Discussion on space travel.

[Badger]

uh

I don't think astronauts can just do what they want

[Ad Bot]

[Katla]

Do you not know how a nuclear bomb works?

Not specific stuff. But I don't think it really makes a difference. The way they work doesn't even seem relevant.

Everything sums up. If the radiation doesn't go anywhere, it will slowly build up to lethal levels around Earth's atmosphere if the ship uses nuclear propulsion to orbit the planet.

Well, radiation doesn't just sit there. It can't avoid going somewhere. After it's released, it's going to travel in one direction until it hits something, then it'll either bounce off and keep going forever again, or get absorbed. Most of it isn't even going to go anywhere near the Earth, and what little does isn't going to do any harm.

That would be in theory but we always have that starfish that does whatever they want.

No we don't? We're not talking about driving cars or something. Not just anyone gets to control this stuff.

[WaterOre]

Wouldn't that cause a new version of Fallout to come out each time it takes off?

no
the radiation is dispersed through outer space

And what would happen to the nuclear radiation?

space

Uh wait though. Don't nukes in space cause loving huge EMPs?

only in lowish orbit
why would you even want to use an interstellar drive that close to earth, plasma works just as well

Everything sums up. If the radiation doesn't go anywhere, it will slowly build up to lethal levels around Earth's atmosphere if the ship uses nuclear propulsion to orbit the planet.

that's why you don't use pulse drives that low

That would be in theory but we always have that starfish that does whatever they want.

yes the James Bond villain that appears from nowhere and fails catastrophically when the engine sends him into interplanetary space

[Katla]

why would you even want to use an interstellar drive that close to earth, plasma works just as well

Uh, I don't think those are supposed to be interstellar. This Project Orion thing was going on before we even landed on the moon.

[Gojira]

we already have this big ass radiation belt around earth
it won't build up around the atmosphere or in the atmosphere (because they don't loving use them to get out of the atmosphere) that's not how it works.
and you're not constantly detonating nukes to stay in orbit
you use it to escape orbit, that's it.

That would be in theory but we always have that starfish that does whatever they want.

no there wouldn't
as others have mentioned not everyone gets control over the spacecraft

Uh, I don't think those are supposed to be interstellar. This Project Orion thing was going on before we even landed on the moon.

plasma drives can be used to escape our solar system easily
it'll take forever though
which is why the nuclear pulse drive would be used as the main propulsion and plasma drives used later on in the mission (don't quote me on this, i'm not 100% sure).

also in regards to the emp thing
orion uses low yield explosives iirc (say 1 kT bombs, not modern nukes with much higher yields of 1-2 mT).

[Mr Unicode]

I wanted to be an astronaut when i was 5. So I've liked space since forever.


Anyway, I think we need to spread out into space. We won't survive if we don't leave the earth. Theres just too much that could happen to the earth; Famine, ice caps melting, war and climate change to name a few.

[Gojira]

I wanted to be an astronaut when i was 5. So I've liked space since forever.


Anyway, I think we need to spread out into space. We won't survive if we don't leave the earth. Theres just too much that could happen to the earth; Famine, ice caps melting, war and climate change to name a few.

it has already been established that basically everyone here agrees with this

[SWAT One]

I think what we need is a giant automated mobile mining facility in the asteroid belt that eats small asteroids like hungry hungry hippos, then keeps building itself and building itself larger and larger until it can consume large ones, and then sends home raw materials in the form of giant slabs of metal.  And it just keeps building more mobile mining whale asteroid-eating things.

[Swat 3]

I think what we need is a giant automated mobile mining facility in the asteroid belt that eats small asteroids like hungry hungry hippos, then keeps building itself and building itself larger and larger until it can consume large ones, and then sends home raw materials in the form of giant slabs of metal.  And it just keeps building more mobile mining whale asteroid-eating things.

............................................

i c wat u did ther

[Nonnel]

the human race won't survive if we just stay on earth
there's infinite resources out there for mining too, and we keep sitting here whining about gas prices

[Swat 3]

Once the Mars missions approach, maybe SpaceX will start putting satellites into the orbits of Mars and some of Jupiter's moons and then send out mining drones that run on solar energy to the asteroid belt.

Probably within the next 60 or so years.

[WaterOre]

Hybrid Librarian on interstellar travel

[Maxwell.]

hey I thought you should see this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6L5J7WcUpo
it's a pretty amazing advertisement

[Oasis]

hey I thought you should see this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6L5J7WcUpo
it's a pretty amazing advertisement

I don't like a lot of companies, but Lockheed ain't bad.

[NessNet]

I could pretty much just quote the OP and it would be an accurate description of how I feel.