DailyDirt: Scotty, We Need More Power...

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

There could be a new Star Trek TV show ready in a couple years or so (trying to keep up with the Star Wars franchise, no doubt). But real space travel is also making some progress -- with a growing number of private companies trying out new approaches to making more cost effective launch systems. Check out a few of these propulsion concepts that could be powered by "di-lithium" crystals someday.

• A company called Escape Dynamics is testing microwave-powered propulsion technology to boost vehicles into space. Microwave transmitters on the ground would zap a ship's propellant to get it to heat up and create thrust (without needing to carry an oxidant on board), and a test vehicle has proven the concept by generating a specific impulse of 500 seconds. If they can refine the technology a bit, they claim to be able to put a 200kg payload into orbit with a single-stage, reusable spaceplane. [url]
• Ion thrusters provide a very efficient means of propulsion for artificial satellites right now, but perhaps a design change could make this type of propulsion more practical for longer trips and not just relatively short bursts of thrust. A "wall-less" Hall thruster design might last far longer than a typical 10,000 hours of operational time for existing Hall thrusters, but more testing will be necessary to optimize this novel ion thruster. [url]
• If you're looking for a bit more oomph, how about a specific impulse of 100,000-250,000 seconds -- generated from lasers aimed at a target for initiating a fusion reaction? Boeing filed a patent on this kind of propulsion in 2012 (which was granted US9068562B1), but it's highly doubtful that laser-initiated fusion/fission thrust will become a reality any time soon. [url]

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Filed Under: hall thrusters, ion thrusters, lasers, nuclear propulsion, propulsion, space, space exploration, specific impulse, star trek, star wars
Companies: boeing, escape dynamics

DailyDirt: Sailing Through Space Without Rockets

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

One of the problems with space travel is that the chemical fuels required to get around in space.. really limit how far a spacecraft can go. A spacecraft can only carry around so much fuel, and then once that fuel is gone, the ship is basically drifting in space. There are some creative solutions to this challenge, though. If you aren't in a hurry, you can try to propel an object with the momentum of light. Or you can shoot very small atoms at high velocity to create thrust. But you cannot change the laws of physics!

• The Planetary Society is constructing a cubesat with a LightSail -- a 32-square-meter Mylar sail that will capture the momentum of sunlight for propulsion. This Kickstarter campaign will help fund the $5.45 million project to build a spacecraft that will be ready to launch in 2016 (on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket) along with another satellite that will inspect the LightSail and its performance. [url]
• NASA is still trying to verify the feasibility of "EM drive" technology -- that shouldn't work at all if the universe obeys the conservation of momentum. No peer reviewed papers on this kind of propulsion exist because no one understands how to fully explain the impossible (or merely erroneous) thrust that has been detected from it. [url]
• Electrically-driven satellites using ion thrusters do actually exist, and Boeing has built two of them. These satellites with xenon-ion thrusters are already in space and will move into their operational orbits by November. A few other electric-propulsion spacecraft from Airbus and Thales Alenia Space will join these satellites in space in the near future, too. [url]

After you've finished checking out those links, take a look at our Daily Deals for cool gadgets and other awesome stuff.

Filed Under: em drive, ion thrusters, lightsail, planetary society, propulsion, rockets, satellites, solar sail, space, space exploration, spacecraft
Companies: airbus, boeing, kickstarter, nasa, spacex, thales alenia space