Author Topic: The Official Space Exploration Thread  (Read 230897 times)

Offline Nicklab

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Re: The Official Space Exploration Thread
« Reply #1200 on: August 19, 2016, 10:35 AM »
A spacecraft capable of travelling at 20% of lightspeed would have to be generations away.  Voyager I is about 11 billion miles out, and that's still in the Kuiper belt.  But a manned mission to another system?  Just being able to provision a spacecraft for that voyage would be an incredible feat.  And would it be possible to put a crew in some form of stasis/hibernation for the journey?  I would also think that navigating through interstellar space to a nearby system would be an unprecedented challenge, too.
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Offline Dave

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Re: The Official Space Exploration Thread
« Reply #1201 on: August 19, 2016, 12:19 PM »
I assumed the 20 years for the solar sailor would be for an unmanned craft. 

Heck, they can't really figure out how to get a manned craft to Mars and back and that would only take a year or so.

Offline Rob

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Re: The Official Space Exploration Thread
« Reply #1202 on: August 19, 2016, 01:47 PM »
It's amazing to think about... I read it would take like 80,000 years to get there with today's tech though.

Article says 20 years with a Count Dooku solar sail.

The 80,000 years number is how long it would take the fastest man-made object to date to get there.  So yeah, we could do better with investment and big ideas. 

That said, we're talking about entirely untested and unproven technology and I have a hard time believing their math... 4.4 light years away in 20 years is more than 20% the speed of light - it's more like 25%.  Also it takes a long long time to get up to that speed, so I don't think that time is factored into that math.  Then you have to stop somehow unless you're just planning to fly by, which takes energy and time as well.  We're decades if not centuries away from getting a probe anywhere near this thing is all I'm saying.



Offline Matt_Fury

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Re: The Official Space Exploration Thread
« Reply #1203 on: August 19, 2016, 02:17 PM »
Hell, I keep thinking about how much we have learned about the universe just in my lifetime!  Before Voyager, we thought all the moons in our solar system were cold, geologically dead worlds.  Now they are some of the most promising places to find alien life!  Black holes and the kuiper belt only existed in theory and we had no proof of planets outside of our solar system.

What will we learn in the next 45 years?!
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Offline BillCable

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Re: The Official Space Exploration Thread
« Reply #1204 on: August 19, 2016, 02:25 PM »
As soon as we hit the singularity, AI will figure out all the solutions in a matter of hours.   ;D

Right now the biggest problem getting to Mars is radiation.  Second biggest is protection from random debris.  Neither insurmountable, but both very difficult.  A space elevator would solve both pretty quickly.
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Offline Matt_Fury

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Re: The Official Space Exploration Thread
« Reply #1205 on: August 19, 2016, 02:35 PM »
Another ther hurdle to get over for manned interplanetary flight is life support.  I covered this problem in my space habitation and life support class when I was working on my Masters degree.  There are some intriguing concepts for sustainable life support, but we are not quite there yet.
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Offline Rob

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Re: The Official Space Exploration Thread
« Reply #1206 on: August 19, 2016, 02:54 PM »
Another ther hurdle to get over for manned interplanetary flight is life support.  I covered this problem in my space habitation and life support class when I was working on my Masters degree.  There are some intriguing concepts for sustainable life support, but we are not quite there yet.

Does protection from radiation fall under life support?

Online Muftak

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Re: The Official Space Exploration Thread
« Reply #1207 on: August 19, 2016, 03:14 PM »
As soon as we hit the singularity, AI will figure out all the solutions in a matter of hours.   ;D

As soon as we hit the singularity, we'll be able to upload our minds into space-exploring robots and leave the meatbags behind...

...which makes the possibility of finding and colonizing an Earth-like planet out there kind of moot.

Offline Nicklab

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Re: The Official Space Exploration Thread
« Reply #1208 on: August 19, 2016, 04:11 PM »
Right now the biggest problem getting to Mars is radiation.  Second biggest is protection from random debris.  Neither insurmountable, but both very difficult.  A space elevator would solve both pretty quickly.

Radiation is a very big consideration.  We're some 40 years on from the Apollo program, but something that has come to light with the Apollo astronauts is an increased incidence of heart disease.  And one of the major factors that researchers are pointing to is the cosmic radiation that the Apollo astronauts were exposed to since their flights to the moon took them beyond the Earth's magnetic field, which largely shields the planet from most of this radiation. 
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Offline Matt_Fury

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Re: The Official Space Exploration Thread
« Reply #1209 on: August 19, 2016, 08:04 PM »
Does protection from radiation fall under life support?

Yes, but I was going the wee need to eat and breathe route.  In my project, I was able to counter radiation with shielding...even magnetic shields would work well.
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Offline JediJman

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Re: The Official Space Exploration Thread
« Reply #1210 on: August 20, 2016, 12:31 AM »
Radiation is a very big consideration.  We're some 40 years on from the Apollo program, but something that has come to light with the Apollo astronauts is an increased incidence of heart disease.  And one of the major factors that researchers are pointing to is the cosmic radiation that the Apollo astronauts were exposed to since their flights to the moon took them beyond the Earth's magnetic field, which largely shields the planet from most of this radiation.

Cosmic radiation?  So then these guys are just starting to develop their super powers?  About time.

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Offline Nicklab

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Re: The Official Space Exploration Thread
« Reply #1211 on: August 20, 2016, 06:10 AM »
Radiation is a very big consideration.  We're some 40 years on from the Apollo program, but something that has come to light with the Apollo astronauts is an increased incidence of heart disease.  And one of the major factors that researchers are pointing to is the cosmic radiation that the Apollo astronauts were exposed to since their flights to the moon took them beyond the Earth's magnetic field, which largely shields the planet from most of this radiation.

Cosmic radiation?  So then these guys are just starting to develop their super powers?  About time.



I'm sure people like Buzz Aldrin and Gene Cernan would much rather be able to burst into flames and fly rather than suffer from heart disease as a result of their space flights.  ::)
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Offline Nicklab

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Re: The Official Space Exploration Thread
« Reply #1212 on: August 20, 2016, 06:26 AM »
Does protection from radiation fall under life support?

Yes, but I was going the wee need to eat and breathe route.  In my project, I was able to counter radiation with shielding...even magnetic shields would work well.

The trick with increased shielding is the increased mass of the spacecraft.  Launch operations and general propulsion are intrinsically tied to the mass of the spacecraft.  A magnetic shield may be less massive than shield plating with a traditional material like lead, but could potentially interfere with onboard instrumentation. 

However, when you're talking about crew exposure to radiation and possible survival issues, the shielding becomes a very significant consideration.  Here's more on the study regarding the Apollo astronauts and their potentially unique health issues.
« Last Edit: August 20, 2016, 06:27 AM by Nicklab »
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Offline JediJman

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Re: The Official Space Exploration Thread
« Reply #1213 on: August 20, 2016, 03:59 PM »
I'm sure people like Buzz Aldrin and Gene Cernan would much rather be able to burst into flames and fly rather than suffer from heart disease as a result of their space flights.  ::)

Nick, lighten up.
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Offline Nicklab

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Re: The Official Space Exploration Thread
« Reply #1214 on: August 20, 2016, 05:10 PM »
...Hence the eye rolling smiley.
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