Main Article: Nuclear v.s. Solar.
Let the battle begin, vote in the lastest poll for which direction President Elect Obama should be moving NASA.
Poll Results: The voters bump another one, see what lost out in series #2 poll #3
Star Trek: In the News.
Yesterday's Interesting Comments: "I keep trying to tip you, but for some reason it is not sticking...what, is my money no good here?"-Boisepoet. I answered with: "Would you like to send a check instead?" I received no answer but I am sure the check must be in the mail. (smiles) Scroll down to see more interesting comments.
THE COUNTDOWN - 764 days until The United States of America no longer retains the ability to launch an American into space. 764 days until America goes cap in hand to Russia to beg for a ride to the 100 billion dollar Space Station. In just two years America is grounded, Russia and China take center stage, and the world is left wondering about America as a Leader of the Free World.
Happy Thanksgiving Day-Harvest Day, I trust no one is going to succumb to a nap on the couch right when I post this:
Turkey meat and drowsiness
"One widely-held belief is that heavy consumption of turkey meat (as for example in a Thanksgiving or Christmas feast) results in drowsiness, which has been attributed to high levels of tryptophan contained in turkey. While turkey does contain high levels of tryptophan, the amount is comparable to that contained in most other meats. Furthermore, postprandial Thanksgiving sedation may have more to do with what is consumed along with the turkey, in particular carbohydrates and alcohol, rather than the turkey itself. This is demonstrated in a popular episode of the sitcom "Seinfeld" when characters of the show drug a woman using turkey and alcohol in order to play with her toy collection."
Still with me? Or you hittin' the couch?
Space Advocates are split on the direction to take on energy in space. Two leading contenders are using Nuclear and Solar. This is NOT an either or proposition. It is more about which type is best for that particular application. Solar can not be used to power a base on the moon when there is periods of 14 days of no sunlight unless there is sufficient battery storage to use during that period. NASA has been looking at a Nuclear option for a Moon Base: NASA Eyes Nuclear Power for Moon Base
"Nuclear power could make a comeback beyond Earth if NASA goes forward with a proposed a fission reactor in its future moon base.
A fission-powered system could generate up to 40 kilowatts and give any lunar outpost enough power to supply eight houses on Earth. More importantly, astronauts will require a reliable and steady energy source on the moon and Mars.
"The problem with power on the moon is that, depending on where you're located, you may have 14 days of darkness," said Lee Mason, an engineer at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, who heads the project. "We think nuclear offers some advantages there in terms of a continuous power source in sun or darkness."
Engineers envision a nuclear reactor buried under the surface of the moon so that lunar soil, known as regolith, can act as shielding against the reactor's radiation. Power converters would sit atop a tower jutting above the surface, changing the reactor's heat energy into electrical energy for astronauts to use." (picture here)
I would support this effort until a Solar Option is presented that is actually doable with limited Lunar landings.
As far as a Nuclear Engine is concerned I would advocate for a "TRI-Modal" engine. This means it could provide (1) main propulsion for traveling to another planet, like Mars. (2) provide for thrust capability for course corrections and station keeping when in planetary orbit. (3) when the engine is "idling" it would provide all the energy needed for ship operations and science labs.
Here is a paper on the type I am refering to:
TRITON: A TRImodal capable, Thrust Optimized, Nuclear Propulsion and Power System for Advanced Space Missions
C. Russell Joyner, Joseph E. Phillips III, Robert B. Fowler
Pratt & Whitney Space Propulsion, West Palm Beach, Florida, 33410
And
Stanley K. Borowski
NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio, 44135
"The purpose of this paper is to address the design attributes of a Trimodal nuclear rocket system design based on the collaborative work of NASA Glenn Research Center, Pratt & Whitney, Aerojet, and RENMAR. This design is a derivative of an earlier Bimodal CERMET-based nuclear thermal rocket engine concept called ESCORT that was designed for to support USAF and NASA in-Space propulsion and power and planetary surface-based power requirements. The TRITON is a Trimodal engine design capable of operating across a wide range of propulsive thermal and vehicle electrical power requirements.
The baseline TRITON is designed for primary propulsion mode that uses only LH2 fuel for moderate thrust levels near 66.7 KN (15klbf) and ISPs near than 911 seconds. The "augmented" thrust mode provides gasified oxygen into the nozzle down-stream of the throat to get an additional 200% more thrust when needed for heavy cargo earth departure missions. In the power-generation mode a dynamic power conversion unit provides electrical power to support spacecraft systems or electric thrusters for additional maneuvering. The baseline TRITON engine is powered by a fast-spectrum beryllium-reflected CERMET-fueled nuclear reactor. It uses a dual turbopump arrangement driven by an expander cycle using the LH2 and a gas generator add-on to drive the LANTR propulsive mode. When the TRITON is operating in electrical power mode, the reactor operating at less than 10% maximum thermal capability is used to heat a mixture of helium and xenon to drive a closed-loop power conversion cycle.
The TRITON engine and power system unit concept has been analyzed relative to the design requirements for producing a range thrust from 44 KN to 334 KN and has a wide range of electrical power generation capability ranging up to nearly 200 kWe per engine. Baseline operating conditions are at 66% power per unit so that when used in "pods" of three and operating in "66% power mode", the total thrust to a spacecraft is near 130 KN and the power delivery capability is near 50 kWe. Data from a parametric design study of the pure hydrogen mode was used to define the performance for the LANTR mode. The POD TRITON engine concept thrust size of 66.7 KN and the power generation level of 25 kWe was selected based on trades performed for a "Return to the Moon" mission, a Manned Mars mission, and several other Deep Space exploration missions. This paper discusses the design analysis performed and provides information on the TRITON engine concept as it could be used for advanced manned and unmanned cargo missions within the Solar System."
Presented in 2004, it shows a workable system that should be considered.
There are presentations in the previous couple diarys that showcase various solar options, check them out if you missed the early part of this debate.
Again, have a great Thanksgiving.
History of Thanksgiving in Space
POLL RESULTS:
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Solar Power for Bases, either on the moon or mars lost out on the last poll. Voters must see solar power research isn't needed at present to provide a usable solar power system for a base at this time.
Nuclear Engines led the poll with 33% of the vote with second place having a four way tie at 9%. The combined nuclear vote was 42% with the combined solar vote equaling 27%.
The no opinion vote also totaled 27% with those favoring new space funding ahead by a 2 to 1 margin.
SERIES 2:
Poll #1 Space Solar Power (SSP) 27%
Poll #2 Space Solar Power (SSP) 33%
Poll #3 Nuclear Engines..............33%
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STAR TREK NEWS:
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New Star Trek Movie Sweepstakes Online
"Intel and Lenovo have kicked-off a new "Exploration Sweepstakes" in partnership with the new Star Trek movie. By entering the sweeps, live now through January 15th, you'll have a chance to win a Lenovo Y530 laptop with Intel Centrino 2 technology,"
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YESTERDAY'S INTERESTING COMMENTS:
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Yesterday's theme was solar sails and I used the title of a STYX song. What really was a surprise? In just a few minutes a commentator, Sam Wise Gingy provided a great sound track to the song.
A comment by Bill White: "Space solar power is a beautiful & elegant idea and back in the day Gerard K.'Neill presented an emotionally compelling case for space solar power as the solution to terrestrial energy issues.
Unfortunately, when we look closely at the numbers, it just doesn't work out as being a sensible idea, which is something I regret typing however I do believe that to be true."
Gerard K. O'Niell was famous for the O'Neill cylinder, a space station concept ahead of it's time. When younger, someone mentioned Gerard to me and I didn't know who he was, after reading about his space station....I was hooked on space. Apollo amazed me, but O'Neill inspired me to the idea everyone could have a shot at living in space.
One advocate Hey Mikey discussed the idea of a space elevator:
"Space elevator, NEAR, unmanned probes, propulsion: Once the space elevator is working, manned missions will get MUCH cheaper. Postpone them till then, and drastically ramp up space elevator funding in the meantime, to get it working ASAP. I realize ASAP might be 20 years. That's fine. We have plenty of more cost-effective things to do with our limited space budget"
I have read few articles on this and although it shows promise, I believe there are easier, faster solutions that can be implimented now. Research can continue on creating the carbon nano tubes with sufficient strength as they would have spillover potential. Hey Mikey has an article about wind power, check it out.
There was an additional new Star Trek trailer provided by grimc that was pretty funny. Can't wait to see the new movie.
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--Advocate's Corner--
The "Americans In Space" Diary currently advocates the following:
Manned Space Flight:
HLV - Heavy Launch Vehicle.
ARES V - 207 tons, costs: Unknown
DIRECT 2.0
- 100+ tons, costs: Unknown
Falcon 9 Heavy - 32.5 tons, costs: 94.5 million (currently advertised)
LEO Fuel Depot:
Tanker Argus: Re-supply for a LEO Cryogenic Propellant Depot
Space-Based Economy Valuation, Analysis, and Refinement
PROJECT PROMETHEUS - Canceled, support it being refunded.
FTP Vehicle: Fly To Point Vehicle, There are 30-50 Fly To Points within a Near Mars Orbit.
Robotic Mission Types:
New Hubble - LEO Optical Space Telescope. Launched on the ARES V Heavy Launch Vehicle with the expanded fairing.
TPF - Terrestrial Planet Finder
JIMO - Jupiter Icy Moons Mission.
TERMS: Terminology used on the site.
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When commenting on astronauts these are the four types of space sailors:
Astronaut.PVT = Private astronaut, works with a privately owned space vehicle's operations.
( Burt Rutan and Scaled Composites - Space Ship One, )
Astronaut.COM = Commercial astronaut, works with a commercially owned space vehicle's operations.
( SPACE X - Dragon, Bigelow Aerospace - Sundancer, Virgin Galtic - Space Ship Two )
Astronaut.CIV = Civilian astronaut, works with a civilian owned space vehicle's operations.
( NASA, ISS - STS)
Astronaut.GOV = Government astronaut, works with a government owned space vehicle's operations.
( Military Space Place)
Someone asked, "do we have to continue with the astro?"
Well without astro, being a "naut" would be nothing. It helped build the mystical theme of being an ASTRONAUT. Having that Astro attached to your name is therefore special.
These are the three so far; Astrotech, Astrogator, Astrotourist.
The Current List of space titles used in this Diary.
astronaut = Astronauts are the Space Sailors working on and piloting space vehicles.
-- Astronaut.PVT, Astronaut.COM, Astronaut.CIV, Astronaut.GOV
astrotech = Astrotechs are the builders and mission specialists.
astrogator = Astrogators are the space investigators, the research scientists.
astrotourist = Astrotourists are the vistors to space.
-- OTHER TERMS --
FTP = Fly to point, piloting a space vehicle to a point in space, like a Lagrange point, or as a fly by: moon, mars, asteroid. There are no landings involved with a fly to point mission! Crews can do an egress to perform certain tasts. For example, a mission to a Lagrange point, dock with the James Webb Telescope, egress and make repairs.
LEO - Low Earth Orbit
GEO - Geosynchronous Earth Orbit
GTO - Geosychronous Transfer Orbit
EMLP - The Earth-Moon Lagrange Point
ESL1 - Earth-Sun Lagrange Point 1
ESL2 - Earth-Sun Lagrange Point 2
LL0 - Low Lunar Orbit
SM1 - Sun-Mars Lagrange Point
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TODAY'S POLL: