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Von Braun Class Station

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21–30 of 76 posts

Re: Von Braun Class Station

#21
Man. Von Braun? That’s not someone to name anything after.

Please read Operation Paperclip by Annie Jacobsen.

What Von Braun did was beyond horrible so much so to make the death camps look less bad in comparison, which is really saying something.

They plowed through people making them death march then dig huge underground missile factories with their bare hands, then had them make missiles to kill their families and to help their enemies try to win the war, with the majority of them dying in the process.

Re: Von Braun Class Station

#22

This video by Columbia based researchers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3D7QlMVa5s says that Coriolis acceleration induced canal sickness could be a major issue, and we don't know exactly what humans can tolerate. In the worst case scenario such torus has to be about one kilometer in diameter, which is prohibitively expensive.

The only experiments that we've done are earth based and involve horizontal acceleration. Sounds like we need to do some real life space tests! Maybe we can get something going with a central weight and a tether so the test pod can rotate around it at high speeds.

Also, I recall there being studies into changing how the inner ear is reacting to movement. Maybe someday space goers will have implants to calm the inner ear against coriolis.

Re: Von Braun Class Station

#23
post #3

Maybe we should stop naming things after a man who was not only a nazi, but a uniform-wearing member of the SS? A future-looking project should leave such things in the past.

I think this is a pretty good overview, an interview with the author of a recent biography. I am partial to your view.

I don't have a problem recognizing his achievements and celebrating his abilities, but using his name to honor him is going further than that.

There are probably still people alive today that had a parent that died in slave labor at Mittelwerk building his rockets. I can't imagine how awful this would feel for them.

Regardless of his achievements, his legacy should carry a stain.

https://www.airspacemag.com/space/a-amp-s-interview-michael-...

Re: Von Braun Class Station

#24
post #21

Man. Von Braun? That’s not someone to name anything after. Please read Operation Paperclip by Annie Jacobsen. What Von Braun did was beyond horrible so much so to make the death camps look less bad in comparison, which is really saying something. They plowed through people making them death march then dig huge underground missile factories with their bare hands, then had them make missiles to kill their families and…

Among other things, it must be said that each V2 was completely useless to the war effort and cost as much as several tanks. They didn't even tie up anti-air resources because it was impossible to intercept one.

Re: Von Braun Class Station

#25
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Von Braun Station is a technical type/design, not the project's own name. Using designers' names normal with space designs.

Lots of better names are available: "Originally proposed by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky in 1903, the idea was expanded by Herman Potočnik in 1929."

It's telling that between a nazi and a communist, some people would choose the nazi.

Re: Von Braun Class Station

#26

This video by Columbia based researchers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3D7QlMVa5s says that Coriolis acceleration induced canal sickness could be a major issue, and we don't know exactly what humans can tolerate. In the worst case scenario such torus has to be about one kilometer in diameter, which is prohibitively expensive.

I once made napkin calculations that for 1g "gravitation" a station even about 50 meters in diameter would introduce coriolis force so great you'll have a lot of trouble even trying to stand up from a chair.

Keep in mind though even .1 G (or less?) still gets you a lot of the benefits of gravity. Normal toilets, showers, dining, cooking, etc.

Re: Von Braun Class Station

#29
post #22

This video by Columbia based researchers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3D7QlMVa5s says that Coriolis acceleration induced canal sickness could be a major issue, and we don't know exactly what humans can tolerate. In the worst case scenario such torus has to be about one kilometer in diameter, which is prohibitively expensive.

The only experiments that we've done are earth based and involve horizontal acceleration. Sounds like we need to do some real life space tests! Maybe we can get something going with a central weight and a tether so the test pod can rotate around it at high speeds. Also, I recall there being studies into changing how the inner ear is reacting to movement. Maybe someday space goers will have implants to calm the inner…

An inflatable habitat could hold a small-ish centrifuge enough for some tests and to provide some semblance of gravity for sleep and exercise. If it gets really bad, the centrifuge can be dismantled and its remains used as divisions for what would be a very large empty space.

Tethering two Dragons together would be complicated and maybe require an EVA to attach the tether. The trunk remains attached during a launch abort, so it can survive 1g without flying away (the Dragons will need it for deorbit after the experiment). I'm also guessing they'd need some redesign, because you don't want to mess with the parachute fixation points and, even if you did, the "floor" of the capsule should, for this exercise, be perpendicular to the acceleration.

In short, I guess we need sci-fi grade engines that can pull 1g for weeks at a time.

Re: Von Braun Class Station

#30
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lots of better names are available: "Originally proposed by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky in 1903, the idea was expanded by Herman Potočnik in 1929."

It's telling that between a nazi and a communist, some people would choose the nazi.

Take your pick based on if you are more comfortable with mass killings based on political affiliation or race.
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