Space Forum / Space Flight / July 2003

Specific heat of water = 1.0 BTU/lbs/F
Latent heat of fusion of water = 140. BTU/lbs
Latent heat of evaporation of water = 970. BTU/lbs
Initial water temperature = 0 F

MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

http://www.boeing.com/news/releases/2003/q3/nr_030729b.html
Boeing-Led Team to Study Nuclear-Powered Space Systems
Boeing Company News Release
July 29, 2003

Living in deep space presents any number of problems, but one of the more
serious ones is the lack of gravity on small bodies like asteroids and comet
cores.  One idea might be to nudge two bodies on mutual intercept courses
with a very small net delta vee between them.  When they ...

Just an idea I had - - - using the sun and shade(s)  - - to send morse
code messages across the galaxy.  Any thoughts anyone?
Perhaps use clouds of dust.  Maybe there is an electro-chemical way to
turn opaque a cloud of dust, and repeatedly do so.

To reduce the risk in launching a Shuttle, would it be worthwile to replace
the SRB's with hybrid rockets, providing that we can get them up to the
required efficiency in the next couple of years?

I wonder if you could reduce boneloss by trampolining in orbit?
You would need a trampoline on the floor and one on the ceiling
and do a half somersault inbetween.  I want to be the one  to fly in the
vomit comet to test it.  Maybe you would need to use a Guppy to have

Would NASA be able to perform the following today?:
Send a manned orbiter into space then land them (by rocket descent, parachute,
air-cushion or whatever means are at our disposal, today) on some barren field
in Nevada, then have them, without the aid of anything other than what ...

I've been think about the requirements for the external garment worn
with a Mars Surface Spacesuit.  Of course a TMG for Mars would be
greatly influenced by the type of suit under it whether it's a MCP or
soft or hard suit, still we should be able to narrow the types of

I think this new "planet" detected in a 13 billion year old
star system is most likely really a brown dwarf.  Ahh, but
you say that 2.5 MJup. is too low to be a brown dwarf!
Firstly, no, we don't really know that, not yet.  Secondly,

I know that the plasma halo cause by atmospheric friction cuts out
radio contact from a returning space craft i.e. the Shuttle, Apollo
Comand module, Gemini/Mercury/Suyous capsule..., but does it also
block out radar waves/transmission, as radar like radio is just

Does Mars offer the possibility of a sun-synchronous orbit?  I'm
playing with an idea for orbiting reflectors to warm Mars and assist
in terraforming.  It would increase efficiency if the reflectors were
never eclipsed.

If you have a string of bombs spaced a second apart on a trajectory,
is there a reason that you can't simply ride the stream with an orion, and
constantly accellerate to 0.1C at ~1G?
I assume medusa wouldn't work quite so well, due to problems with

if there is no Atmosphere, where do rockets that go in Space get thrust from

I noticed the bail type catalyst packs that the Armadillo team are
using.  Apparently the coatings just blow right off.  Electroplating
might be the answer but does anyone know if vibration in the pack from
highspeed flow will just crack an electroplated coating off?  Would