Comments on: The Daedalus Starship http://www.damninteresting.com/the-daedalus-starship/ A collection of Damn Interesting things Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:45:27 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: glhayman http://www.damninteresting.com/the-daedalus-starship/#comment-24336 glhayman Fri, 17 Apr 2009 23:09:15 +0000 #comment-24336 The problem with Deadalus and Orion is the time involved, and a complete lack of understanding of the possible dangers of interstellar space. At the velocities they are proposing the interstellar dust alone would disintigrate the craft in a relatively short period of time. It essentially goes straight, really fast, and depends on there being no requirement for a major course correction. Furthermore, the technology I introduce is relatively simple, although new, and chances are with moderate research we could develop a probe which could beat deadalus anywhere by a longshot. Plus it could return, is manouverable, protects itself through its own mode of propulsion and does not require dangerously radioactive materials. We could spend millions developing Deadalus, send it out, and with less money and time build a completely new type of probe which would beat deadalus to its destination, even if launched years later. Just really bugs me that with all our potential all we can come up with is a nuclear missle. The problem with Deadalus and Orion is the time involved, and a complete lack of understanding of the possible dangers of interstellar space. At the velocities they are proposing the interstellar dust alone would disintigrate the craft in a relatively short period of time. It essentially goes straight, really fast, and depends on there being no requirement for a major course correction.

Furthermore, the technology I introduce is relatively simple, although new, and chances are with moderate research we could develop a probe which could beat deadalus anywhere by a longshot. Plus it could return, is manouverable, protects itself through its own mode of propulsion and does not require dangerously radioactive materials.

We could spend millions developing Deadalus, send it out, and with less money and time build a completely new type of probe which would beat deadalus to its destination, even if launched years later.

Just really bugs me that with all our potential all we can come up with is a nuclear missle.

]]> By: Mirage_GSM http://www.damninteresting.com/the-daedalus-starship/#comment-23012 Mirage_GSM Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:28:08 +0000 #comment-23012 @Brian: Yes, 5 seconds of thrust in space with no other gravitational forces will get a ship moving - regardless of its mass - until it is stopped by an equal amount of thrust in the opposite direction (or friction with the occasional molecule floating about in space). Even a squirtgun would get a spaceship moving. The problem is the amount of velocity you can impart on the ship. The equation you should be looking at is "F = m * a" (Force equals mass times acceleration). So the acceleration you get for your ship is equal to the force of the thrust divided by the ship's mass. So the bigger the mass is, the smaller the acceleration will be and you will only get that acceleration for the duration you apply the force. to achieve the velocities needed to get to another star, you need to apply the force continuously for (in this case) several years, and to accelerate an object with a mass of more than 50.000 tons you'd have to apply a whole lot of force. So in reply to your original question: Yes, mass DOES matter ;-) @Brian:
Yes, 5 seconds of thrust in space with no other gravitational forces will get a ship moving – regardless of its mass – until it is stopped by an equal amount of thrust in the opposite direction (or friction with the occasional molecule floating about in space). Even a squirtgun would get a spaceship moving.
The problem is the amount of velocity you can impart on the ship.
The equation you should be looking at is “F = m * a” (Force equals mass times acceleration).
So the acceleration you get for your ship is equal to the force of the thrust divided by the ship’s mass. So the bigger the mass is, the smaller the acceleration will be and you will only get that acceleration for the duration you apply the force.
to achieve the velocities needed to get to another star, you need to apply the force continuously for (in this case) several years, and to accelerate an object with a mass of more than 50.000 tons you’d have to apply a whole lot of force.
So in reply to your original question: Yes, mass DOES matter ;-)

]]> By: BrianMcKinnon http://www.damninteresting.com/the-daedalus-starship/#comment-22865 BrianMcKinnon Wed, 24 Sep 2008 16:49:00 +0000 #comment-22865 And from this reading, I gather I'm correct in thinking that you will keep moving in space after, say, 5 seconds of acceleration. Until 5 seconds of equal thrust are used in the opposite direction? And from this reading, I gather I’m correct in thinking that you will keep moving in space after, say, 5 seconds of acceleration. Until 5 seconds of equal thrust are used in the opposite direction?

]]> By: BrianMcKinnon http://www.damninteresting.com/the-daedalus-starship/#comment-22864 BrianMcKinnon Wed, 24 Sep 2008 16:46:48 +0000 #comment-22864 So, I'm well over a year late for this, but maybe someone will see this and call me profoundly retarded like I probably am. Well.. does mass matter in space flight? I would think the only time mass mattered would be when trying to break out of gravity. after that wouldn't any amount of force accelerate any mass equally? So, I’m well over a year late for this, but maybe someone will see this and call me profoundly retarded like I probably am.

Well.. does mass matter in space flight? I would think the only time mass mattered would be when trying to break out of gravity. after that wouldn’t any amount of force accelerate any mass equally?

]]> By: dacoobob http://www.damninteresting.com/the-daedalus-starship/#comment-18604 dacoobob Tue, 27 Nov 2007 03:07:18 +0000 #comment-18604 Do'h, I meant Project Orion. Sorry. Do’h, I meant Project Orion. Sorry.

]]> By: dacoobob http://www.damninteresting.com/the-daedalus-starship/#comment-18603 dacoobob Tue, 27 Nov 2007 03:03:09 +0000 #comment-18603 When they said "nuclear pulse rocket" I immediately thought of Project Archangel (a spacecraft powered by "conventional" H-bombs, also proposed in the seventies). DI should do an article on that one. When they said “nuclear pulse rocket” I immediately thought of Project Archangel (a spacecraft powered by “conventional” H-bombs, also proposed in the seventies). DI should do an article on that one.

]]> By: shenk14 http://www.damninteresting.com/the-daedalus-starship/#comment-17544 shenk14 Thu, 04 Oct 2007 20:45:20 +0000 #comment-17544 "I want a massive interstellar space probe." that really did make my day! “I want a massive interstellar space probe.”

that really did make my day!

]]> By: Falco Peregrinus http://www.damninteresting.com/the-daedalus-starship/#comment-16287 Falco Peregrinus Mon, 16 Jul 2007 21:31:18 +0000 #comment-16287 <p>Here's an idea. </p><p>If the nuclear pulse rocket's nozzle is magnetic couldn't it, keeping in mind this is taking into account today's near-future technology, be used to create a secondary interstellar debris shield and, this is the near-future stuff, could this be used, in conjunction with a layer of magnetically suspended plasma (currently a 1 or 2 inch "force field"/window using plasma and magnetic fields has been made somewhere, no idea were I saw it), along with extra thermal shielding, and the beryllium shield as mentioned in the article be used to, in a manner similar to the way the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter used aerobraking to slow down, protect the probe so that it could use the destination star's corona/atmosphere to slow down and perhaps if it could be figured out ahead of time or planned in route to use the native planets' atmospheres to slow down so it could like get an anti-sling shot effect as well or in conjunction with "solarbraking", yes I made that word up (probably), technique. Also, although I don't know of any mechanism/technique that does this, the probe could perhaps utilize the principles of gravitationally slinging things to slow it down for interstellar insertion, maybe. It also would be neat to know if a probe could use the sling-shot effect in our solar system as many times as possible, whizzing in a tangled web of acceleration to rob as much speed as possible, over the course of many years probably, before heading out. All of this stuff, of course, requires veeeery accurate measurements in order for any of it to work which would be damn near impossible to do here and possibly just as much so in route. </p><p>I loves me some commas! </p> Here’s an idea.

If the nuclear pulse rocket’s nozzle is magnetic couldn’t it, keeping in mind this is taking into account today’s near-future technology, be used to create a secondary interstellar debris shield and, this is the near-future stuff, could this be used, in conjunction with a layer of magnetically suspended plasma (currently a 1 or 2 inch “force field”/window using plasma and magnetic fields has been made somewhere, no idea were I saw it), along with extra thermal shielding, and the beryllium shield as mentioned in the article be used to, in a manner similar to the way the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter used aerobraking to slow down, protect the probe so that it could use the destination star’s corona/atmosphere to slow down and perhaps if it could be figured out ahead of time or planned in route to use the native planets’ atmospheres to slow down so it could like get an anti-sling shot effect as well or in conjunction with “solarbraking”, yes I made that word up (probably), technique. Also, although I don’t know of any mechanism/technique that does this, the probe could perhaps utilize the principles of gravitationally slinging things to slow it down for interstellar insertion, maybe. It also would be neat to know if a probe could use the sling-shot effect in our solar system as many times as possible, whizzing in a tangled web of acceleration to rob as much speed as possible, over the course of many years probably, before heading out. All of this stuff, of course, requires veeeery accurate measurements in order for any of it to work which would be damn near impossible to do here and possibly just as much so in route.

I loves me some commas!

]]> By: MarshyMarsh http://www.damninteresting.com/the-daedalus-starship/#comment-16257 MarshyMarsh Sat, 14 Jul 2007 11:16:42 +0000 #comment-16257 <p>glhayman, you don't suddenly make a giant 'noahs' ark of space. During the space race, they didn't all decide to visit the moon straight away, you have to take things one step at a time, from a simple 'sputnik' to a huge cloud of satellites orbiting the earth. It will also be useful, as in the future, this will be consdiered a 'cheap' design, good for research. Send this little guy to a star system first, see if it is hospitable (we are talking a long time into the future here), and then send manned missions (a very long time, seeing as not many people are sure if the moon landings where real).</p> glhayman, you don’t suddenly make a giant ‘noahs’ ark of space. During the space race, they didn’t all decide to visit the moon straight away, you have to take things one step at a time, from a simple ‘sputnik’ to a huge cloud of satellites orbiting the earth. It will also be useful, as in the future, this will be consdiered a ‘cheap’ design, good for research. Send this little guy to a star system first, see if it is hospitable (we are talking a long time into the future here), and then send manned missions (a very long time, seeing as not many people are sure if the moon landings where real).

]]> By: glhayman http://www.damninteresting.com/the-daedalus-starship/#comment-14237 glhayman Fri, 20 Apr 2007 00:28:35 +0000 #comment-14237 <p>I did miss the fact it was unmanned. Still it isn't very manauverable or practicle. Presently feasible sure but what is the point of developing such a exploration method if we could never actually use it to get there ourselves?</p> I did miss the fact it was unmanned. Still it isn’t very manauverable or practicle. Presently feasible sure but what is the point of developing such a exploration method if we could never actually use it to get there ourselves?

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