Technologies we could have now.

Glaucus said:
Shuttle was first of its type, plagued with problems. No reason a reusable space craft can't be very cheap. Skylon is very affordable just look at estimated costs and they are still developing and testing the engine parts, so we may well see it.
Click to expand...

Minimum of 15 years before they think they might have anywhere near scale prototype of the engine? I have my doubts as to whether any private company can last that long without government funding and without producing anything.

Yes, there are ways to cut down the servicing costs compared to Shuttle. But do you ever think it will be safe to ride in a craft that's gone through the tremendous stresses of launch, being in space, re-entry and landing that hasn't undergone a complete check over, piece by piece of every system in it? Because that's where all the money went.
 
Tefal said:
tbh even with funding HOTOL probably wouldn't exist as as the skylon lot have said the materials for the pre cooler just didn't exist.
Click to expand...

They still don't... it's the program that would have brought them into existence. It doesn't matter so much if it was started in the eighties or the teens, that's part of what takes so much time and money.
 
PermaBanned said:
Minimum of 15 years before they think they might have anywhere near scale prototype of the engine? I have my doubts as to whether any private company can last that long without government funding and without producing anything.
Click to expand...


well they're set to receive over 300 million if they can get their pre cooler working.

Yes, there are ways to cut down the servicing costs compared to Shuttle. But do you ever think it will be safe to ride in a craft that's gone through the tremendous stresses of launch, being in space, re-entry and landing that hasn't undergone a complete check over, piece by piece of every system in it? Because that's where all the money went.
Click to expand...


good job it's unmanned then.


Also you might never want to fly in the new carbon fibre passenger aircraft if you feel that way...




where did you get 15 years for a prototype engine as well? that's not what skylon say.
 
Last edited:
PermaBanned said:
They still don't... it's the program that would have brought them into existence. It doesn't matter so much if it was started in the eighties or the teens, that's part of what takes so much time and money.
Click to expand...

no they wouldn;t.

unless the HOTOL program abandoned the vehicle completely and instead became an advanced alloy and materials project they wouldn't have invented the materials without becoming an overly large and complicated project.
 
Tefal said:
no they wouldn;t.

unless the HOTOL program abandoned the vehicle completely and instead became an advanced alloy and materials project they wouldn't have invented the materials without becoming an overly large and complicated project.
Click to expand...

No... that's not how the aerospace industry works at all.
 
Well lets imagine that that is the case - it still doesn't offer any counter to the fact that it's the program that brings these alloys into existence.
 
PermaBanned said:
Well lets imagine that that is the case - it still doesn't offer any counter to the fact that it's the program that brings these alloys into existence.
Click to expand...

HOTOL was far too small a program to get such advancement, you're looking more at large scale "conventional" commercial applications for that kind of funding/resources.
 
Judgeneo said:
I don't see the attraction of AR..


Things we should/could have:

Thorium power plants (better for power generation, but thorium makes a crap bomb, so we have messy old uranium)
SSTO space craft (Rocket approaches are pretty crap in comparison, but you can make long range missiles using the same technology, so we are stuck with the current not-much-better-than-V2 way of getting to space)
Cheap fibre optic networks
Tunnel to Ireland
Holodecks (Soon perhaps..?)
Click to expand...

A tunnel to Ireland? WUT.
Tunnels to Northern and Southern America would be better (although slightly unrealistic, isn't this what this thread is about).
 
Tefal said:
HOTOL was far too small a program to get such advancement, you're looking more at large scale "conventional" commercial applications for that kind of funding/resources.
Click to expand...

So what makes you think that Skylon, which is probably a smaller program, will be able to do it?
 
PermaBanned said:
Single stage to orbit? Offers practically no advantages for something that is many orders of magnitude less efficient - requiring far more fuel, and so a bigger craft, and so more fuel etc. to launch a lower mass payload. The best fuel we know how to use at the minute is liquid hydrogen with a liquid oxygen oxidizer, so unless you look at nuclear .
Click to expand...

Chemical propulsion is primitive but it still isn't as good as it could be.

Liquid ozone (O3) could be used which would increase energy-to-weight ratio.
Also potassium superoxide (KO2) could be used instead of liquid O2 for providing breathing air so saving weight/volume. The only trouble is both are exotic and unstable.

Personally I think all resources should be diverted to building ion-engines so we can do away with rockets. Its madness even contemplating space travel without decent propulsion.
 
Last edited:
Ion engines are great in terms of Delta V/Weight due to the extremely high exhaust velocity. But they can never replace chemical rockets because they have such low thrust to weight ratios, which is a 'problem' that can not be overcome, it's to do with the fundamental design of the engine (something to do with the ionized particles in the nozzle blocking other ionized particles from going through).
 
Rail canon, so we can build massive stuff in space.
People would still have to be sent by rocket though.

Huge amounts could be done with public transport.
But requires 100s of billions and kicking people out their houses and redesigning cities.

It amazes me when new housing estates are built, cycle tracks aren't compulsory. As well as bus stops that get off the road. As well as fiber optics aren't laid.
 
Last edited:
I don't understand why we don't gave servo assisted bodyframes for those who can't walk, or have weak muscles, MS, and similar diseases.
The market is absolutely massive and the technology appears to exist.
Not sure why the few military suppliers of very small amounts of this kit do not provide smaller lower powered models for a absolutely massive market and make trillions of dollars.
 
Glaucus said:
Rail canon, so we can build massive stuff in space.
People would still have to be sent by rocket though.

Huge amounts could be done with public transport.
But requires 100s of billions and kicking people out their houses and redesigning cities.

It amazes me when new housing estates are built, cycle tracks aren't compulsory. As well as bus stops that get of the road. As well as finer optics aren't laid.
Click to expand...

Aye when for years the norn iron planning service didnt even make developers responsible for some part of the waste sewage and its disposal for all their developments, deciding to foot the bill themselves, really shows what lack of actual forethought this country is filled with.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom