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SpaceX
Nov 15, 2020 20:08:34 GMT -7
Post by thomas cat on Nov 15, 2020 20:08:34 GMT -7
Dang it, I wanted to watch this live, but with the excitement of todays game, I forgot all about it. todays launch with 4 crewman to the ISSNo more paying the Russians millions of dollars to get Americans into space. Think what you will about Elon Musk, but he and others like him are pushing us into the future.
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Post by End Zone on Nov 25, 2020 11:47:54 GMT -7
I am so glad that TC posted the SpaceX information. To really stretch our imaginations, see the above 30-minute YouTube video that discusses long-distance space travel. Forget space time. Space speed is the answer. And it just might be doable for future AI machines.
I think we need a new model for space travel. SpaceX's capsule is as outdated as the Mayflower already.
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Post by thomas cat on Nov 25, 2020 20:42:41 GMT -7
Thanks for posting that video. I watched the whole thing. Its one of the best when it comes to explaining the unexplainable.
I was particular intrigued when it was talking about 1G acceleration and 1G deceleration. Its the perfect solution to artificial gravity.
I'm not going to say I comprehended all that was said, but I did understand most of it.
I suppose the biggest problem ( that they did admit ) is having some kind of propulsion that will make them go faster and faster.
And then you get into the ever expanding universe.....and then it it gets...well mind numbing......let alone time differences when you travel fast.
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SpaceX
Nov 26, 2020 4:13:53 GMT -7
Post by End Zone on Nov 26, 2020 4:13:53 GMT -7
TC, glad that you enjoyed the video. I enjoyed the basic astrophysics. I understand the energy and gravity discussions. I do not yet understand the time and relativity discussions: I'm working it.
About that constant power producing acceleration valued at 1G, the gravity effect is ideal for human long-dwell space travel without changing most earth-human characteristics. But what if the next planet is 2G? Oops. My wife is is not going to be happy doubling her weight.
The compounding effect of constant acceleration is interesting. The thought of passing the outbound 1970s Voyager I & II space craft after just 4-5 months travel is intriguing. And the space craft speed just keeps increasing toward top-end light speed in just 2 years. A group can travel out and back to Alpha Centauri in 5-6 years? Amazing.
I wondered, how much energy is needed to accelerate a stadium- to city-sized space craft at constant 1G gravity pressure? Elon Musk probably has an idea. A massive space sail membrane can convert photon light energy into mechanical energy. The bigger the sail, the more photon energy captured and converted to propulsion. More than 1G gravity effect is possible. A braking process is still needed -- rolling up the space sail does not slow down the spacecraft in a zero friction environment.
He's a propulsion idea worth considering: convert dark energy into mechanical energy. Then, drive the space ship in the desired direction at the desired speed, and use dark energy for braking. Photon energy is not required. Dark energy is perfect if we can figure out how to collect and use it. Dark energy is pushing millions of galaxies to the edges of the universe at faster and faster speeds, some having hit near-light speed by now.
Space time and relativity are the hardest ideas for me to think about. Time seems an abstraction outside our earth-bound lives. I need some new thinking tools.
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SpaceX
Nov 27, 2020 5:55:44 GMT -7
Post by End Zone on Nov 27, 2020 5:55:44 GMT -7
phys.org/news/2020-11-japan-spacecraft-asteroid-soil-samples.htmlJapan's explorer satellite drops it's asteroid samples at Australia on December 6th. "The Hayabusa2 spacecraft left the asteroid Ryugu, about 300 million kilometers (180 million miles) from Earth, a year ago and is expected to reach Earth and drop a capsule containing the precious samples in southern Australia on Dec. 6."
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