Propelling a Space Revolution (using nuclear generation)

[realFedUp]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sci-ion4jun04,1,4026816.story

Propelling a Space Revolution

NASA is working on an ion propulsion system to send nuclear-powered craft to the outer solar system at speeds 10 times that of the shuttle.

By John Johnson Jr.
Times Staff Writer

June 4, 2005

NASA scientists are developing a new ion propulsion system that could enable spacecraft to reach unheard-of speeds and undertake long-term explorations of planets in the outer solar system.

Dubbed Herakles, the system would use an ion beam produced from xenon gas to propel the craft to speeds of 200,000 mph, 10 times faster than the top speed of the space shuttle, according to NASA. Because the technology is much more efficient than conventional propulsion systems, the craft would be able to carry heavier, more sophisticated scientific equipment.

The propulsion system is being developed through NASA's Prometheus Nuclear Systems and Technology program, and by engineers at the Glenn Research Center in Ohio and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge.

snip

The craft would be powered by an on-board nuclear reactor.

The first ion thruster was installed on Deep Space 1, which was launched in 1998 and conducted a flyby of Comet Borrelly. That system relies on solar energy and loses power as the craft moves away from the sun.

continued

[doodadem]

1. I need warp speed Scotty!

[AngryAmish]

9. I'm givin' you all she's got, Captain!!!!

[bicentennial_baby]

2. Hope it doesn't blow up

A nice radioactive shower for us good 'murikans...

[realFedUp]

4. that was my concern....

or having these things left floating around to
hit one of the hundreds of spy satellites circling
the globe.

[Massacure]

11. You could always use radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs)

Plutonium 238 won't kill on contact.

[RPM]

3. Twin Ion Engines?

Perhaps they will make a TIE-fighter; star wars, here we come!

[Mythsaje]

5. Good.

If we don't get off this planet, the human race is doomed. Maybe, with technology like this, we can start exploiting the solar system for its minerals and other raw materials and stop hacking the Earth to death.

I know, it's a dream.

[realFedUp]

6. yeah, start hacking the universe to death....

maybe the dream is to take better care
of what we have.

[Mythsaje]

7. Most of the solar system

is inert, non-living. Pure material without bio-dependence. It makes a hell of a lot of sense to make use of material that doesn't affect a biological system rather than continue raping a planet that does.

We can hope that, once we gain the ability to go beyond the solar system, we've learned something--or, at the very least--we can use what we've learned to our advantage without doing too much damage to anyone or anything else in the process.

Once we can turn the rapacious appetites to the riches of the solar system, they'll be a little less inclined to devour the remaining resources here, and, perhaps, we can convince them to help heal some of the damage done to the Earth.

Our future is out there. Or it's nowhere.

[Trillo]

12. Can you imagine the concentration of capital

those who can mine other planets would amass?

To go hand-in-hand with extra-terrestrial raw materials supply, even possible space-based manufacturing, a whole new economic system would need devising for "the rest of us."

Back to the future hunter-gatherers? Or just lots of starving people?

[Mythsaje]

13. It would be nice

if they could concentrate their appetites outward rather than inward...maybe, in time, we could reclaim a lot of the natural lands they've destroyed through strip mining and other things.

We also have to consider the implications of nanotechnology in all this--eventually some of the advances they envision may come about, enabling us to turn waste into usable materials.

Science can either be our downfall or our salvation...or, perhaps, a bit of both.

Dream big...small dreams will get us nowhere.

[tlcandie]

8. Check out Bruce Gagnon and Cynthia McKinney among

Norm Chomsky, Dr. Helen Caldicott and others if you want the truth about NASA, nuclear-power in space...

Links for seekers of truth:

http://www.globenet.free-online.co.uk/


http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/library/news/2004/space-0401-gnanps.htm

http://space4peace.blogspot.com/

EDIT:

Also, Arsenal of Hypocrisy on FSTV.. link here to TV schedule for next showing..

http://www.freespeech.org/fsitv/fscm2/genx.php?name=fstv_schedule

[rayofreason]

10. Nuclear power in space exploration

In order to explore the outer planets, nuclear power is essential. The Voyager spacecraft, launched in the 70's, continue to make scientific discoveries. Cassini, exploring Saturn, is nuclear powered as well.

Deep Space 1 was not the first spacecraft to have ion thrusters on board, but it was the first to use them for major mission propulsion, and so was proof of concept. Ion thrusters use much less fuel (but at much lower thrust), and are thus much of efficient and cost-effective for long-duration missions, like those to the outer planets.