We need a better way to get to space
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We need a better way to get to space
1–10 of 70 posts
Re: We need a better way to get to space
#2Space planes should absolutely be part of our strategy, but their effectiveness diminishes once you get past LEO. An effective program would have different vehicles for different purposes, using the right tool for each job.
Re: We need a better way to get to space
#3Much as I love to cheer for British engineering, I don't understand the logic here. A rocket would require an expensive inspection before reuse but a spaceplane wouldn't? Why?
Also not one SABRE engine has even been built yet, whereas SpaceX has got very close to landing their rockets.
Re: We need a better way to get to space
#4Much as I love to cheer for British engineering, I don't understand the logic here. A rocket would require an expensive inspection before reuse but a spaceplane wouldn't? Why? Also not one SABRE engine has even been built yet, whereas SpaceX has got very close to landing their rockets.
SpaceX have landed their rockets.
Just not ... in one piece.
Re: We need a better way to get to space
#5Giant railguns. That is all.
Re: We need a better way to get to space
#620 years ago, I remember dreaming up a train pulling a cable with a glider at the far end. I'm sure there are many technical issues with this approach, possibly including the cable needing to be incredibly strong, light and flexible. Please tell me it would work, though, as I still enjoy the mental image.
Re: We need a better way to get to space
#7www.et3.com gradually leading up to the top of everest, jettisoning the capsule (6,500 km/h (4,000 mph)) to break out of the atmosphere.
I have not done the math, physics, etc on this, but it's an interesting idea worth exploring.
But that said, do we really belong in space when we cannot care for our own? Wouldn't that be akin to giving sugar to ants? only multiplying suffering and cruelty exponentially in space? Perhaps a refactoring of our culture and our methods of using/allocating/expending resources should be our first priority.
Re: We need a better way to get to space
#820 years ago, I remember dreaming up a train pulling a cable with a glider at the far end. I'm sure there are many technical issues with this approach, possibly including the cable needing to be incredibly strong, light and flexible. Please tell me it would work, though, as I still enjoy the mental image.
Reaching orbit is mostly an issue of velocity, not altitude. This is why balloons can get very high, above of almost all earth's atmosphere, while being far from orbit. Rockets spend most of their ascent traveling nearly horizontal to the ground (they only go straight up at the beginning to get out of the densest part of the atmosphere).
Re: We need a better way to get to space
#9Giant railguns. That is all.
Light-gas guns may be a good contender while railguns are sorted out. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light-gas_gun
Re: We need a better way to get to space
#10www.et3.com gradually leading up to the top of everest, jettisoning the capsule (6,500 km/h (4,000 mph)) to break out of the atmosphere. I have not done the math, physics, etc on this, but it's an interesting idea worth exploring. But that said, do we really belong in space when we cannot care for our own? Wouldn't that be akin to giving sugar to ants? only multiplying suffering and cruelty exponentially in space? Pe…
If people had waited to leave Europe until the 1970s the culture had been "refactored" enough for the masses, I doubt the world would have advanced as far as it had and the pressure of the population growth from industrialization would have caused some real issues. Actually I think it might be refactored even worse for the masses. Letting the average person go out and build new things helped a lot.
Also, do you really think we can only fix one problem at a time? Did the birth of the transistor stop the civil rights movement?