By far the best plan has been a SciFi staple for decades. Build a space station with an earth bound shuttle and then a space-only fleet of ships for further travel. Eliminating the need to handle Earth's gravity removes something like 85% of the structural strength requirements. If you fly only in space, the thing could be light and delicate, and wouldn't even have things like aerodynamic design limitations. I really think it's the key to making this whole space travel thing a deal we can hope to accomplish realisticly within our lifetimes. The move to commercial space flight is the first step. Competition will fuel innovation and expansion. Once we have a space station and shuttle set up on both ends, traveling to Mars will be a relatively common occurance. I'll never lived long enough to make it there, but maybe my daughter will. On Nov 28, 2012 8:53 PM, "Joe Bauman" <josephmbauman@yahoo.com> wrote:
Hi Dan, I have heard of that -- it's a fascinating idea. On the question of structural weakness: I wonder if special struts could be built onto the ISS to make it possible. Or if some ISS-like orbiter could be built from scratch with the idea of shuttling between Earth and Mars. Thanks, Joe
________________________________ From: Rodger C. Fry <rcfry@comcast.net> To: 'Utah Astronomy' <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Wednesday, November 28, 2012 8:05 PM Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Mars exploration
Yea! It sounds like and interesting deal. All sales are final and no returns;^)
Rodger C. Fry
-----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Daniel Holmes Sent: Wednesday, November 28, 2012 7:15 PM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Mars exploration
And based on the problems they have had with it, I'm not sure the toilet is up to generational ship standards.
Have all of you been paying attention to Elon Musk's idea of a one-way trip to found a Mars colony?
Dan
On Nov 28, 2012, at 7:03 PM, Chuck Hards <chuck.hards@gmail.com> wrote:
Several ion engines, at strategic points. A single thruster, even at very low thrust, would be structurally unsound over long periods of time. On Nov 28, 2012 6:44 PM, "Daniel Holmes" <danielh@holmesonics.com> wrote:
That was my first thought. So you probably could strap an ion engine or two to it, but I'm not sure they have enough thrust to break earth orbit. But it'd be cool to rename it the ISS-TIE. Sienar Fleet Systems wasn't founded here, but we could pretend.
Have you heard of the 100 year starship project, Joe?
Dan
-- Sent from my iPhone. Please pardon any mispelings or errors.
On Nov 28, 2012, at 6:19 PM, Chuck Hards <chuck.hards@gmail.com> wrote:
VERY low thrust only. It would take years to decades. The ISS isn't designed for interplanetary thrusting, from a structural standpoint. Station-keeping and minor tweaks to avoid collisions only.
Good question though. On Nov 28, 2012 6:11 PM, "Joe Bauman" <josephmbauman@yahoo.com> wrote:
A question for the group: what is the feasibility of attaching
propulsion
units to the International Space Station and taking it out of Earth orbit, into Mars orbit, and back again?
_______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy
Send messages to the list to Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com
The Utah-Astronomy mailing list is not affiliated with any astronomy club..
To unsubscribe go to: http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Then enter your email address in the space provided and click on "Unsubscribe or edit options".
Utah-Astronomy mailing list http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy
Send messages to the list to Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com
The Utah-Astronomy mailing list is not affiliated with any astronomy club.
To unsubscribe go to: http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Then enter your email address in the space provided and click on "Unsubscribe or edit options".
_______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy
Send messages to the list to Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com
The Utah-Astronomy mailing list is not affiliated with any astronomy club.
To unsubscribe go to: http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Then enter your email address in the space provided and click on "Unsubscribe or edit options".
_______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy
Send messages to the list to Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com
The Utah-Astronomy mailing list is not affiliated with any astronomy club.
To unsubscribe go to: http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Then enter your email address in the space provided and click on "Unsubscribe or edit options".
-- Daniel Holmes, danielh@holmesonics.com "Laugh while you can, monkey boy!" -- Lord John Whorfin
_______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy
Send messages to the list to Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com
The Utah-Astronomy mailing list is not affiliated with any astronomy club.
To unsubscribe go to: http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Then enter your email address in the space provided and click on "Unsubscribe or edit options".
_______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy
Send messages to the list to Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com
The Utah-Astronomy mailing list is not affiliated with any astronomy club.
To unsubscribe go to: http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Then enter your email address in the space provided and click on "Unsubscribe or edit options". _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy
Send messages to the list to Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com
The Utah-Astronomy mailing list is not affiliated with any astronomy club.
To unsubscribe go to: http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Then enter your email address in the space provided and click on "Unsubscribe or edit options".