NASA Mission: YOU Decide....

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Re: NASA Mission: YOU Decide....

Post by Gawdzilla Sama » Sun Nov 28, 2010 1:23 pm

mistermack wrote:
Gawdzilla wrote:Once you get it up, it stays up. (Well, it used to, but I digress.) So after the initial energy investment the cost per pound to orbit goes down rapidly as the startup expenditures are amortized.
Maybe there are ways around using huge rockets. You could start with an extremely fine, lightweight cable, and small counterweight, and then build it up, sending up more strands, with tiny carriages, and more elements for the counterwieght. Each time you send up another strand, you send up more weight, till you end up with something pretty substantial.
The carriages would have to have a power source, maybe solar power to keep the weight down.
You could maybe use huge kites, to get materials up part of the way, and provide extra support at the lower end.
BAUT has a running thread on space elevators, more than possibly.
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Re: NASA Mission: YOU Decide....

Post by Santa_Claus » Sun Nov 28, 2010 1:44 pm

mistermack wrote:
Gawdzilla wrote:Once you get it up, it stays up. (Well, it used to, but I digress.) So after the initial energy investment the cost per pound to orbit goes down rapidly as the startup expenditures are amortized.
Maybe there are ways around using huge rockets. You could start with an extremely fine, lightweight cable, and small counterweight, and then build it up, sending up more strands, with tiny carriages, and more elements for the counterwieght. Each time you send up another strand, you send up more weight, till you end up with something pretty substantial.
The carriages would have to have a power source, maybe solar power to keep the weight down.
You could maybe use huge kites, to get materials up part of the way, and provide extra support at the lower end.
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Re: NASA Mission: YOU Decide....

Post by Gawdzilla Sama » Sun Nov 28, 2010 1:47 pm

Ezechiel's Wheel of Fire for a launch vehicle, Mr. Claus?
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Re: NASA Mission: YOU Decide....

Post by Santa_Claus » Sun Nov 28, 2010 2:06 pm

Gawdzilla wrote:Ezechiel's Wheel of Fire for a launch vehicle, Mr. Claus?
Surprised the Pope doesn't use that God based technology to get the Popemobile into orbit.

Even I might reconsider :ask:
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Re: NASA Mission: YOU Decide....

Post by Gawdzilla Sama » Sun Nov 28, 2010 2:08 pm

Santa_Claus wrote:
Gawdzilla wrote:Ezechiel's Wheel of Fire for a launch vehicle, Mr. Claus?
Surprised the Pope doesn't use that God based technology to get the Popemobile into orbit.

Even I might reconsider :ask:
I could send the Pedomobile part way into orbit. :coffee:
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Re: NASA Mission: YOU Decide....

Post by Pappa » Sun Nov 28, 2010 2:10 pm

From what I remember reading in the New Scientist, one of the biggest hurdles yet to get over for the space elevator is the tether. There aren't yet any materials strong enough to allow a tether to support it's own huge weight. There was a prize a couple of years ago for development of tether materials, the objective for the prize was only a fraction of what would be required for a real space elevator.

As for the technology involved in solar collectors.... it's a satelite with large solar pannels and a means of beaming the energy to the ground.... it's not rocket science. ;)

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Re: NASA Mission: YOU Decide....

Post by mistermack » Sun Nov 28, 2010 2:52 pm

Pappa wrote:From what I remember reading in the New Scientist, one of the biggest hurdles yet to get over for the space elevator is the tether. There aren't yet any materials strong enough to allow a tether to support it's own huge weight. There was a prize a couple of years ago for development of tether materials, the objective for the prize was only a fraction of what would be required for a real space elevator.

As for the technology involved in solar collectors.... it's a satelite with large solar pannels and a means of beaming the energy to the ground.... it's not rocket science. ;)
There's also the problem of getting humans safely through the Van Allen Belt.
If you go through it at rocket speeds, it's not too bad, but a lot slower and you would cook. That doesn't automatically make it useless, as non-living material could be lifted that way, still saving huge amounts of energy, and humans could travel in smaller rockets.

I think in the end, the materials problem will be solved using materials from the Moon. Look at the tiny rocket needed to take off from the Moon, compared to the one needed to take off from Earth.
You would mine the materials on the moon, and process them using solar energy and mostly robotic equipment.
You wouldn't get the same range of materials on the Moon as on the Earth though.

As for beaming energy from space to Earth, I dunno what kind of beam you could use, without using reflectors. And I wouldn't want to get in it's way.
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Re: NASA Mission: YOU Decide....

Post by Gawdzilla Sama » Sun Nov 28, 2010 2:57 pm

Microwaving Earth? What could possibly go wrong?
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Re: NASA Mission: YOU Decide....

Post by Ronja » Sun Nov 28, 2010 5:56 pm

Pappa wrote:A serious answer? I would spend it on creating a multi-functional moon base.
I support this motion!
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Re: NASA Mission: YOU Decide....

Post by Ronja » Sun Nov 28, 2010 6:03 pm

Normal wrote:
Gawdzilla wrote: Vanskelig å se forskjell fra her.
lol
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Re: NASA Mission: YOU Decide....

Post by klr » Sun Nov 28, 2010 6:06 pm

Ronja wrote:
Pappa wrote:A serious answer? I would spend it on creating a multi-functional moon base.
I support this motion!
I propose this layout:

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Re: NASA Mission: YOU Decide....

Post by Clinton Huxley » Sun Nov 28, 2010 6:37 pm

I used to love Space 1999. Especially that girl who could change into a hawk

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Re: NASA Mission: YOU Decide....

Post by Atheist-Lite » Sun Nov 28, 2010 9:42 pm

Nuke antartica from space. If we're gonna have global warming and rising sea levels lets get it up and running at some speed the climate deniers will notice? They'll have to recognise it's real and man made after that? ;this:
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Re: NASA Mission: YOU Decide....

Post by Pappa » Sun Nov 28, 2010 9:50 pm

There's a couple of NS articles about beaming power from space here:
Pentagon backs plan to beam solar power from space
California gives green light to space solar power

It's still early days and would cost a lot more that a billion dollars, but I think the billion would be money well spent.
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Re: NASA Mission: YOU Decide....

Post by Pappa » Sun Nov 28, 2010 9:54 pm

And the tether article I was referring to:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn8203
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