Quote from: mrmandias on 02/25/2013 05:25 pm! Preferably a batchelor billionaire, and the contest is for a woman to join him . . .Astronaut Needs A Wife.
! Preferably a batchelor billionaire, and the contest is for a woman to join him . . .
I was going to wait for the presser to comment, but I have to say I'll be disappointed if its just a fly-by. Seems a bit pointless. Huge effort and risk, for little reward.How much more delta-v would be required to enter a highly elliptical orbit with a lowish perigee? Even if that took it from single FH to dual FH launches, the improved return would be worth it. IMO.Plus added margin for supplies and a habitat module. Maybe even the possibility of a Phobos &/or Deimos rendezvous. Mars orbit, moon(s) sample return, that would be inspirational!
Quote from: spectre9 on 02/26/2013 01:11 amNASA doesn't make heat shields, Lockheed built the largest one ever for MSL.SpaceX uses their own version of PICA, PICA-XThis is technology that already exists in the commercial world. Don't see why NASA is needed.NASA only works with commercial crew as an oversight to make sure the companies stick to the strict NASA requirements.Hypersonic test and analysis capabilities for a 14km/s reentry.SpaceX leveraged NASA help in developing PICA-X, as has pretty much everyone else. Helping private entities leverage esoteric NASA expertise to enable private/commercial projects is an example of NASA doing things right, IMO.~Jon
NASA doesn't make heat shields, Lockheed built the largest one ever for MSL.SpaceX uses their own version of PICA, PICA-XThis is technology that already exists in the commercial world. Don't see why NASA is needed.NASA only works with commercial crew as an oversight to make sure the companies stick to the strict NASA requirements.
One other interesting point about the IEEE paper--apparently the draft I saw was the final version, because the papers were due in by December. Which means that there are several issues they've made a lot more progress on since the paper was submitted. Wish I could be there in person to see the presentation next week.
I checked out the inspiration mars web page. The illustration there was an epiphany for me. I had not realized that Mars' orbit was actually that close to Earth. I no longer doubt manned missions to Mars in my lifetime. I don't quite get why it takes 500 some odd days to go a few thousand miles, but hey.
Quote from: kkattula on 02/25/2013 07:06 amI was going to wait for the presser to comment, but I have to say I'll be disappointed if its just a fly-by. Seems a bit pointless. Huge effort and risk, for little reward.How much more delta-v would be required to enter a highly elliptical orbit with a lowish perigee? Even if that took it from single FH to dual FH launches, the improved return would be worth it. IMO.Plus added margin for supplies and a habitat module. Maybe even the possibility of a Phobos &/or Deimos rendezvous. Mars orbit, moon(s) sample return, that would be inspirational!Color yourself disappointed. They will announce a free return flyby with a 2 person crew. The deltaV required to accomplish that "simple" mission is going to be enormous. Adding any additional mass will scuttle the opportunity. The mission as proposed is bold and risky, but doable. I wish them the best and hope to be around to help them accomplish it.
Is the required deltaV enormous?
Quote from: outward on 02/26/2013 02:19 pmIs the required deltaV enormous?Those pages from Larson & Pranke suggest pretty large delta-vees. I don't know what a flyby trajectory should look like. If they take any questions tomorrow, the best question for informing the armchair observers on this thread, would be regarding their proposed trajectory.
I don't know what a flyby trajectory should look like.
Quote from: QuantumG on 02/25/2013 09:19 pmQuote from: mrmandias on 02/25/2013 05:25 pm! Preferably a batchelor billionaire, and the contest is for a woman to join him . . .Astronaut Needs A Wife."Nothing Beats an Astronaut."
Quote from: JohnFornaro on 02/26/2013 02:34 pm I don't know what a flyby trajectory should look like. Jongoff already posted about possible candidate trajectory, seehttp://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=31160.msg1016197#msg1016197Would be interesting to know what's the required dv to inject into that orbit. Venus-flyby version posted before that listed 4.43km/s (from LEO AIUI)