Space Forum / Space Flight / September 2005

My initial experiments in making parraffin fuel with bubbles of another
hydrocarbon were not too successful.
I had simply mixed melted parraffin with various hydrocarbons including
various oils and hexane and butyl alcohol.  The idea being that if the

Carbon nanotubes might make a *great* spaceship building material.
However nothing is perfect.  Are there any known problems with using
carbon nanotubes, beyond cost and manufacturability?
For example, does it disolves in common fuels or water, subject to

I'm wondering if anybody considered a pressure-feed system with big and
light low-pressure tank to store fuel, and very small, strong tank to feed
combustion chamber. First, the fuel from low pressure tank is decanted to
small tank. Next, small tank is pressurized. Fuel from this ...

Has anybody investigated the use of microwave beamed power as a way of
eliminating the first stage of a rocket?
To put it more precisely to assist a rocket by beaming microwaves to it
and to use these microwaves to heat the air as it goes through a ramjet

I am looking for information about greenhouse experiments in space. I
have found lots of information on the NASA web, but mostly useless (at
least in relation with what I am looking for). I would like to know
what is today's "state of the art" in growing plants in

Here's a claim by NASA:
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2005/25aug_plasticspaceships.htm
They say they've developed a modified version of polyethylene which has
3 times the tensile strength of aluminum and yet is 2.6 times lighter.

Has anyone considered making a working model of 'King David's Spaceship' ?
          Earl Colby Pottinger

1. How are they going to recover the upper stage?
2. The F9-S9 appears to have 3 identical lower stages strapped
  together.  Do they all burn out simultaneously?
3. Are the upper stage fuel tanks for the F9-S5 or F9-S9

According to SpaceX's press release of 8 September (website:
spacex.com), both stages of its forthcoming Falcon 5 and and Falcon 9
launch vehicles will be re-usable.  The first stage, like that of the
Falcon 1, is to parachute to the ocean.  How are the second stages to

I'll try asking this again.  I cannot find the reasons why the two
Lunokhod rovers "died".  I assume it had to do with battery charging
after the long lunar night.  If we used some means to keep the battery
warm, like some sort of isotope heater, how much more life could we get

John Carmack is experimenting with a throatless type of rocket:
http://www.armadilloaerospace.com/n.x/Armadillo/Home/News?news_id=308
His comments mention significant thrust loss yet Isp losses are slight.
Why is Isp not affected as much?

Has anyone ever designed/built a hybrid jet-rocket (not a scram jet, but hey
if it scrams too then thats neat :)
I was thinking something along the lines of an external combustion rocket
nozzle, with a conventional turbofan jetting concentrically down the middle.

Shaped charges using normal explosive via explosions perpendicular not
behind path of travel "fingers on watermellon seed" squirt a molten
bunch of formerly solid materials to 6 - 10 km/s. Not efficient I
think, but maybe benefits make it worth it.

i'm putting together a powerpoint slide show for my class...i'm looking
for a nice size nasa meatball....3d...animation or gif...
can anyone help??

Would there be any advantage to using the Mars style airbag descent on
the moon?
Get down near the surface via rocket, slow the descent, fire airbags
and then bounce around till you stop.