Re: Space exploration for the rest of us

On Thu, 28 Sep 2006 21:59:00 +0200, in a place far, far away, jacob
navia <jacob@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> made the phosphor on my monitor glow in
such a way as to indicate that:

2) The need of artificial gravity + thick shielding to sustain
human missions longer than 6-8 months makes any such a project
impossible with current technology.


Not impossible, just expensive. As launch costs drop, so will the cost of
such proposed misions.


Just a mission to Mars with something like 4 years time in space
is COMPLETELY beyond current (and near future) technology.

We are speaking about supplies of thousands of tons of food,
water, oxygen, radiation shield, etc.

Tons, but not thousands of tons.

Not to speak about the fuel to move all that mass to mars.

That has been calculated as well. It too is not thousands of tons.

You really shouldn't post such ignorant stuff in a knowledgable
newsgroup.

"Need" is a strong word. I doubt NASA's current plans call for underground
tunneling.

Obvious. NASA's plans calls for very short trips of a few days
in the moon, to spend the rocket, put some flags, take a few
photos and get back.

That's not because of radiation. It's driven by their architecture,
and budget constraints. There are in fact eventual plans for a
permanent base.

??? Where? What they want to do then? There is NOTHING in the design of
the CEV that hints at this problems. It is just a vehicle for very short
missions so this problem can be safely ignored!

Which is why it can be ignored. It is not being ignored in the
Constellation elements for which it is a problem.


Those are REAL showstoppers.


No, they're not.

It is not enough to say that. Prove it.

It is also not enough to say they are. Given how much ignorance
you've displayed here, you're a long way from making your case.
.

Relevant Pages

  • Constellation architectures
    ... ideas, and some bad ones (like landing the CEV on the moon, complete ... Develop the in-line HLV capable of launching 100 tons. ... The early manned approach would first land a Hab/Utility ... Spiral 3 missions would focus on building a base from 13 ton pallets. ...
    (sci.space.policy)
  • Re: Space exploration for the rest of us
    ... Their bones become brittle, ... Consider the ignorant source. ... Apollo missions were too short for long range consequences. ... How would the astronauts avoid the DEADLY effects of sun flares? ...
    (sci.space.policy)
  • Re: Space exploration for the rest of us
    ... Their bones become brittle, ... Consider the ignorant source. ... Apollo missions were too short for long range consequences. ... How would the astronauts avoid the DEADLY effects of sun flares? ...
    (sci.space.policy)
  • Re: Space exploration for the rest of us
    ... Their bones become brittle, ... Consider the ignorant source. ... Apollo missions were too short for long range consequences. ... How would the astronauts avoid the DEADLY effects of sun flares? ...
    (sci.space.policy)
  • Re: Space exploration for the rest of us
    ... Their bones become brittle, ... Consider the ignorant source. ... Apollo missions were too short for long range consequences. ... How would the astronauts avoid the DEADLY effects of sun flares? ...
    (sci.space.policy)