New Mars Forums
You are not logged in.
- Topics: Active | Unanswered
Announcement
#26 Re: Interplanetary transportation » Non-chemical launchers - Let's get off the ground cheap. » 2004-01-30 17:06:37
We all know how expensive it is to get a spaceship off the ground and into orbit.
Why, then, have we not looked at alternative launching methods seriously?
Something I thought of (probably not original, but hey, I haven't seen it talked about much):
One way to at least get a launch vehicle off the ground would seem to be a launch tube, similar to those used for ICBMs, but deeper, and instead of using fuel onboard to get moving, to instead use a rail system to propel the vehicle via hydrolics or electromagnetics. Once near the top of the tube, the launch vehicle could use its chemical (or other) propulsion to keep itself going, but would have saved a LOT of fuel if the launch tube were deep enough and had accelerated it to a good speed.
Is this a reasonable way of launching something?
Also, are there other ideas out there on how to save on launch costs?
#27 Re: Human missions » Send Astronauts One Way - A Planned Suicide Mission » 2004-01-19 10:35:57
There is a big difference between sending astronauts to Mars with all the equipment they need to live forever, and sending them in a suicide mission, with supply and equipment for just 2 years, and then bye-bye...
tru.dat
#28 Re: Human missions » a reason why Pres Bush is in no rush on mars » 2004-01-19 00:16:48
In a nutshell:
If the CEV is the "real deal" President Bush is truly a visionary genius and will go down in history as America's greatest space President.
If the CEV never gets much past the artwork stage, then US civilian space is about to enter a new and colder Ice Age especially if all non-CEV programs are slashed in the meantime and the shuttle is four or five years older with no follow on ready for deployment.
Time well tell.
Or, we stop trying to get governments to spearhead spaceflight and get private corporation spaceflight off the ground.
If it's a spaceflight "ice age" or commerical spaceflight, I choose commercial.
#29 Re: Human missions » Send Astronauts One Way - A Planned Suicide Mission » 2004-01-19 00:13:08
Interesting points all around. I signed up on the board because I just had to post as well.
As for my view on a one-way Mars mission (calling it "suicide" is silly I think): where do I sign, and when do we leave?
I think that there is no better way to encourage Mars research and exploration than to send a small, well-equipped team to live indefinately on Mars. If at some point they are able to return by use of another spacecraft, great, but they should expect that they may live the rest of their lives on the red planet. I'd go in a heartbeat.
Supplies and new crew members could be sent every year, and in a few years you'd have a full-fledged Mars colony. As with any exploration, yes, people might die, but, like me, there are MANY young scientists who would take that risk for the chance to be one of the first humans living on another planet.
A great article on the subject (maybe someone else posted it, I may have missed it) is here: [http://nytimes.com/2004/01/15/opinion/15DAVI.html]http://nytimes.com/2004/01/15/opinion/15DAVI.html