 Nearest Stars Similar to the=20
Sun</FONT></B></DIV></CAPTION>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TH align=3Dmiddle>Name</TH>
<TH align=3Dmiddle>Distance (light-years)</TH>
<TH align=3Dmiddle>Magnitude (visual)</TH>
<TH align=3Dmiddle>Luminosity (Sun=3D1)</TH>
<TH align=3Dmiddle>Spectrum</TH></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>Tau Ceti</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>11.8</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>3.5</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>.4</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>G8</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>82 Eridani</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>20.2</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>4.3</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>.7</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>G5</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>Zeta Tucanae</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>23.3</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>4.2</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>.9</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>G2</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>107 Piscium</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>24.3</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>5.2</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>.4</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>K1</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>Beta Comae</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>-</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>-</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>-</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>-</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>Berenices</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>27.2</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>4.3</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>1.2</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>G0</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>61 Virginis</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>27.4</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>4.7</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>.8</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>G6</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>Alpha Mensae</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>28.3</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>5.1</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>.6</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>G5</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>Gliese 75</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>28.6</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>5.6</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>.4</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>K0</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>Beta Canum</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>-</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>-</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>-</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>-</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>Venaticorum</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>29.9</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>4.3</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>1.4</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>G0</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>Chi Orionis</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>32</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>4.4</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>1.5</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>G0</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>54 Piscium</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>34</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>5.9</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>.4</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>K0</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>Zeta 1 Reticuli</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>37</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>5.5</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>.7</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>G2</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>Zeta 2 Reticuli</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>37</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>5.2</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>.9</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>G2</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>Gliese 86</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>37</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>6.1</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>.4</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>K0</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>Mu Arae</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>37</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>5.1</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>.9</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>G5</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>Gliese 67</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>38</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>5.0</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>1.2</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>G2</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>Gliese 668.1</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>40</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>6.3</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>.4</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>G9</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>Gliese 302</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>41</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>6.0</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>.6</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>G8</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>Gliese 309</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>41</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>6.4</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>.4</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>K0</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>Kappa Fornacis</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>42</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>5.2</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>1.3</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>G1</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>58 Eridani</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>42</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>5.5</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>.9</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>G1</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>Zeta Doradus</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>44</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>4.7</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>2.0</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>F8</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>55 Cancri</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>44</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>6.0</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>.7</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>G8</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>47 Ursa Majoris</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>44</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>5.1</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>1.5</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>G0</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>Gliese 364</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>45</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>4.9</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>1.8</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>G0</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>Gliese 599A</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>45</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>6.0</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>.6</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>G6</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>Nu Phoenicis</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>45</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>5.0</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>1.8</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>F8</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>Gliese 95</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>45</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>6.3</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>.5</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>G5</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>Gliese 796</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>47</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>5.6</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>.5</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>G8</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>20 Leo Minoris</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>47</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>5.4</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>1.2</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>G4</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>39 Tauri</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>47</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>5.9</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>.8</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>G1</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>Gliese 290</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>47</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>6.6</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>.4</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>G8</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>Gliese 59.2</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>48</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>5.7</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>1.0</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>G2</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>Psi Aurigae</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>49</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>5.2</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>1.5</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>G0</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>Gliese 722</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>49</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>5.9</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>.9</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>G4</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>Gliese 788</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>49</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>5.9</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>.8</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>G5</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>Nu 2 Lupi</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>50</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>5.6</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>1.1</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>G2</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>14 Herculis</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>50</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>6.6</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>.5</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>K1</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>Pi Ursa Majoris</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>51</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>5.6</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>1.2</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>G0</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>Phi 2 Ceti</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>51</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>5.2</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>1.8</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>F8</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>Gliese 641</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>52</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>6.6</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>.5</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>G8</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>Gliese 97.2</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>52</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>6.9</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>.4</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>K0</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>Gliese 541.1</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>53</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>6.5</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>.6</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>G8</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>109 Piscium</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>53</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>6.3</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>.8</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>G4</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>Gliese 651</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>53</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>6.8</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>.4</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>G8</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>Gliese 59</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>53</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>6.7</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>.4</TD>
<TD align=3Dmiddle>G8</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><FONT =
size=3D-1></FONT>
<CENTER><FONT size=3D-1></FONT> </CENTER>
<CENTER><FONT size=3D-1>This table lists all known stars within a radius =
of 54=20
light-years that are single or part of a wide multiple star system. They =
have no=20
known irregularities or variabilities and are between 0.4 and 2.0 times =
the=20
luminosity of the sun. Thus, a planet basically identical to Earth could =
be=20
orbiting around any one of them. (Data from the Catalog of Nearby Stars, =
1969=20
edition, by Wilhelm Gliese.)</FONT></CENTER>
<CENTER><FONT size=3D-1></FONT> </CENTER>
<DIV><FONT size=3D-1><SPAN class=3D50385621-27091998><FONT =
color=3D#000000 face=3DArial=20
size=3D2></FONT></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D-1><SPAN class=3D50385621-27091998><FONT =
color=3D#000000 face=3DArial=20
size=3D2>Lee</FONT></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<CENTER><FONT size=3D-1><SPAN class=3D50385621-27091998><FONT =
color=3D#000000=20
face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT></SPAN></FONT> </CENTER></BODY></HTML>
------=_NextPart_000_000B_01BDEA39.E4B75EE0--
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["9833" "Mon" "28" "September" "1998" "01:39:35" "+0100" "Timothy van der Linden" "Shealiak@XS4ALL.nl" nil "154" "RE: starship-design: Bussard drive" "^From:" nil nil "9" nil nil nil nil nil]
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Reply-To: Timothy van der Linden <Shealiak@XS4ALL.nl>
From: Timothy van der Linden <Shealiak@XS4ALL.nl>
Sender: owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
To: starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: RE: starship-design: Bussard drive
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1998 01:39:35 +0100
--=====================_906939575==_
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Lee,
>How do you generate a field with a sharp boundary?
Essentially you don't want a field where it can't contribute. Magnetic
shielding (with say iron) would be one solution. Another probably more
efficient solution would be to design coils in such a way that the
strongest parts of the magnetic field are contained in the volume where one
would like them most.
I've added a GIF to visualize what I mean with designing/shaping a coil.
(WARNING: a little understanding about magnetic fields is necessary)
(Red=tube around which electric wire is wound to make an electromagnet)
(Blue=part of the magnetic magnetic field outside the coil)
In the images, the charged particles are assumed to arrive from the right
side.
Let's start with image C, a charged particle will spiral towards the mouth
of the engine. The stronger the magnetic field, the smaller the "circle" of
its path. The magnetic field should be perpendicular on the direction of
motion, to accomplish this. (Perpendicular on the direction of motion in
these drawings is up/down and inside/outside the paper.)
The particles will come from the right, thus we would want want the
strongest perpendicular field at the right side. As I hope you can imagine,
design B will accomplish this better than design A.
Essentially the shape of the edges(openings) of the coil and their
direction will shape the field. One can for example also flatten the edges
(ie. make them ellipsoidal rather than circular). Also combinations of
coils may shape the field more and more as preferred.
BTW. You might be able to scoop a neutral particle, since neutral particles
can have magnetic spin. I guess though that the magnetic-magnetic
interaction between the spin and the scoop field is much less than the
electric-magnetic interaction of an ionized atom and the magnetic scoop field.
Nels,
As far as I know we always meant to use the scooped hydrogen as fuel and
propellant, not for propellant alone. We might carry a bit of anti-matter
to ignite fusion reactions, but that's about it.
Timothy
--=====================_906939575==_
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From VM Mon Sep 28 09:42:25 1998
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["2328" "Mon" "28" "September" "1998" "16:16:07" "+1000" "AJ Crowl" "ajcrowlx2@ozemail.com.au" nil "62" "Re: starship-design: Travel close to the speed of light as you fly a Star Ship to a distant Star" "^From:" nil nil "9" nil nil nil nil nil]
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From: AJ Crowl <ajcrowlx2@ozemail.com.au>
Sender: owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
To: starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu
Subject: Re: starship-design: Travel close to the speed of light as you fly a Star Ship to a distant Star
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1998 16:16:07 +1000
Hi Group,
Let's see if I can say something sensible.
Zenon Kulpa wrote:
> I received this letter some time ago, when I was on my holidays.
> I have not yet checked the recommended site - maybe it contains
> something interesting..
> >From the letter it seems pretty well-known thing already.
>
> -- Zenon Kulpa
>
> ----- Begin Included Message -----
>
> >From holmsoft@dundee.net Wed Sep 16 04:58:55 1998
> From: "Larry Holm" <holmsoft@dundee.net>
> To: <zkulpa@ippt.gov.pl>
> Cc: <holmsoft@dundee.net>
> Subject: Travel close to the speed of light as you fly a Star Ship to a distant Star
> Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 23:08:03 -0400
> Content-Length: 1164
>
> Travel close to the speed of light as you fly a Star Ship to a distant
> planet into orbit around a distant star.
> I've written a program to make some calculations. I'm not sure if I'm crazy
> or just wrong, but if I'm right, it might be something to think about and
> share with the world.
>
> Please check it out at http://www.dundee.net/holmsoft/StarTrip.html
>
> Please let me know what you think about this at holmsoft@dundee.net
>
> If you could share this with some friends, I would really appreciate it.
>
> Accelerating at one Earth gravity, 32.2 feet per second per second.
> The Ship will reach 99.9995750753503 percent Light Velocity.
> At that velocity, one day on the Ship will equal about 343 Earth days.
> The Ship will be traveling about one Earth Light Year per one Ship day.
> To reach this velocity will take 11 months 18.13 Ship days or 1 year 6
> months 5.41 Earth days.
> Accelerated by a Ram Jet Fusion Engine using Interstellar Hydrogen for
> fuel. At near light velocity the Engine Scoops will be collecting billions
> of Hydogen protons per second.
> I hope a rock doesn't hit the windshield.
>
> Thanks for your time,
> Larry Holm 09/13/98
> holmsoft@dundee.net
> Belleville, MI.
>
> ----- End Included Message -----
We all know that a hydro-fusion ramjet just ain't gonna get to 0.9 c let alone .999etc.
Also I don't know how Larry calculated his figures but they're way off. To reach a gamma
of 343 it'd take 332.5 years real time, and 12.66 years tau. He got the rock against the
windshield right though.
I'm a bit suspicious. Sounds too eager to have people visit his site and download. Does
he have a virus he wants to share?
Adam
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Subject: starship-design: Test - ignore
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1998 15:16:57 +0100 (MET)
Sorry for distraction - I must check some problem with my mailer... -- ZK