The Perpetual MEGA Space Thread

[Randy Daytona]

Approaching Saturn V size. Now we are getting somewhere.

In a newsletter, Bezos, who also owns The Washington Post, said the New Glenn rocket would come in two variants--a two stage and a three stage--that would be ready to fly by the end of the decade. Powered by seven BE-4 engines, they would have 3.85 million pounds of thrust at sea level. The rocket would be nearly as tall as the mighty, Apollo-era Saturn V that ferried the Apollo astronauts to the moon.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...st-unveiled-his-new-rocket-and-its-a-monster/

 

[Randy Daytona]

Fighter engine-size hypersonic ground demonstrator construction plans moving ahead

SABRE is at heart a rocket engine designed to power aircraft directly into space (single-stage to orbit) to allow reliable, responsive and cost effective space access, and in a different configuration to allow aircraft to cruise at high speeds (five times the speed of sound) within the atmosphere. If the rocket for space is not used then the US air force could use Skylon and SABRE engine technology to develop a 4000 mph hypersonic fighter plane or spy plane.

http://www.nextbigfuture.com/2016/09/fighter-engine-size-hypersonic-ground.html

Rumor has it this is the design... No word on laser cannons.

 

[Skywalker]

No word on laser cannons.

If you can generate enough power, installing FELs aboard one of these would make a good A2/AD platform, if my understanding of A2/AD is correct.

 

[Randy Daytona]

Elon Musk wants to go to Mars. For those who grew up with the excitement of the Apollo program, this is long overdue. This may happen in our lifetime.

http://www.space.com/34210-elon-musk-unveils-spacex-mars-colony-ship.html

The ITS rocket will be more or less a scaled-up version of the first stage of SpaceX's Falcon 9 booster, Musk said. But the 254-foot-tall (77.5 meters) ITS booster will feature 42 Raptor engines, whereas the Falcon 9 is powered by nine Merlins. When combined with its crewed spaceship, the ITS will stand a full 400 feet (122 m) high, Musk wrote on Twitter. That would make it the largest spaceflight system ever built, taller even than NASA's legendary Saturn V moon rocket.

The Raptor engine, which SpaceX recently test-fired for the first time, is about the same size as Merlin but three times more powerful, Musk said. ITS will therefore be an incredibly potent machine, capable of lofting 300 tons to low-Earth orbit (LEO) — more than two times more than Saturn V could lift. (That's for ITS's reusable version; an expendable variant could launch about 550 tons to LEO, Musk said.)

 

[Randy Daytona]

This will be interesting, especially for Mr. Scott. "I can't change the laws of physics."

The Impossible Propulsion Drive Is Heading to Space
Enough argument. It's time to actually test this crazy thing.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/energy/a22678/em-drive-cannae-cubesat-reactionless/

Follow up: NASA has tested it and it works.

http://www.nextbigfuture.com/2016/11/new-nasa-emdrive-paper-shows-force-of.html

New NASA Emdrive paper shows force of 1.2 millinewtons per kilowatt in a Vacuum and a low thrust pendulum and tests were at 40, 60 and 80 watts

 

[Skywalker]

Follow up: NASA has tested it and it works.

http://www.nextbigfuture.com/2016/11/new-nasa-emdrive-paper-shows-force-of.html

New NASA Emdrive paper shows force of 1.2 millinewtons per kilowatt in a Vacuum and a low thrust pendulum and tests were at 40, 60 and 80 watts

That's a huge step up from "EM Drives are pseudo science and anybody who believes in them should keep quiet."

 

[Brett327]

That's a huge step up from "EM Drives are pseudo science and anybody who believes in them should keep quiet."

There's a difference between pseudo-science and having a practical application from an engineering standpoint. I'm sure the science will mature over time, but 1.2 millinewtons ain't a whole lot of thrust given an input of 80 watts.

 

[Randy Daytona]

http://nationalinterest.org/feature/how-star-trek-battlestar-galactica-can-teach-the-us-navy-18417

How Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica Can Teach the U.S. Navy to Defeat China

Always thought the much darker Battlestar Galactica series was far better than either Star Wars or Star Trek.

 

[Randy Daytona]

PEL on Hollywood Boulevard.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/he...ing-zooms-hollywood-rogue-one-premiere-954105

Rumor has the attack course was direct to Oakland Alameda Stadium.

 

[Beans]

Looks to be PMC for that upper right laser beam thing.

 

[Randy Daytona]

Didn't see anyone mention this: yesterday was a sad 50th anniversary of the fire aboard Apollo I that killed Grissom, White and Chaffee. Their tragedy undoubtedly saved many lives that came after them.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-in-the-apollo-1-fire/?utm_term=.2bd41dfc5ee3

 

[Randy Daytona]

Cosmonaut Crashed Into Earth 'Crying In Rage'

Taking a bullet for your best friend - Cosmonaut Vladimir Kamarov did. Soyuz 1 had 203 major problems but had to launch anyway - if Kamarov backed out, his friend and Soviet hero Gagarin would have to fly it.

http://www.npr.org/sections/krulwic...3/cosmonaut-crashed-into-earth-crying-in-rage

 

[Randy Daytona]

Can't say I have ever heard of anything like this. A factory floating on balloons at 140,000 ft?

Can Giant Airships Accelerate to Orbit?

http://www.realclearscience.com/2017/05/03/can_giant_airships_accelerate_to_orbit_276022.html

 

[bert]

Yes the math works, but you'll notice the article glosses over developing the factory at 140k feet.

 

[Randy Daytona]

30th of June is National Asteroid Day. To mark the occasion, a clip from a great popcorn movie: