The Enterprise... Now?

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

A space station connected to earth? That's the same thing. You just go up the connector to the station.

[ydoaPs]

go up the carbon nanotube ribbon to a space station and launch from a electromagnetic track. that would really save fuel and money.(after the station is already built)

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

Erm, no.

There's such a thing called recoil, and if the station is attached to the "elevator" the recoil will bend it/break it.

[ydoaPs]

the counterweight is much more than the wieght of the small ship. and nanotubes are stronger than steel.

[ydoaPs]

if you did it right, a one-man ship could go to the Earth's moon or Mars and back with the only fuel used is that of the maneuvering thrusters.

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

...albeit slowly.

[ydoaPs]

how fast do maglev trains go? they have air resistance, so this would go faster and probably would use more powerful magnets. I was thinking about this method of launch for shuttles off of the cruiser, but those would need fuel too.

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

Maglev = 200 and some MPH.

Rockets would hit over 25,000 just to get out of Earth's gravity.

[ydoaPs]

slower, but wat if u use more powerful magnets. air resistance has ripped aircraft to shreads and for a long time put a limit to speed, but there is no air in space.

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

They have plans for a underwater tunnel from America to Africa. They want to pump the air out in the tunnel. The MAGLEV train in it only hits Mach 1 or so.

[ydoaPs]

well, it was just an idea

[ydoaPs]

the cruiser would need surplus food in case of a failure in growing it.

 

i was thinking of modified MREs. they wouldn't have heater packs, because they rely on gravity. i was thinking there would be a few microwave ovens with a metal rod that would be insterted into the MRE. it would draw microwaves into the food and, if needed, it could stir it.

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

How do heater packs rely on gravity? The heaters are "just add water" type things.

[ydoaPs]

it needs gravity to mix correctly. without it, the water wont reach many of the crystals. also, you pour the water into heater packs. pouring doesn't work in zero-g environments.

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

Squirt the water in from a container. How do you think people on the space shuttle do their dehydrated foods? And shake it to circulate it.

[ydoaPs]

still won't work as well.

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

I don't know about that. Think about it. In gravity it will pour down and puddle at the bottom. In 0g it will float around the bag freely, and you can shake it to get it to spread. Dehydrated food is filled on the space shuttle and when water is added, it gets spread evenly all over the food. The water doesn't just stay at where you squirt it.

 

I think they would work quite well.

[ydoaPs]

heaters are messy, too. they leave metallic powder everywhere.

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

Microwaves interfere with electronic systems, too. Try talking on a 2.4 ghz cordless phone next to a running microwave.

 

Thus, they both have disadvantages.

[ydoaPs]

have it in a room protected with a faraday cage. also, the only other electronic device in the room would be lights.

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

Quite a bit of extra weight compared to simply using the heat packs. You can get the water from the usual drinking water sets.

[ydoaPs]

well, they are less messy and actually weigh less. think about it, a microwave and faraday cage or a few thousand heaters.

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

this is beside the point!

 

What my idea was originally was for them to GROW their own food! No MREs.

d'oh!

[ydoaPs]

did you not read the post that brought it up? what if something happens to the food being grown?

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

You have surplus. Extra. Spare. Whatever.