For a given amount of energy input, the absolute limit on the speed acheivable is set by dumping 100% of that energy into the kinetic energy of a spacecraft. ...

This problem has been annoying me for ages and I still haven't been able to work it out. I am using the formula for universal garvitaional force and I know it...

Subject says it all. And if the answer to the first part is no, why? Dave

Let's assume that SPS is beaming down microwaves at 900 W/m^2 intensity in a column of focused energy 10 km in diameter at a frequency of 2.45 GHz. The...

I havent got a clue about the physicle forces on such a wire, but it seems like it would only be 4 times the length of a space elevator.. is it posible?

Would NASA be able to perform the following today?: Send a manned orbiter into space then land them (by rocket descent, parachute, air-cushion or whatever...

Hi There's always been something that I couldn't understand about space 'technology'. As much as I want to see new things and new technologies employed...

As far as I can determine, all U.S. capsule splashdowns have been in the South Pacific or Atlantic Oceans. Are there any reasons why the Gulf of Mexico has...

Carbon nanotubes might make a *great* spaceship building material. However nothing is perfect. Are there any known problems with using carbon nanotubes,...

Just out of curiosity... What is the carbon-carbon heat shielding on the leading edges and nose of the Shuttle composed of? I'm assuming that part of it is...

Or kill yucca mountain $40 billion and more will be spent by DOE and the commercial nuclear power industry to try to make nuclear waste to "go away" hahaha...

John Carmack is experimenting with a throatless type of rocket: http://www.armadilloaerospace.com/n.x/Armadillo/Home/News?news_id=308 His comments mention...

The highest resolution Enceladus images from the orbit 3 flyby was 60m/pixel from a distance of ~10,000 km. The closest distance to Enceladus on the flyby was...

Was this all burned during the Saturn orbit injection burn? I was thinking about the four slingshot manoevers that Cassini performed. In earth orbit, you...

Does anyone have any references to Cassini's main engine technology? I read a report on the SOI burn recently; 600m/s dV, with a continuous attitude change...

Does Cassini have enough propellant that it would be possible to perform Titan orbit insertion (TOI)? If so, and if Cassini would be placed on an orbit of...

Good news: inert metal compounds such as platinum coated titanium rods are sometimes used as the anodes. They do not corrode in marine environment, so they...

Another wild idea. We do not yet have the materials availible to build a space elevator, but with todays materials we could build a test case that would...

I saw this idea on rec.aviation.homebuilt. I thought it ought to be posted here, so I copied and posted. The origional idea is NOT mine. It was posted by Tim...

I keep a poster in my room (http://www.jasonlove.com/temp/youhere.jpg) of the Milky Way. It reminds me to quit being so petty. Unfortunately, I don't know...