NASA's SLS Rocket Passes Major Review Hurdle

CommanderFrank

CommanderFrank

Cat Can't Scratch It
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NASA is not out of the space business just quite yet. Behind the scenes NASA is getting ready for the next phase of space exploration and has passed the first major milestone on the deep space vehicle expected to take astronauts to Mars and beyond.

The program was initiated just 10 months ago, around the time that NASA was ending its storied space shuttle program.
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Wonder what's so special and new about this thing, that article kind of sucked as far as details go. I mean we're not using any "exotic" or "new" technology it seems other than igniting a massive amount of propellant to move something up into space. Is there just more of it? Some sort of newer materials in the rocket itself? a fancy nozzle that increases efficiency?
 
sfsuphysics said:
Wonder what's so special and new about this thing, that article kind of sucked as far as details go. I mean we're not using any "exotic" or "new" technology it seems other than igniting a massive amount of propellant to move something up into space. Is there just more of it? Some sort of newer materials in the rocket itself? a fancy nozzle that increases efficiency?
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Thrust-to-weight ratio , that's what its all about with rockets. The more payload you can carry without requiring greater amounts of fuel to be brought along with you for the journey the farther you can travel. The SpaceX Merlin 1D has a 150:1 Thrust-to-weight ratio which makes it the most efficient rocket ever made which means for less money you can carry greater payloads into space.

There are plenty of exotic options currently in use and in development. Ion engines are fantastically efficient and can achieve massive speed overtime , Plasma engines also are highly efficient but can achieve greater speeds much faster (in the lab for now) than anything else we currently have.

Beyond that it will take great leaps in science to create a ship that can achieve FTL. It is possible for instance right now , with trillions of dollars , to create a ship using Ion engines and high powered lasers to accelerate/decelerate that can go at 99.995 percent of the speed of light. It would bankrupt the world to do so but the fact that its even "possible" means that in 100 years time it will achievable without great cost.
 
Godmachine said:
Thrust-to-weight ratio , that's what its all about with rockets. The more payload you can carry without requiring greater amounts of fuel to be brought along with you for the journey the farther you can travel. The SpaceX Merlin 1D has a 150:1 Thrust-to-weight ratio which makes it the most efficient rocket ever made which means for less money you can carry greater payloads into space.

There are plenty of exotic options currently in use and in development. Ion engines are fantastically efficient and can achieve massive speed overtime , Plasma engines also are highly efficient but can achieve greater speeds much faster (in the lab for now) than anything else we currently have.

Beyond that it will take great leaps in science to create a ship that can achieve FTL. It is possible for instance right now , with trillions of dollars , to create a ship using Ion engines and high powered lasers to accelerate/decelerate that can go at 99.995 percent of the speed of light. It would bankrupt the world to do so but the fact that its even "possible" means that in 100 years time it will achievable without great cost.
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you left out the part were all the techs you listed have VERY low acceleration
they have great top speed but take years or more to get up to speed in the first place

LOX/H2 has the highest impulse for a chemical rocket fyi
 
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