Pub Date : 2023-08-07DOI: 10.59332/jbis-076-06-0207
Griffith Ingram
The paper surveys, firstly, the history of pressure suit and space suit construction in Britain, and gives the locations of historic suits that could be reverse-engineered. Secondly, the requirements for space suits in the “New Space” era are considered. Thirdly, the work currently being done in Britain on space suits is considered, together with the possibilities for space suits as products that could be manufactured in the United Kingdom for domestic use and for export. Keywords: Pressure Suits, Space Suits, Extra-Vehicular Activity
{"title":"The History and Possibilities of British Space Suits","authors":"Griffith Ingram","doi":"10.59332/jbis-076-06-0207","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.59332/jbis-076-06-0207","url":null,"abstract":"The paper surveys, firstly, the history of pressure suit and space suit construction in Britain, and gives the locations of historic suits that could be reverse-engineered. Secondly, the requirements for space suits in the “New Space” era are considered. Thirdly, the work currently being done in Britain on space suits is considered, together with the possibilities for space suits as products that could be manufactured in the United Kingdom for domestic use and for export. Keywords: Pressure Suits, Space Suits, Extra-Vehicular Activity","PeriodicalId":54906,"journal":{"name":"Jbis-Journal of the British Interplanetary Society","volume":"15 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76846059","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-07DOI: 10.59332/jbis-076-06-0205
D. Ashford
Government space policy processes tend to be driven by consensus. Foresight panels, reviews, competitions for early funding, and consultations are among the procedures used. These tend to be good at extrapolating present trends but less useful for predicting breakthroughs or for supporting projects that are not in line with the prevailing orthodoxy. This paper suggests need for a procedure for capturing potential breakthroughs outside of the orthodoxy sooner. Keywords: UK Space Policy, Innovation Capture
{"title":"A Note on a Procedure for Improving the Development of Government Space Policy","authors":"D. Ashford","doi":"10.59332/jbis-076-06-0205","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.59332/jbis-076-06-0205","url":null,"abstract":"Government space policy processes tend to be driven by consensus. Foresight panels, reviews, competitions for early funding, and consultations are among the procedures used. These tend to be good at extrapolating present trends but less useful for predicting breakthroughs or for supporting projects that are not in line with the prevailing orthodoxy. This paper suggests need for a procedure for capturing potential breakthroughs outside of the orthodoxy sooner. Keywords: UK Space Policy, Innovation Capture","PeriodicalId":54906,"journal":{"name":"Jbis-Journal of the British Interplanetary Society","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73542422","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-07DOI: 10.59332/jbis-076-06-0190
N. Spall
This paper provides a broad review of the UK’s interest in human spaceflight (HSF), covering its past, present and possible future. It looks at the origins of the national interest, starting with the British science fiction “visionaries” HG Wells and AC Clarke from the early 1900s. Considering what might have been if governments had more fully invested in UK HSF activity during the 1960-80s, it notes that despite a positive cultural enthusiasm the UK appears to have been held back by institutional scepticism and a lack of government financial commitment - this attitude strongly contrasted with that of other developed nations, particularly Germany, France and Italy. Following a sudden reversal of government policy for human space activity post-2008, a deeper HSF involvement by the UK now seems achievable, depending on sufficient funding - ESA’s 2022 selection of three new British astronaut candidates is a very positive step-forward. The paper broadly considers the opportunities via the combination of human and robotic exploration (HRE) with direct microgravity research on the ISS and the forthcoming private space labs in LEO, plus participation in NASA-led “Artemis” lunar exploration. The latter could involve applied UK space industry initiatives, possibly including lunar navigation and communications satellite construction, Gateway space-station services, plus potential nuclear power sources for a future Moonbase. Space-based solar power with HSF support, expanding space tourism activity, then the future exploration of the Moon and Mars may then be followed by ISRU exploitation and commercial space mining. The paper concludes with a revue of the importance and need for HSF for space research and exploration, it’s “value for money”, potential long-term futures and the contribution HSF makes to the “Big History” of humanity as a space-faring species. Keywords: Astronauts, Human spaceflight (HSF), Arthur C Clarke, European Space Agency (ESA), UK Space Agency, Tim Peake, Artemis, SUSIE, ISS, Orion, Argonaut, Moonbase, World History
{"title":"The Past, Present and Future of UK Human Spaceflight","authors":"N. Spall","doi":"10.59332/jbis-076-06-0190","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.59332/jbis-076-06-0190","url":null,"abstract":"This paper provides a broad review of the UK’s interest in human spaceflight (HSF), covering its past, present and possible future. It looks at the origins of the national interest, starting with the British science fiction “visionaries” HG Wells and AC Clarke from the early 1900s. Considering what might have been if governments had more fully invested in UK HSF activity during the 1960-80s, it notes that despite a positive cultural enthusiasm the UK appears to have been held back by institutional scepticism and a lack of government financial commitment - this attitude strongly contrasted with that of other developed nations, particularly Germany, France and Italy. Following a sudden reversal of government policy for human space activity post-2008, a deeper HSF involvement by the UK now seems achievable, depending on sufficient funding - ESA’s 2022 selection of three new British astronaut candidates is a very positive step-forward. The paper broadly considers the opportunities via the combination of human and robotic exploration (HRE) with direct microgravity research on the ISS and the forthcoming private space labs in LEO, plus participation in NASA-led “Artemis” lunar exploration. The latter could involve applied UK space industry initiatives, possibly including lunar navigation and communications satellite construction, Gateway space-station services, plus potential nuclear power sources for a future Moonbase. Space-based solar power with HSF support, expanding space tourism activity, then the future exploration of the Moon and Mars may then be followed by ISRU exploitation and commercial space mining. The paper concludes with a revue of the importance and need for HSF for space research and exploration, it’s “value for money”, potential long-term futures and the contribution HSF makes to the “Big History” of humanity as a space-faring species. Keywords: Astronauts, Human spaceflight (HSF), Arthur C Clarke, European Space Agency (ESA), UK Space Agency, Tim Peake, Artemis, SUSIE, ISS, Orion, Argonaut, Moonbase, World History","PeriodicalId":54906,"journal":{"name":"Jbis-Journal of the British Interplanetary Society","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88247283","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-07DOI: 10.59332/jbis-076-06-0197
M. Hempsell
With the International Space Station (ISS) coming to the end of its life, the next decade will see significant changes in human spaceflight after a quarter of a century of stasis. America has decided NASA will purchase all its civil Low Earth Orbit (LEO) capability from commercially run space stations. All these companies will be American and as a consequence, foreign participants are in a weaker position than they are with the ISS, which operates under government to government agreements. Europe has to decide whether to accept more American control of its programmes or to create an autonomous capability. Most ESA nations have policies that are driven by prestige motivations and these would be considerably reduced. Also, these nations have decades of investment in a human spacecraft industry which will be at risk in the new post ISS environment. Developing an independent European human infrastructure in LEO is both achievable and probably the best route to meet these national objectives. Although an ESA member, the United Kingdom has different national Space objectives, which emphasise direct economic return; further, it does not have an indigenous industry to protect. However, the future of human spaceflight will have an increasing significant element of economic exploitation, which will be accelerated by the American commercial post-ISS architecture, which the UK cannot ignore. Furthermore, while all ESA members would benefit from an autonomous European capability, there is a potential tension between nations due to differing national policy objectives. Those with prestige objectives just need a working infrastructure that fits a funding corridor, but the British economic objectives will require an economically competitive capability. Keywords: Space Policy, UK Space Programme, Human Spaceflight
{"title":"Coordinating European Human Spaceflight Programmes with UK Space Policy Objectives","authors":"M. Hempsell","doi":"10.59332/jbis-076-06-0197","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.59332/jbis-076-06-0197","url":null,"abstract":"With the International Space Station (ISS) coming to the end of its life, the next decade will see significant changes in human spaceflight after a quarter of a century of stasis. America has decided NASA will purchase all its civil Low Earth Orbit (LEO) capability from commercially run space stations. All these companies will be American and as a consequence, foreign participants are in a weaker position than they are with the ISS, which operates under government to government agreements. Europe has to decide whether to accept more American control of its programmes or to create an autonomous capability. Most ESA nations have policies that are driven by prestige motivations and these would be considerably reduced. Also, these nations have decades of investment in a human spacecraft industry which will be at risk in the new post ISS environment. Developing an independent European human infrastructure in LEO is both achievable and probably the best route to meet these national objectives. Although an ESA member, the United Kingdom has different national Space objectives, which emphasise direct economic return; further, it does not have an indigenous industry to protect. However, the future of human spaceflight will have an increasing significant element of economic exploitation, which will be accelerated by the American commercial post-ISS architecture, which the UK cannot ignore. Furthermore, while all ESA members would benefit from an autonomous European capability, there is a potential tension between nations due to differing national policy objectives. Those with prestige objectives just need a working infrastructure that fits a funding corridor, but the British economic objectives will require an economically competitive capability. Keywords: Space Policy, UK Space Programme, Human Spaceflight","PeriodicalId":54906,"journal":{"name":"Jbis-Journal of the British Interplanetary Society","volume":"41 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88225536","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-07DOI: 10.59332/jbis-076-06-0213
Henry Cope, C. Deane, Nathaniel J Szewczyk, T. Etheridge, Philip M. Williams, C. Willis
Over the next decade the number of humans venturing beyond Earth is projected to rapidly increase in both quantity and diversity.Humans will regularly fly to the International Space Station until it is decommissioned by 2031, will return to the Moon by 2025 via the Artemis programme, and will fly to space via commercial ventures. Spaceflight presents a hazardous environment for human health. To understand spaceflight-associated health risks further and to increase safety via advanced healthcare approaches, including personalised medicine, more data must be collected. Importantly, this data must be derived from a diverse cohort of participants and a range of mission formats. We propose that the UK should start to consider all citizens venturing into space as potential participants from which health and biological data could be consensually collected. Importantly, we believe that this routine data collection programme should adopt a similar strategy to the UK National Health Service and the UK Biobank, by including "omics" data for scientific and healthcare purposes. We consider how such a world-leading programme, kick-started via a pilot study, might be realised through appropriate policy design, including which measures to collect, when to collect them, and unique ethical considerations pertaining to the spacefaring population. Keywords: Omics, Astronaut, Ethics, Commercial Spaceflight, Biobank
{"title":"A Data Collection Programme for Improving Healthcare in UK Human Spaceflight Ventures","authors":"Henry Cope, C. Deane, Nathaniel J Szewczyk, T. Etheridge, Philip M. Williams, C. Willis","doi":"10.59332/jbis-076-06-0213","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.59332/jbis-076-06-0213","url":null,"abstract":"Over the next decade the number of humans venturing beyond Earth is projected to rapidly increase in both quantity and diversity.Humans will regularly fly to the International Space Station until it is decommissioned by 2031, will return to the Moon by 2025 via the Artemis programme, and will fly to space via commercial ventures. Spaceflight presents a hazardous environment for human health. To understand spaceflight-associated health risks further and to increase safety via advanced healthcare approaches, including personalised medicine, more data must be collected. Importantly, this data must be derived from a diverse cohort of participants and a range of mission formats. We propose that the UK should start to consider all citizens venturing into space as potential participants from which health and biological data could be consensually collected. Importantly, we believe that this routine data collection programme should adopt a similar strategy to the UK National Health Service and the UK Biobank, by including \"omics\" data for scientific and healthcare purposes. We consider how such a world-leading programme, kick-started via a pilot study, might be realised through appropriate policy design, including which measures to collect, when to collect them, and unique ethical considerations pertaining to the spacefaring population. Keywords: Omics, Astronaut, Ethics, Commercial Spaceflight, Biobank","PeriodicalId":54906,"journal":{"name":"Jbis-Journal of the British Interplanetary Society","volume":"51 5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87698452","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-07-12DOI: 10.59332/jbis-076-05-163
Stepen Baxter
The project to which this paper is a contribution is a prospectus for the integrated industrial development of the Solar System. Fast transit on an interplanetary scale is a prerequisite before such a development can be established. To facilitate this freedom of movement, this study has defined a suite of fast, large-scale interplanetary ships, achievable in the relatively near term. As background, the present paper is a review of the literature on the feasibility of fast, large-scale, nuclear-powered, cargo carrying and/or crewed interplanetary craft, as explored historically from the development of atomic theory itself through to the application of modern fusion-technology high-performance propulsion systems. The study is part of the BIS SPACE (Study Project Advancing Colony Engineering) technical initiative. Keywords: BIS SPACE Project, Nuclear Powered Spaceship, Fast Interplanetary Ship, Project Daedalus, Project Icarus
{"title":"Fast Interplanetary Travel: a Literature Review","authors":"Stepen Baxter","doi":"10.59332/jbis-076-05-163","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.59332/jbis-076-05-163","url":null,"abstract":"The project to which this paper is a contribution is a prospectus for the integrated industrial development of the Solar System. Fast transit on an interplanetary scale is a prerequisite before such a development can be established. To facilitate this freedom of movement, this study has defined a suite of fast, large-scale interplanetary ships, achievable in the relatively near term. As background, the present paper is a review of the literature on the feasibility of fast, large-scale, nuclear-powered, cargo carrying and/or crewed interplanetary craft, as explored historically from the development of atomic theory itself through to the application of modern fusion-technology high-performance propulsion systems. The study is part of the BIS SPACE (Study Project Advancing Colony Engineering) technical initiative. Keywords: BIS SPACE Project, Nuclear Powered Spaceship, Fast Interplanetary Ship, Project Daedalus, Project Icarus","PeriodicalId":54906,"journal":{"name":"Jbis-Journal of the British Interplanetary Society","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82062027","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-07-12DOI: 10.59332/jbis-076-05-154
R. Soilleux, S. Baxter, Michel Lamontagne, R. Freeland
This work is part of the BIS SPACE technical project studying long term possibilities for an expansion of industrial civilisation on Earth and in space. This paper traces the potential development of space settlements through four ‘generations’, driven and constrained by various economic, physical, and cultural factors. To provide a context for later work, time scales and orders of magnitudes are estimated together with constraints and drivers for space settlement. Following papers will explore the technology of fast transits within the Solar System required to support the economic model and define a fleet of interplanetary craft, based on flow stabilized Z-pinch fusion engines. Keywords: SPACE Project, In-Situ Resource Utilization, Space Settlement, Fission and Fusion Powered Spaceships, Interplanetary Logistics, Dyson Swarm, Kardashev Type I and II
{"title":"The Settlement of Space: Economical and Logistical Drivers and Constraints","authors":"R. Soilleux, S. Baxter, Michel Lamontagne, R. Freeland","doi":"10.59332/jbis-076-05-154","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.59332/jbis-076-05-154","url":null,"abstract":"This work is part of the BIS SPACE technical project studying long term possibilities for an expansion of industrial civilisation on Earth and in space. This paper traces the potential development of space settlements through four ‘generations’, driven and constrained by various economic, physical, and cultural factors. To provide a context for later work, time scales and orders of magnitudes are estimated together with constraints and drivers for space settlement. Following papers will explore the technology of fast transits within the Solar System required to support the economic model and define a fleet of interplanetary craft, based on flow stabilized Z-pinch fusion engines. Keywords: SPACE Project, In-Situ Resource Utilization, Space Settlement, Fission and Fusion Powered Spaceships, Interplanetary Logistics, Dyson Swarm, Kardashev Type I and II","PeriodicalId":54906,"journal":{"name":"Jbis-Journal of the British Interplanetary Society","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86193420","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-07-12DOI: 10.59332/jbis-076-05-178
D. Raitt
This paper discusses the contribution to space activities, specifically space elevators, by American aerospace engineer, Jerome Pearson. Following a brief introduction to placing objects in orbit via rocket and introducing a green alternative, the paper mentions two early pioneers of space elevators, followed by a short biography of a third — Jerome Pearson, who finally had his ideas published in 1975. His conceptual design for a space elevator is discussed in depth, together with his other ideas for lunar space elevators and his relationship with Arthur C. Clarke who was inspired by his work. A brief summary of what a space elevator is is included together with a summary of how advanced rockets and space elevators could work together to bring the anticipated massive tonnage requirements for future space projects to orbit and beyond. Keywords: Cis-lunar Transportation, Jerome Pearson, Rockets, Space Access, Space Elevator
本文讨论了美国航天工程师杰罗姆·皮尔逊对航天活动，特别是太空电梯的贡献。在简要介绍了通过火箭将物体送入轨道和介绍一种绿色替代方案之后，论文提到了两位太空电梯的早期先驱，然后是第三位先驱杰罗姆·皮尔逊的简短传记，他的想法最终在1975年发表。他对太空电梯的概念设计进行了深入的讨论，以及他对月球太空电梯的其他想法，以及他与阿瑟·c·克拉克(Arthur C. Clarke)的关系，克拉克受到了他的工作的启发。本文简要介绍了什么是太空电梯，并概述了先进火箭和太空电梯如何协同工作，以将未来太空项目预期的巨大吨位需求带入轨道和更远的地方。关键词:顺月运输;杰罗姆·皮尔逊;火箭
{"title":"Jerome Pearson and Space Elevators","authors":"D. Raitt","doi":"10.59332/jbis-076-05-178","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.59332/jbis-076-05-178","url":null,"abstract":"This paper discusses the contribution to space activities, specifically space elevators, by American aerospace engineer, Jerome Pearson. Following a brief introduction to placing objects in orbit via rocket and introducing a green alternative, the paper mentions two early pioneers of space elevators, followed by a short biography of a third — Jerome Pearson, who finally had his ideas published in 1975. His conceptual design for a space elevator is discussed in depth, together with his other ideas for lunar space elevators and his relationship with Arthur C. Clarke who was inspired by his work. A brief summary of what a space elevator is is included together with a summary of how advanced rockets and space elevators could work together to bring the anticipated massive tonnage requirements for future space projects to orbit and beyond. Keywords: Cis-lunar Transportation, Jerome Pearson, Rockets, Space Access, Space Elevator","PeriodicalId":54906,"journal":{"name":"Jbis-Journal of the British Interplanetary Society","volume":"99 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79304927","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-07-12DOI: 10.59332/jbis-076-05-170
G. Genta, Dario Riccobono
The Direct Fusion Drive (DFD) technology, which is being developed at present, will allow fast and affordable interplanetary travel. This is a result of the very high specific impulse and the low specific mass of DFD thrusters which outperform more conventional Nuclear Electric Propulsion (NEP), with which it shares the ability of providing a low (albeit higher than in the case of NEP) continuous thrust. It is well known that, to optimize the payload fraction, the thruster should operate in Variable Exhaust Velocity (VEV) mode and that the lower is the specific mass, the higher should be the maximum specific impulse the thruster can produce. A low thrust interplanetary travel, from the orbit around the starting planet to the orbit around the destination planet, can be considered as made of three parts: a first planetocentric phase, a second heliocentric phase and finally a third planetocentric phase; in all of them the trajectory is a sort of a spiral, but while in the first and third the spacecraft makes several (or even a large number) turns about the two planets, the second consists of a fraction of a turn about the Sun. In the first and last one the optimal specific impulse is not much variable and should remain quite low, while in the second one it must go through large variations, reaching a very high value at roughly midway between the planets. To show the potentialities of DFD, three typical fast missions are studied: to the Moon, to Mars and to Titan, showing that this propulsion device will allow humans to reach practically the whole solar system in a reasonable time. Keywords: Interplanetary travel, Human Mars Exploration, Direct Fusion Drive, Trajectory Optimization, Specific Impulse Optimization
{"title":"Optimization of Interplanetary Trajectory for Direct Fusion Drive Spacecraft","authors":"G. Genta, Dario Riccobono","doi":"10.59332/jbis-076-05-170","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.59332/jbis-076-05-170","url":null,"abstract":"The Direct Fusion Drive (DFD) technology, which is being developed at present, will allow fast and affordable interplanetary travel. This is a result of the very high specific impulse and the low specific mass of DFD thrusters which outperform more conventional Nuclear Electric Propulsion (NEP), with which it shares the ability of providing a low (albeit higher than in the case of NEP) continuous thrust. It is well known that, to optimize the payload fraction, the thruster should operate in Variable Exhaust Velocity (VEV) mode and that the lower is the specific mass, the higher should be the maximum specific impulse the thruster can produce. A low thrust interplanetary travel, from the orbit around the starting planet to the orbit around the destination planet, can be considered as made of three parts: a first planetocentric phase, a second heliocentric phase and finally a third planetocentric phase; in all of them the trajectory is a sort of a spiral, but while in the first and third the spacecraft makes several (or even a large number) turns about the two planets, the second consists of a fraction of a turn about the Sun. In the first and last one the optimal specific impulse is not much variable and should remain quite low, while in the second one it must go through large variations, reaching a very high value at roughly midway between the planets. To show the potentialities of DFD, three typical fast missions are studied: to the Moon, to Mars and to Titan, showing that this propulsion device will allow humans to reach practically the whole solar system in a reasonable time. Keywords: Interplanetary travel, Human Mars Exploration, Direct Fusion Drive, Trajectory Optimization, Specific Impulse Optimization","PeriodicalId":54906,"journal":{"name":"Jbis-Journal of the British Interplanetary Society","volume":"71 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"72663140","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-06-14DOI: 10.59332/jbis-076-04-0130
G. Matloff
One suggested method to partially mitigate the effects of global warming is the construction of a ~2,000 km dimension sunshade at or near the Sun-Earth Lagrange-1 (L1) Point. Opaque and transparent sunshades have been suggested for this application. Mass estimates are presented for both as well as a discussion of station-keeping issues. If constructed, such a megastructure would have additional applications. These include beaming energy to divert or destroy Earth-threatening Near Earth Asteroids (NEAS), space-based solar-energy production for terrestrial use, and energy beaming to accelerate laser-photon propelled starships engaged in interstellar migrations. Global warming may be a filter that an emerging galactic civilization might have to overcome. As such, technosignatures of extra solar star-planet Lagrange sunshades might be detectable by extremely large telescopes. Larger Lagrange sunshades might also be constructed by a civilization inhabiting a planet circling an aging star since stellar luminosity increases with star age. Keywords: Lagrange Sunshade, Earth Defence, Space-Based Solar Energy, Interstellar Migration, Technosigniatures
{"title":"The Lagrange Sunshade: Its Effectiveness in Combating Global Warming and Its Application to Earth Defense from Asteroid Impacts, Beaming Solar Energy for Terrestrial Use, Propelling Interstellar Migration by Laser-Photon Sails and Its Technosigniature","authors":"G. Matloff","doi":"10.59332/jbis-076-04-0130","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.59332/jbis-076-04-0130","url":null,"abstract":"One suggested method to partially mitigate the effects of global warming is the construction of a ~2,000 km dimension sunshade at or near the Sun-Earth Lagrange-1 (L1) Point. Opaque and transparent sunshades have been suggested for this application. Mass estimates are presented for both as well as a discussion of station-keeping issues. If constructed, such a megastructure would have additional applications. These include beaming energy to divert or destroy Earth-threatening Near Earth Asteroids (NEAS), space-based solar-energy production for terrestrial use, and energy beaming to accelerate laser-photon propelled starships engaged in interstellar migrations. Global warming may be a filter that an emerging galactic civilization might have to overcome. As such, technosignatures of extra solar star-planet Lagrange sunshades might be detectable by extremely large telescopes. Larger Lagrange sunshades might also be constructed by a civilization inhabiting a planet circling an aging star since stellar luminosity increases with star age. Keywords: Lagrange Sunshade, Earth Defence, Space-Based Solar Energy, Interstellar Migration, Technosigniatures","PeriodicalId":54906,"journal":{"name":"Jbis-Journal of the British Interplanetary Society","volume":"41 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86672823","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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