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bradley101

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Posts posted by bradley101

  1. Just to mention about the VASIMR 40 days yes but the T/W is so low just like any ion or plasma engine. The low T/W ratio means you spend a year or so gaining velocity that means for manned missions you are exposing your crew to high radiation out of the van Allen belts. Excellent for cargo but for crewed missions I would rather trade off specific impulse for a T/W ratio greater than 1 for a 9 month Hoffman transfer than 13 month transfer including the long slow acceleration.

  2. I know of the SAFE-400. Developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory and Marshal Space Flight Center. Uses Uranium Nitrate as a fuel. 10x the power the weight ratio to the SP-100 project in the 1980s. Only weighs 512 kilos. Max core temp 1020 degress Celsius.

    100KW Electricity energy

    400KW Thermal energy

    Source

    http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Non-Power-Nuclear-Applications/Transport/Nuclear-Reactors-for-Space/

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safe_Affordable_Fission_Engine

    Hope this helps. :)

  3. Yes, he did-that's hydrated minerals, it's not like we're talking about wet sand here. A greenhouse is going to do absolutely nothing.

    But still is higher concentration of water ie permafrost with maybe as low as 10-15% concentrations the greenhouse affect could work. Under the right conditions it could be a low maintainence water extraction system move it from place to place so you don't use up all the water one area. Make the top of the dome like a lens to increase the effect. Even if you have the water locked in chemicals if you base is running off nuclear power use the vast waste heat of the reactor to bake the water out cheap and easy as your utillizing your resources to the max.

  4. Until humans find a way to extract extremely low amounts of water in Martian soil (we've already discussed it at length, it is drier than Sahara sand), water will have to be carried along, and it will be quite some time before such need vanishes.

    Liquid water is the best because its density is greater than ice.

    Have you read any data? http://www.space.com/22949-mars-water-discovery-curiosity-rover.html A liter of water per cubic foot. Use a inflatable green house that uses he natural sunlight to extract the water into vapor. Then you condense is simple. No power needed light weight to bring to mars.

  5. I like the idea that someone is doing this, it doesn't matter to me what kind of government they have as long as they don't use it or the knowledge gained to hurt people. Instead of a competition I would rather see cooperation, just think of what we could do with a joint world space program. Honestly it would be pretty cheap in the long run due to multiple countries sharing the load, and very practical, unfortunately Humans aren't really known for practicality when it comes to foreign relations.

    But the only way to get the idiots in congress to fund anything is competition stupid military projects or oil. NASA is more capable than most but congress is the the block of stone that stops them from going anywhere.

  6. So what? It might spark it.

    As much as I dislike nationalism, I'm afraid it's the only ticket for NASA to get funding from politicians. A second space race is the only way for the space agency to relive its glory days.

    If you could call them glory days they achieved little science value Apollo brought a few hundred KG off moon rock home but they were really flag planting expeditions. But we learned a lot about soft human landings although that experience was never used.

  7. "If NASA had more funding..."

    Well they would waste more funds in ineffective ways.

    It is a well known fact that governmental run organisations or program is ineffective and alot of the funds get wasted on other things then the intended purpose. There is always someone how making money of any governmental programs and it is really hard to make sure the tax-payers gets their worth of the funds.

    It gets even more ineffective when there is is other parties with their own agendas (like politics with a home-state business to support) gets involved.

    So true sadly more funding does not fix the problem a clear directive with a tight time frame is whats needed.

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