Dragon Docks with the International Space Station

_{kairosfocus

June 1, 2020

Astronomy, Defending our Civilization, Engineering, Geo-strategic issues, News Highlights, Sci-Tech watch}

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Ponder the exacting systems engineering, reliability testing, required qualifications and multiple i/o instrumentation and control involved. Observe the precise, corrective jets to keep the process under control.

This, is how a good future is going to be built: near earth colonisation and Lunar colonisation are the first stages to Solar system colonisation. (Note, they are expected to remain on the ISS for 30 – 119 days.)

Blue Danube is extra, but it speaks to the cultural patterns that lie behind that precise docking exercise and all the rich promise it reflects. END

Comments

F/N Ion drive to Mars https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/moon-mars/news/a28754/new-ion-thruster-breaks-records-power-thrust/ >>Mars Engine' Shatters Records for Ion Propulsion These propulsion systems already help satellites stay in position and spacecraft explore the solar system. Now engineers want to build a bigger one that could take us to Mars. By Jay Bennett Oct 24, 2017 NASA Ion thrusters are among the most exciting propulsion systems for future deep space exploration, and the technology's viability has already been demonstrated on dozens of spacecraft. The thrusters ionize a fuel source, generally xenon, and then accelerate the charged particles to tens of thousands of miles per hour using electric and magnetic fields. The beam of ions blasting out the back of the thruster is an efficient way to move satellites in the near-vacuum of space. If scientists could scale ion thrusters to accelerate larger spacecraft, they could propel missions to Mars and beyond.>> Impulse power . . . and, gateway to nuke rocket engines. KF PS: Here at UD last Christmas https://uncommondescent.com/moving-civilization-forward/high-impulse-nuclear-rocket-engines-mars-in-40-days/kairosfocus_{June 1, 2020
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ET, you are forgetting, coding for transparent Al on a Mac Classic, while doing retrocausality using a cloaked Bird of Prey. KFkairosfocus_{June 1, 2020
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F/N: Skylon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skylon_%28spacecraft%29 >>Skylon is a series of designs for a single-stage-to-orbit spaceplane by the British company Reaction Engines Limited (REL), using SABRE, a combined-cycle, air-breathing rocket propulsion system. The vehicle design is for a hydrogen-fuelled aircraft that would take off from a purpose-built runway, and accelerate to Mach 5.4 at 26 kilometres (85,000 ft) altitude (compared to typical airliners' 9–13 kilometres or 30,000–40,000 feet) using the atmosphere's oxygen before switching the engines to use the internal liquid oxygen (LOX) supply to take it into orbit.[3]:5 It could carry 17 tonnes (37,000 lb) of cargo to an equatorial low Earth orbit (LEO); up to 11 tonnes (24,000 lb) to the International Space Station, almost 45% more than the capacity of the European Space Agency's Automated Transfer Vehicle;[4] or 7.3 tonnes; 7,300 kilograms (16,000 lb) to Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO), over 24% more than SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle in reusable mode (As of 2018.[5][6]) The relatively light vehicle would then re-enter the atmosphere and land on a runway, being protected from the conditions of re-entry by a ceramic composite skin. When on the ground, it would undergo inspection and necessary maintenance, with a turnaround time of approximately two days, and be able to complete at least 200 orbital flights per vehicle. >> Food for thought, KFkairosfocus_{June 1, 2020
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DS, According to Newtonian physics, energy/force is needed only for acceleration, not inertial motion. But instantaneous nonlocal interactions are proof of nonspatiality.FourFaces_{June 1, 2020
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KF, Even colonizing the Moon, our nearest neighbor, would be prohibitively expensive with current propulsive technologies and with proposed future methods.FourFaces_{June 1, 2020
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If there's no such thing as physical distance, why do we need energy to travel? 🤔daveS_{June 1, 2020
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We need to find the source of dilithium crystals so we can then mine them and use them to power our space fleet. :cool:ET_{June 1, 2020
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DS, nope, too much contingency in setting up the stage then again in life using alphanumeric, algorithmic code. KFkairosfocus_{June 1, 2020
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FF, I am not interested in travelling light years but only across our home system. In that context, exotic speculations on energy take a back seat to the in reach high density energy sources we have, fusion and fission. They dominate other technologies that traffic in eV per atom, moving to MeV per atom, due to the different forces in play. KFkairosfocus_{June 1, 2020
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KF, Folks, energy is the key. I don't know. We have all the energy we need IMO. What's lacking is a fundamental understanding of nature. We're not going to travel to and colonize the other star systems beyond our own with mass propulsion, regardless of whether we use chemical or fusion rockets. We'll need a new radical physics that will allow us to travel light years (or any distance) instantaneously. I believe it's possible because I'm convinced that, in spite of appearances to the contrary, distance is abstract and doesn't exist physically. Only positional properties exist, not unlike characters in a video game. By the way, I'm not alone in this. Neither Gottfried Leibniz nor Immanuel Kant believed in the existence of a physical space in which we move.FourFaces_{June 1, 2020
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KF, It could also be fine tuning, as in the mud puddle analogy. :)daveS_{June 1, 2020
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LM, as just one speculation, if Bussard's Polywell can be made to work, a fusion drive can get us to trans sol sys distances in respectable time. No, exotic new physics is not what we have to do first. KFkairosfocus_{June 1, 2020
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DS, fine tuning, as in highly privileged planet? H'mm . . . KFkairosfocus_{June 1, 2020
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Folks, energy is the key. On Fusion, we may be a bit closer than many may be aware: https://www.forbes.com/sites/arielcohen/2019/01/14/is-fusion-power-within-our-grasp/#458386669bb4 and BTW one of the interesting points is using AI to manage plasma. I have also long been a supporter of pebble bed modular reactors. For Luna and Mars, the key environment answer is, go underground. A few feet of rock or even dirt work wonders; and we have found ways to make concrete. Beyond that I am not talking Arks etc, but first fulfilling deep key human needs to grow, explore, develop. Similar to the settlements of the Americas, adaptations and solutions to admittedly big problems will come. Meanwhile, the same technologies transform our ability to manage Colony Earth. You will also note that I don't even mention trans Neptunian space much less interstellar space. Nor, the inner sol system. This is a transitional Century and we had better not make the strategic error China did, post 1405-26. They walked away from exploration and left both a power vacuum and a legacy of inwardness that ill-prepared them for the future when it came sailing across the Indo-Pacific oceans. KFkairosfocus_{June 1, 2020
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LM @15, I don't think we need to master fusion or warp the quantum field. We need a completely new physics that actually explains (at a fundamental level) phenomena like gravity or even simple motion, as opposed to writing math equations. One day, in the not too distant future, physicists will wake up from their centuries-long stupor and realize that (1) distance is but an illusion/creation of the mind and that (2) we are immersed in an immense multi-dimensional lattice-like field of energetic particles without which nothing could move. Then we'll go out and conquer the universe.FourFaces_{June 1, 2020
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FF@14 Yep We are going to first have to master fusion. Then we will have to find a way to warp the quantum field and surf it with that fusion energy before we will be able to utilize the solar system. Likelihood....low.Latemarch_{June 1, 2020
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This is very impressive and congratulations to SpaceX and NASA. But there's no way we're going to colonize the Moon and the solar system, let alone the star systems beyond, with a bunch of primitive cockamamie spaceships that propel themselves by throwing stuff out the back. Space colonization awaits a major breakthrough in physics. It's coming. Necessity is the mother of invention.FourFaces_{June 1, 2020
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Drc466, thank you for your well-reasoned comment. Books like "Rare Earth" and "Improbable Planet" have compiled documentation from the latest astrophysical research on just how utterly exceptional the Earth is in its capability of supporting advanced life. There are thousands of complicated and inter-related environmental factors that must be coordinated on a planetary basis for humans to exist and thrive here. In fact, the evidence is growing that cosmic resources from the entire Universe over its entire history were required to be marshaled, organized and configured, to produce the Earth's life-supporting environment. "Terra-forming" on a planetary scale for human colonization is infinitely beyond any of humankind's current or future capabilities.MikeW_{June 1, 2020
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KF, I'm afraid I'm going to have to side with MW on this one. One of the major problems with evolutionary theory is that it is founded on a process of "extrapolate ad infinitum" - because micro, therefore macro. This problem also affects fields like AI research and, yes, space colonization efforts. Scientists have an alarming tendency to believe that because technology was able to solve smaller problem X (e.g. we sent man to the moon), it is just a matter of time before it solves bigger problem Y (e.g. we can send man outside the solar system). Some problems are simply beyond technology's reach (e.g. accelerate mass past light speed, make a 40G turn in a jet fighter without killing the pilot). Space colonization certainly appears to be one of those. For a quick short list of unsolvable problems, simply lay out all of the finely tuned parameters that make earth habitable, that don't exist on the moon or Mars. Magnetic field, atmosphere, water cycle, natural resources (e.g. fossil fuels, ores). See also, e.g., experiments in contained BioSpheres here on earth (verdict: non-viable long-term), low/no-gravity effects on humans, etc. Getting to/from places in the solar system is the least, simplest problem to overcome. Even the main rationales for space colonization don't make sense. Backup for earth's destruction? Space colonies would rely on earth's resources to survive, so if earth becomes uninhabitable the colonies would die off too. Also - what are the odds of any earth tragedy making the earth MORE inhospitable than, say, Mars? Even a "dinosaur-killing asteroid" leaves earth more hospitable. And as far as "profit" from space colony operations, unless we discover some resource/product that can only be mined/created off-earth, and requires an entire colony to mine/manufacture, the cost of supporting a colony would far, far exceed any benefit. Mining asteroids is like drilling for oil - you don't "colonize" the oil rig with families, you just transport workers there and back in shifts. Sure, the technology exists to build what basically amounts to a giant submarine and plop it onto the moon's surface and shuttle a few hundred families up there - but to what end? At what cost? How long until they all die off from gravity/uv/air/water/nutrition-related health deficiencies? Who's going to volunteer to live up on a barren surface watching their kids grow so weak they can't ever leave? And die young? Nope - space colonization will forever be a staple of sci-fi stories, along with warp drive, artificial gravity, free energy, and planetary terraforming. Fun to dream about, but about as practical as planets populated by elves and fairies. P.S. The common definition of a "colony" implies long-term settlement, not short-term visitation. Columbus discovered the New World - he didn't "colonize" it. So no, we are not "colonizing" low earth orbit, we just send people out for a visit occasionally, then thank them for their service as they deal with the short and long term health problems they experience afterward. P.P.S. Don't take my dismissal of colonization as antipathy for exploration - I'm a big fan of all things that improve our knowledge and understanding of God's creation. The more we know about space, and our solar system, the less viable the "Chancedidit" explanations become, and the less reasonable a 5BY+ age for our solar system appears. But I try to be pragmatic in my evaluations of what the future holds, and as an engineer, I just don't see a practical outcome for space colonization.drc466_{June 1, 2020
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DS, such can be built. The belt is a base in itself and a base for Mars and the gas giants. We might cut off chunks and strap on drives to move metal rich blocks to where we want. Of course, high value metals are in mind here. That's a failed planet. Think of Earth's core . . . KF PS: Think, science and the like then microgravity industry.kairosfocus_{June 1, 2020
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I wonder of there's a semi-realistic Sim City-like game which could be used to model the economics of the colonization process, or at least of collecting minerals in the asteroid belt.daveS_{June 1, 2020
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MW, that is one view. The other is, that the pivotal issue is energy and the impetus is, the sol system is our sustainable resource base. Fusion and sustainable fission are the keys to energy. Don't forget that the massive burn rockets we see are because we are loading in the velocity all at once more or less. In principle one could climb a rope to the Moon. A Bussard drive, if it can be made to work would take us to Gas Giants in 70+ days IIRC. Ion drives are also well worth looking at more generally. As for disasters, in the age of discovery I think average casualties on the voyages were like 85%. We swallowed that and transformed the world. I note, an obvious first prize is minerals in the Asteroid belt. KF PS: We are already colonising low earth orbit. This mission went to the micro-colony.kairosfocus_{June 1, 2020
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Near earth orbit will never be colonized. There will be scientific outposts (e.g. ISS) and perhaps vacation destinations (e.g. Trump Galaxy Hotel), but these will prove to be prohibitively expensive, and will be abandoned after the first gruesome accident. The moon will never be colonized. There may be scientific outposts there, but they will also be prohibitively expensive, and will be abandoned after the first grisly accident. Mars will never be colonized, nor will any other planet or moon. If any misguided expeditions to Mars are launched, they will also prove to be prohibitively expensive, and will be abandoned after the first ghastly accident. For better or worse, our future is on Earth. It is the only place in the Universe that is capable of supporting colonies of advanced life.MikeW_{June 1, 2020
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DS, I need to get back to that topic. Earth orbit, lagrangian points, Moon, Mars then Asteroid Belt and onward Gas Giant Moons. Yes, robotics first for settlement. I suspect, major orbital infrastructure will be key. Yes, space is hostile, that is solvable. They already did Moon concrete and there are new mining technologies etc. KFkairosfocus_{June 1, 2020
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Jawa, yup, it is really amazing how hard it is for us to connect dots. KFkairosfocus_{June 1, 2020
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KF: “ponder key-lock fitting and docking for DNA transcription, editing and translation into proteins.” Exactly right. Just the TF-binding site DNA sequence logic for tissue patterning and morphogenesis is mind-blowing. Those biological wonders are all over the map. For example, the beautiful ballet choreography for the mitotic spindle assembly checkpoints on kinetochores is a sure trigger of uncontrollable drooling -like it would happen to a hungry wolf seeing a juicy beefsteak- for any serious fan of engineering design. It just seems unbelievably surreal. But it’s there, taking place gazillion times, over and over again. Then to our even greater amazement, we’re told to believe it all came to be as result of unguided trial and error processes based on the powerfully magic formula RV+NS+T. Yeah, right. I’d rather believe that I could buy a brand new oceanfront penthouse with direct beach access in the middle of Kansas for $10. :)jawa_{June 1, 2020
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I used to be lukewarm at best on "manned" space exploration, but lately I'm becoming convinced that it's important, if only for psychological reasons. But what would a colonized solar system look like in practical terms? Which planet or moon do we go for first? All the candidates I'm aware of are quite inhospitable. Initially, colonists would be cooped up in some sort of dome I assume. Water, breathable air, and energy would be in short supply. The gravity would probably be wrong. Perhaps a giant swarm of autonomous robots could be sent along with materials to build a livable settlement, and the colonizers could follow later?daveS_{June 1, 2020
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Jawa, ponder key-lock fitting and docking for DNA transcription, editing and translation into proteins. KFkairosfocus_{June 1, 2020
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The amazing technology displayed by NASA&SpaceX pales in comparison to the true wonder beyond imagination that is observed within the biological systems.jawa_{June 1, 2020
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Dragon Docks with the International Space Stationkairosfocus_{June 1, 2020
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