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#176 Re: Interplanetary transportation » LEO to TMI - discuss » 2004-04-07 04:43:41
Two things make me that I am somewhat carefull to be fond of new technologies if we want to send humans to Mars, especially when it comes to TMI.
1. High-ISP/Low-thrust (solar sail/ion engine) needs long acceleration times and monitoring from earth will last long. Also will there be problems with keeping the spacecraft vital.
2. Development will ask big sums to create new propulsion-technologies.
I think immediately after LEO-insertion there should be a transfer to a high, strongly elliptical EO (delta-V about 3 km/s), rather easily obtaineble with LO2/LH2. In this orbit, the spacecraft can membered by a small Apollo-like capsule.
For TMI just some hundred m/s is required. :realllymad:
#177 Re: Interplanetary transportation » Radiation Protecion - What Sheilding is Adequate? » 2004-04-07 04:34:16
I think most of the radiation during interplanatary flight can be shielded by propellants, especialy when they are hydrogen-rich (LH2 or N2H4). They can easy turn t'he back of the spacecraft and the shielding for solar flares is sufficient, I think. Added shielding for deep-space cosmic radiation or exhibition to the sun during manouvres may be added, but it's even possible that these risks are acceptable. ???
#178 Re: Interplanetary transportation » E=mc² » 2004-04-07 04:24:59
I don't really understand the point of errorist, but the relevance for martian spacecraft is that mass can be converted in energy, by fission, fusion or matter - anti-matter annihilation (all not yet availeble). The interchangebility of E and M can even be demonstrated by very carefull weighing of a loaded capacitor compared with the some capacitor unloaded.
E=M? In some sense, yes. 