Ed Lu letter from space #8

"Jacques van Oene" wrote in message
. ..
Future Spaceships
snip

It's stuff like this that's keeping me around these parts despite the
flames.

Thanks Ed, and thanks Jacques for posting it to Usenet.

--Chris

Note that I've really cut down on what Ed said in his letter to save
space.

"Jacques van Oene" writes:

I hope that someday flying in space becomes as commonplace as getting on an
airplane. Everybody should get a chance to see this view!

Cool. Another letter from Ed. I can't wait to see what this one's about!

Before that can happen though, the cost and complexity of launching things
into space will have to come down. A lot of groups and small companies are
working on just that, and I think that is a very good thing. None of these
groups has actually made an attempt yet at launching into space, so we'll
have to see how this plays out.

Starting out good. This is clearly a vague reference to all of the
X-Prize candidates. I wouldn't expect this, coming from a NASA
employee. NASA, after all, is the only way that anyone can get to LEO
from a vehicle launched within the United States.

Here is where the Space Station can really help us, as a test platform for
the two key technologies we need to really get out and explore the solar
system, power and propulsion. Propulsion because everything depends on how
fast you can go, and power because something needs to run the engines you
are using for propulsion. Huge amounts of power will be required to conduct
science and research once you get to your destination.

Going downhill fast. The disconnect between ISS and sub-orbital
X-Prize candidates is huge. Ed is skipping past the difficult part,
which is cheap access to space. Focusing on next generation power and
propulsion systems is a waste of time if launch costs stay the same.
I'm getting scared about where Ed is going with this one.

What we must do if we want to really open up the solar system is to find a
way to get our spacecraft to go very much faster, so we can fly where we
want, when we want, and carry lots of stuff. You can see that there are two
ways to get more delta V capability: either carry more fuel (it's like
carrying more bags to throw); or find a way to exhaust your fuel at a higher
speed (like throwing the bags faster). The first solution works up to a
point since you can only carry so much fuel. The second solution works
provided you can find a way to expel the fuel at a higher speed.

Solar system? Ed is really getting ahead of himself here. Why don't
we focus on getting to LEO cheaply first? Better yet, why not talk
about the companies actually bending metal and curing composites in an
attempt to win the X-Prize?

So that means you need a nuclear reactor to provide electricity for your
rocket engine. These reactors would be very small by comparison with power
plant reactors, and quite a bit simpler. The nice part is that the reactor
fuel can be launched "cold" - meaning essentially non-radioactive. The fuel
can then be activated in the reactor once off the planet. This way if there
is a launch accident there is no risk of spilling radioactive material,
since the fuel has not yet been activated. As an added bonus, by having a
reactor on board you also have plenty of power to run all the instruments
and systems on the spacecraft. Again there are several groups working to
perfect the design for small nuclear reactors for use on spacecraft.

Now Ed is really off the deep end. Maybe in 30 to 50 years we'll have
a need for nuclear reactors in space, but not today, or even "soon".
Today we're stuck in LEO due to high launch costs and a government
monopoly on human space flight. :-(

The combination of a nuclear reactor plus a plasma engine could provide a
delta V capability of 30 to 100 thousand MPH. This is plenty for exploring
the solar system.

The exciting part is that NASA has decided to start just such a program,
known as Project Prometheus. The first proposed test of the system is to fly
a probe to Jupiter.

Spoken like a true NASA employee. To get anywhere in space, NASA is
the only way to get there.

I'm sorry, but this is the first letter from Ed that really makes me
want to puke. This guy's obviously had the astronaut level NASA
brainwashing. It's clear that it didn't take completely (due to his
thinly veiled reference to the X-Prize), but I fear that even Ed is
beyond hope.

Maybe next time he'll get back to discussing something more
interesting, like the pretty view out the window.

Jeff
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