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#1
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In-flight comet mining for water and fuel
Dear All,
I would like some advice and comments please on the feasibility to mine comets in-flight on a hypothetical futuristic spaceflight mission towards Alpha Centauri, I have outlined in this research article:- http://uk.geocities.com/aa_spaceagen...ropulsion.html Specific questions I have a Is it feasible to have a large scale robotic arm on the scale of some 2 or 3 kilometres in length that can stand the stress of gripping onto comets whilst the ship is docking with them (gently) in-flight? Based on the current material science advances, is this kind of framework conceivably viable for tens of *thousands* of years on such a long voyage well into the future? Will it be structurally robust enough to withstand several docking maneouvres with comets? Since the main asteroid ship is rotating, if the comets are of say just a quarter or so the size/mass of the actual starship (the asteroid), when gripping comets in-flight, will the spin rate of the ship slow down too dramatically, when such a comet is gripped by the robotic arm? What is the best method of *steering* the starship (without affecting its spin) so as to "pitch" it from side to side or to turn it around? My own view would be to apply 'pulse' thrust at favourable points during the rotation. Is it feasible to do this? Really appreciate any thoughts on these. Many thanks. Abdul Ahad MODERATOR: Please can you consider this one in a serious light. I am getting heavy criticism on this aspect of my research article. Please be *kind* and let my post through... (I promise I wont pester this group again!). Cheers. Abdul. |
#2
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Why not just commandeer a comet and ride it around the galaxy. Land on it,
build an underground (under ice) colony and live on it. Plenty of water for fuel cells and possibly hydrophonic vegetable gardens. Build recording instrements and observatories on the surface. Transmit the information back to earth. "Abdul Ahad" wrote in message om... Dear All, I would like some advice and comments please on the feasibility to mine comets in-flight on a hypothetical futuristic spaceflight mission towards Alpha Centauri, I have outlined in this research article:- http://uk.geocities.com/aa_spaceagen...ropulsion.html Specific questions I have a Is it feasible to have a large scale robotic arm on the scale of some 2 or 3 kilometres in length that can stand the stress of gripping onto comets whilst the ship is docking with them (gently) in-flight? Based on the current material science advances, is this kind of framework conceivably viable for tens of *thousands* of years on such a long voyage well into the future? Will it be structurally robust enough to withstand several docking maneouvres with comets? Since the main asteroid ship is rotating, if the comets are of say just a quarter or so the size/mass of the actual starship (the asteroid), when gripping comets in-flight, will the spin rate of the ship slow down too dramatically, when such a comet is gripped by the robotic arm? What is the best method of *steering* the starship (without affecting its spin) so as to "pitch" it from side to side or to turn it around? My own view would be to apply 'pulse' thrust at favourable points during the rotation. Is it feasible to do this? Really appreciate any thoughts on these. Many thanks. Abdul Ahad MODERATOR: Please can you consider this one in a serious light. I am getting heavy criticism on this aspect of my research article. Please be *kind* and let my post through... (I promise I wont pester this group again!). Cheers. Abdul. --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.756 / Virus Database: 506 - Release Date: 9/8/2004 |
#3
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Two words: Delta V.
Or, to flesh it out a bit, it will cost you FAR MORE fuel than it could ever possibly be worth to attempt any sort of a rendezvous with ANYTHING that one might get within a few miles of if one was on their way to Alpha Centauri. And then there's the whole issue of getting back up to speed again. A mission to even the nearest star will involve either a "slowboat" big enough for whole generations to be born, grow up, grow old and die before the ship gets there, of a very light, very fast ship that will be almost entirely a tank of antiprotons, or something along the lines of a solar sail. If we find some kewl way to travel thru HyperSpace between now and whenever, all bets are off, but ... so far, we have no indication that there even IS any "HyperSpace" to travel thru. So that idea is dead in the water for the forseeable future. Aloha mai Nai`a. |
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