Sunday, August 25, 2024
Friday, August 23, 2024
Going to the Moon
Friday, July 12, 2024
Space Stations Beta Gamma and Delta
Friday, August 25, 2023
NASA FY24 Budget Testimony
House CSJ Appropriations Subcommittee, April 14, 2023
I write to request that the budget of NASA funding be increased by a factor of 3. One half of the increase would be used to fund the Artemis program. The other half would be spent on two projects: development of a space elevator and prototyping of a space station to test whether gravity generated by centrifugal force is actually practical. If it is not, then the goal of manned space flight cannot proceed past Artemis until some kind of constant boost propulsion system can be devised.
To pay for this funding, decrease the appropriations for the Defense Department for RDT&E and Procurement. DoD spending cannot easily be converted to just any sort of program. It must fund a similar industrial base or spending for war cannot be reduced. For this reason, responsibility for funding NASA and the National Space Council would be overseen by the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee as part of a larger committee realignment.
How do we put up a space elevator? Inside the atmosphere there should be two stages. One will be firm, with the other retractable. Both would be designed and built by Sierra or a competing vendor who would develop inflatable modules. Modules would be filled with helium. The lower, retractable stage would be withdrawn in the event of major storm events that may damage the entire system, including the geostationary station. The entire tube structure will be inflatable.
Whether the retractable portion is in a single segment, or multiple segments, is a design issue. The lower segment will be assisted by helicopter structures for controlled retraction to the intake station on the Pacific Ocean surface. The upper segment would retract to the upper stable portion. Middle portions would be deflated, separated and parachute to the surface in case of emergency. Chutes would have glide functions and both autonomous and controlled functions for guidance toward recovery vessels outside the weather event.
Construction and reattachment would be accomplished with helicopter structures with rotors arrayed similar to current drone technology, with rotation units at each end, with structures at the mating point inward by one segment from mating points. Segments would be longer than those used for orbital stations.
If necessary, these structures may be permanently in operation to support and control flexible sections and run by solar power generated (and stored) from the surface or by thorium reactors at the space based and surface portions.
Elevator tubes would transport one or more of the following: Steam, with heating at higher altitudes or gaseous hydrogen and oxygen; and vacuum to move small objects (the universe is full of it).
Steam tubes would be heated at altitude where condensation occurs naturally. Where it freezes, steam could be transferred to an automated section where it is allowed to do so and be transferred to to an additional pneumatic tube (which may also begin at the surface), to travel as cylinders of ice. Eventually, a larger pneumatic would be constructed to transport manned capsules and deflated and disassembled Sierra modules for construction. At some point, to the tube stacks will require some form of magnetic shielding to repel micro-meteorites and space junk.
On the way up the elevator, there will be habitats at lunar and Martian gravity for training and acclimation purposes. Initial construction of the geostationary port will be in LEO. At final construction, station will be lifted with the center of gravity constantly at GSO, with the small boosts as modules are built down as others are built up from the surface.
Centrifugal Gravity Test would contain fixed and inflatable elements. A hard module will be required for docking, power production (or integration from solar arrays) and for flywheel to add or break (and capture energy from) spin.
A series of small diameter Inflatable modules would be attached along two sides of one axis. At the end of each structure, there will be four to eight full size modules for crew attached at a single node for either one or two rings. Axial be modules will be inflated one at a time (on each side) until an optimal distance and rotational speed is discovered for each gravitational be level.
Eventually, should a rotational radius and speed prove viable, the follow-on station (or additions to the original station) would include a larger tube for a magnetic or pneumatic elevator, supplemented by smaller tubes for emergency egress. Additional axis would be added so that rings may be added with Lunar, Martian and Earth gravity habitation. Magnetic shielding will be added and air replaced with water, as above.
The best first mission to Mars and any mission to Venus or a gas or ice giant should be a ringed station. Call it Orbital JPL. Such stations can do measurements and send probes into atmosphere or, for Mars and Luna, do what Gateway is planned to do - but with gravity and shielding. If we cannot make this work, there is no reason to continue with manned exploration. Even unmanned missions would be a waste of time. A large station in Jovian orbit, however, would be worth the effort.
To more easily fund space within the same allocation, transfer NASA and the National Space Council to the Defense Subcommittee so that reductions to defense research and procurement would be offset with increased budget for space exploration.
Thursday, August 24, 2023
Ion drive to Mars
Assume a ship with
1. an attached lander fueled with hydrogen and an oxidizer for descent and ascent and an orbital portion that functions as a space station with hinged modules rather than a torus so that it can spin in orbit but not in transit.
2. A landing team would also functions as a backup crew for the boost stage, a main engineering crew, a farm crew and command crew and a science crew to analyze samples, build unmanned probes, etc.
3. Food production for the entire mission with hydroponics and lab grown meat
4. Assume Mars trip would be to the moon at each end, docking with an orbital station. Transfer to Earth orbital torus station from there, with lunar landing under power with modules and by catapult for ascent. and fuel modules to the lunar surface also from surface.
5. Fuel modules would be produced on Moon, along with hydrogen reaction mass for ion engines. Modules would attach to Mars ships.
6. Empty modules would be landed on Mars and converted to habitats. Some would be used as reaction mass for powered trips to Earth and back. Tanks for module conversion would need heat shielding, parachutes and balloons for landing. Eventually, an elevator would be built.
7. Oxygen would be produced from regalith. Hydrogen would also be mined and be used as reaction mass.
Research questions:
1. How much hydrogen would be needed for 0.1 G acceleration.
2. How much is required for 0.2 G for boost phase and 0.3 G gravity for deceleration with opposite speeds for return (assuming optimal orbital mechanics, as well as near optimal)?
3. What about when hydrogen can be produced from martian soil (no fuel need be sent for return trip).
4. What percentage of ship weight and volume would be loaded fuel tanks, as well as expended empty tanks?
5. What is ETD for each option?
6. For purposes and maximizing acceleration, how many ion plasma engines would be optimal?
Saturday, August 12, 2023
Air Drop Booster
An airdrop alternative would be done from a vehicle modeled after an SR-71 and the launched vehicle would have to include SRBs. They could either be rejected or sent to orbit with second stage, where both would stay, physics permitting, for use in construction of stations and interplanetary boosters. Nothing wasted. SpaceX may not like it, because it would displace Starship in some aspects - or maybe it might enhance it.
The more important factors are whether spinning stations are actually possible, given inner ear issues, and whether we can get hydrogen and oxygen to orbit for fuel via space elevator. See this for more information.