Last week the most reported event was a rocket crash into Kazakhstan, taking its Japanese communications satellite payload with it. Lots of poisonous rocket propellant in the steppes, which, although empty of regular imhabitants in the drop zone, are not always empty of scrap metal dealers. Let’s hope that they realise that this time they’d better leave the metal to be recovered by the Russian rocket forces. Not only to save themselves from the poison, but also to allow the investigators to look at as many scraps from the rocket as possible, to try to figure out what actually happened, and how to prevent this from happening again.
Tis week also saw a demonstration of a Photon Engine. This could become a very efficient rocket engine, allowing planetary travel to happen much quicker (visit the stars one day?). At the moment the engine has a thrust of 35 microNewton. That is about 3 millionths of the lift that you produce while holding a kilogram of sugar. So, on Earth is would not be much good, but if you can put it in space with a regular rocket, then while floating high up, such a force, or maybe a bigger version, or very many of them, would slowly start to push it along, and make for some impressive speeds after say a few weeks or months of accelleration.
If we could make it to Mars in a few weeks, we would not have to deal with all the long-term medical issues that the currently estimated 6 month transfer would involve. Weightlessness is bad for the bones and muscles, and when at Mars there’s no welcoming committee with a stretcher, like there is for the space station crew when they return to land after their six month stay. Less chance of a quick frying by a solar storm too.
Now for a better way to just get off the Earth’s Surface, with more reliable and less expensive rocket ships: we will keep working on that one too.
Tags: communications satellite, mars, payload, photon engine, planetary travel, rocket propellant, solar storm, weightlessness
