Sailing on the high Space?

We will as a civilization be sailing through space like we once sailed the oceans to find new lands? The Planetary Society hopes so.  This non-for profit group has been funded solely by citizens and is planning to send two missions into space in the coming months.  In May 2015 the company will be sending up its first test satellite in order to test the operational systems of their space sail or LightSail as they call it.  Then in 2016 the company will send the finalized rocket up out of Earth's orbit and find out if the idea of a space sail is effective. But how does a space sail work?  There is no wind in space so what can push it and the craft it's attached to forward? The answer, tiny light energy particles called protons.  When the protons hit the surface of the sail they transfer their momentum to the sail and cause it to accelerate forward.  These particles travel extremely fast, the speed of light, but have very little mass.  This gives them very little momentum but over a period of time the momentum would build as the space craft traveled causing an eventual acceleration that would get very fast.  This way of producing acceleration for a spacecraft would be very cost effective because it provides a limitless source of power to push the craft forward unlike chemical or gas rockets.

PHOTONS HAVE ENERGY AND MOMENTUM

THE PHOTONS REFLECT OFF THE SAIL, TRANSFERRING MOMENTUM

The Rocket That Will Power Orion

NASA's new rocket is constructed is about to begin testing.  The Space Launch System or SLS is designed specifically for Orion and to propel the ship to Mars and asteroids in the near future.  The new rocket is similar to the ones used on the space shuttle and employs some of the same technology. The boosters for the rocket will be used for the first two minutes of flight in order to get the ship out of the Earth's gravitational pull.  There are two boosters and each will provide a trust of 3.6 million pounds of thrust.  Once the boosters run out they will detach and the ship will be left with its cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen supplies that will feed the vehicle’s RS-25 engines. These engines will do all the work once in space and will be able to take man to, with the help of Orion, finally to the red planet.

The first qualification motor for NASA's Space Launch System's booster is installed in ATK's test stand in Utah and is ready for a March 11 static-fire test.

Image Credit: 

ATK

The EmDrive, breaking Physics??

Two weeks ago I talked about the great possibilities of metallic hydrogen as a fuel source for deep space travel.  This week I looked into the idea of an EmDrive.  This device as seen to the left uses microwave technology with the input of DC power to propel objects forward without using a propellant like gas.  It uses a magnetron to push microwave waves through a tunnel slowing them down, and creating different levels of pressure in the cone of the device which causes the thrust.  This system of creating thrust in space has many advantages.  First it substantially reduces the weight for fuel on any spacecraft.  It also can run continuously for 15 years with only the help of a solar panel to supply its needed electrical input which also saves on the costs for sending a project into space. The EmDrive has also been tested and passed by NASA as having serious potential for the future.  The current thrust for this machine low but in space it doesn't take much force to get moving and being able to apply a force for a long time allows for a constant acceleration.The EmDrive is a very complex machine and if you would like to learn more about how it works, its potential for future exploration, and how it was created visit http://emdrive.com/. 

Cryosleep?

Some of the major issues with deep space travel lie with how to sustain human life.  Humans eat, sleep, exercise, work, and relax.  All of these facets of life require space and some form of energy.  These two factors cause the price of sending a person into space to literally skyrocket.  One way to get around all of these issues would be an extended human hibernation.  You may be thinking cryosleep that's only in science fiction movies, but recently NASA has been looking into a process much similar to it.  The process is called Torpor.  To put the astronauts to sleep their bodies are put into a low-metabolic state using therapeutic hibernation and total paternal nutrition.  These processes would keep a person's body asleep but also supply them with the nutrients they need.  The leading research partner to NASA in this process is called SpaceWorks and already the company is making huge plans.  As seen on their power point on Torpor, Torpor pdf , the company has already made preliminary designs for deep space travel using their system of hibernation.  With this system it would allow for a 180 day journey where the crew of the spaceship would be awake for just the beginning and end of the voyage. The continuation of research into this area may be one of the largest contributing factors to allow the human race to finally explore the universe.

Artist’s concept of “sleeping to Mars”. Photo Credit: SpaceWorks Enterprising

                                                                 Artist’s concept for Mars-ready habitat. Image Credit: SpaceWorks