A gel made of a protein found in human cells can capture particles travelling at supersonic speeds without destroying them on impact, suggesting the material could be used in body armour or for collecting space debris.
Category: space travel – Page 130
Astronaut selection 2021–22 FAQs
Posted in business, space travel
The mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) is the peaceful exploration and use of space for the benefit of everyone. We watch over Earth, develop and launch inspiring and unique space projects, train astronauts and push the boundaries of science and technology, seeking answers to the big science questions about the Universe.
We are a community of scientists, engineers and business professionals from all over Europe working together in a diverse and multinational environment.
This page addresses some of the most frequently asked questions about becoming an ESA astronaut. If your question is not answered below, it may be answered in the Astronaut Applicant Handbook or vacancy notices.
If everything goes to plan, double SpaceX Falcon 9 launches are set to liftoff just minutes apart between 4 and 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 16.
Orbital Reef is one of NASA’s in-development successors for the ISS.
Sierra Space, the company developing a new space station called Orbital Reef alongside Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin, just blew up a small prototype for an inflatable astronaut habitat, a recent press statement (Dec .13) reveals.
The company conducted what it calls the “ultimate burst pressure test” (UBP) as part of the development of Orbital Reef, which is one of several privately-developed successors to the International Space Station that have been funded by NASA.
Blue Origin.
Worry not, space habitat enthusiasts, as the explosion was intentional and it was carried out to make Orbital Reef as safe as possible.
The Halo Drive
Posted in cosmology, media & arts, nuclear energy, physics, space travel
How could we one day travel between the stars with real physics? Perhaps the greatest challenge to interstellar flight is energetics — it takes vast amounts of energy to accelerate even small ships to 20% the speed of light. But what if we could steal that energy from where? Perhaps even a black hole. Enter the “halo drive”, a video by Prof David Kipping based on his new peer-reviewed research paper on the subject.
This video is based on research conducted at the Cool Worlds Lab at Columbia University, New York. You can now support our research program directly here: https://www.coolworldslab.com/support.
Further reading and resources:
► Kipping, David (2018), “The Halo Drive: Fuel Free Relativistic Propulsion of Large Mases via Recycled Boomerang Photons”, JBIS, 71458: https://arxiv.org/abs/1903.03423
► Dyson, Freeman (1963), “Gravitational Machines”, in A.G.W. Cameron, ed., Interstellar Communication, New York Benjamin Press: https://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/~barnes/ast242_s14/Dyson_Machines.pdf.
► Breakthrough Starshot homepage: https://breakthroughinitiatives.org/initiative/3
► Our Cool Worlds video giving some background on Breakthrough Starshot: https://youtu.be/Ksb6Vh0BT_E
► Our Cool Worlds video on relativistic moving mirrors: https://youtu.be/msK9d9k6K0E
► Our Cool Worlds video on mirror distortion effects: https://youtu.be/1iNA-GTocI0
► Columbia University Department of Astronomy: http://www.astro.columbia.edu.
► Cool Worlds Lab website: http://coolworlds.astro.columbia.edu.
There’s an error in the video at around 8:30, 2 trillion joules is the cumulative energy output of a typical nuclear power station after 2000 seconds, not 20 days.
Music is largely by Chris Zabriskie (http://chriszabriskie.com/) and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), in order of appearance;
► Cylinder Five (http://chriszabriskie.com/cylinders/)
► Music from Neptune Flux, “We Were Never Meant to Live Here” (http://chriszabriskie.com/neptuneflux/)
► Music from Neptune Flux, “That Hopeful Future Is All I’ve Ever Known” (http://chriszabriskie.com/neptuneflux/)
► Cylinder Four (http://chriszabriskie.com/cylinders/)
► The Sun is Scheduled to Come Out Tomorrow (https://soundcloud.com/chriszabriskie/the-sun-is-scheduled-to-come)
In addition, music from OneGuitarOrchestra, acoustic cover of Hans Zimmer’s “No Time For Caution”: https://youtu.be/vau08Z_pN8s.
Video materials used:
Researchers say they may have discovered the solution to a problem that has long hindered progress with a novel form of plasma propulsion that could one day carry humans to distant planets, and potentially launch a new era of space exploration.
The helicon double-layer thruster (HDLT) is a prototype plasma thruster propulsion system that works by injecting gas into an open-ended source tube, where radio frequency AC power produced by an antenna surrounding it electromagnetically ionizes the gas. Within this highly charged plasma, a low-frequency electromagnetic helicon wave is excited by the antenna’s electromagnetic field, further heating the plasma.
Such “magnetic nozzle” thrusters accelerate the plasma they produce to generate thrust for spacecraft, representing a form of electric propulsion with several potential applications in spacecraft design. However, while plasma flows that occur naturally within magnetic fields are often released or “detached”—like when coronal ejections erupt from the Sun—getting plasmas to behave in the same way in the laboratory is more challenging.
Traveling Back in Time
Posted in cosmology, education, media & arts, physics, space travel, time travel
Backwards through time? We travel forwards every day, but traveling back could let us change our past, visit old friends, or manipulate the timeline to our benefit… Although our knowledge of space and time remains incomplete, we can still use what we know to consider possible time machines. But what kind of paradoxes would this entail and how can we resolve them? Join us today on a special journey through time.
An educational video written and presented by Professor David Kipping.
This video is based on research conducted at the Cool Worlds Lab at Columbia University, New York. You can now support our research program directly here: https://www.coolworldslab.com/support.
All music used is licensed by SoundStripe.com or through Creative Commons:
► “It’s Always Darkest Before the Dawn” by Hill, licensed through SoundStripe.com: https://app.soundstripe.com/songs/7441
► “Waking Up” by Atlas, licensed through SoundStripe.com: https://app.soundstripe.com/songs/3984
► Cylinder Four (http://chriszabriskie.com/cylinders/) by Chris Zabriskie (http://chriszabriskie.com/); licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
► “Always Dreaming” by Caleb Etheridge, licensed through SoundStripe.com: https://app.soundstripe.com/songs/5534
► Cylinder Two (http://chriszabriskie.com/cylinders/) by Chris Zabriskie (http://chriszabriskie.com/); licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
► “Fable” by Stephen Keech, licensed through SoundStripe.com: https://app.soundstripe.com/songs/6312
► “Selha” by Stephen Keech, licensed through SoundStripe.com: https://app.soundstripe.com/songs/7102
Further reading and resources:
► Echeverria, F., Klinkhammer, G. & Thorne, K. S. (1991), “Billiard balls in wormhole spacetimes with closed timelike curves: Classical theory”, Phys. Rev. D., 44, 1077: https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1991PhRvD…44.1077E/abstract.
► S. Kalyana Rama & Siddhartha Sen (1994), “Inconsistent Physics in the Presence of Time Machines”: https://arxiv.org/abs/gr-qc/9410031v1
► Stephen Hawking (1992), “Chronology protection conjecture”, Phys. Rev. D., 46603: https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1992PhRvD…46…603H/abstract.
► Max Tegmark (1997), “On the dimensionality of space time”, CQG, 14, L69: https://arxiv.org/abs/gr-qc/9702052
Films clips used:
It could reduce fuel costs by a fifth and pollution.
Edinburgh-based Skyrora is a company aiming for many firsts. It wants to be the first company to accomplish an orbital launch from U.K. soil but is likely to end up being known as the first company that converts unrecyclable waste plastic into rocket fuel.
With the recent completion of the Artemis I mission, humanity is well on its way to setting up a settlement on the Moon and now has Mars in its sights. As our goals become more ambitious, we also need larger rockets that can take us to faraway destinations. However, rocket launches require tons of fuel and produce larger amounts of carbon emissions.
The private space firm has had another record-breaking year.
SpaceX has already had an astronomical year. And now, the private space company is offering to sell insider shares at a price that would raise its valuation to roughly $140 billion.
SpaceX’s new $140 billion valuation.
Sundry Photography/iStock.
SpaceX, run by the world’s richest person, Elon Musk, is offering a price of $77 per share, according to anonymous insiders interviewed by Bloomberg. If the report on that new valuation is true, it will raise SpaceX’s standing by $13 billion over its $127 billion valuation in July.
It was supposed to be just another spacewalk, a simple routine inspection.
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