PDF-(EBOOK)-Making Starships and Stargates: The Science of Interstellar Transport and Absurdly

To create the exotic materials and technologies needed to make stargates and warp drives is the holy grail of advanced propulsion A less ambitious but nonetheless revolutionary goal is finding a way to accelerate a spaceship without having to lug along a gargantuan reservoir of fuel that you blow out a tailpipe Tethers and solar sails are conventional realizations of the basic idea There may now be a way to achieve these lofty objectives Making Starships and Stargates will have three parts The first will deal with information about the theories of relativity needed to understand the predictions of the effects that make possible the propulsion techniques and an explanation of those techniques The second will deal with experimental investigations into the feasibility of the predicted effects that is do the effects exist and can they be applied to propulsion The third part of the book the most speculative will examine the question what physics is needed if we are to make wormholes and warp drives Is such physics plausible And how might we go about actually building such devices This book pulls all of that material together from various sources updates and revises it and presents it in a coherent form so that those interested will be able to find everything of relevance all in one place. Woodward Making Starships and Stargates Springer ScienceBusiness Media James F Woodward Making Starships and Stargates The Science of Interstellar Transport and Absurdly Benign Wormholes With illustrations by Nembo Buldrini httplinkspringercomconte This book describes the most complex machine ever sent to another planet: Curiosity. It is a one-ton robot with two brains, seventeen cameras, six wheels, nuclear power, and a laser beam on its head. No one human understands how all of its systems and instruments work. This essential reference to the Curiosity mission explains the engineering behind every system on the rover, from its rocket-powered jetpack to its radioisotope thermoelectric generator to its fiendishly complex sample handling system. Its lavishly illustrated text explains how all the instruments work -- its cameras, spectrometers, sample-cooking oven, and weather station -- and describes the instruments\' abilities and limitations. It tells you how the systems have functioned on Mars, and how scientists and engineers have worked around problems developed on a faraway planet: holey wheels and broken focus lasers. And it explains the grueling mission operations schedule that keeps the rover working day in and day out. This first account of commercial spaceflight s most successful venture describes the extraordinary feats of engineering and human achievement that have placed SpaceX at the forefront of the launch industry and made it the most likely candidate for transporting humans to Mars. Since its inception in 2002, SpaceX has sought to change the space launch paradigm by developing a family of launch vehicles that will ultimately reduce the cost and increase the reliability of space access tenfold. Coupled with the newly emerging market for governmental, private, and commercial space transport, this new model will re-ignite humanity\'s efforts to explore and develop space. Formed in 2002 by Elon Musk, the founder of PayPal and the Zip2 Corporation, SpaceX has already developed two state-of-the-art new launch vehicles, established an impressive launch manifest, and been awarded COTS funding by NASA to demonstrate delivery and return of cargo to the ISS. This book describes how simplicity, low-cost, and reliability can go hand in hand, as promoted in the philosophy of SpaceX. It explains how, by eliminating the traditional layers of internal management and external sub-contractors and keeping the vast majority of manufacturing in house, SpaceX reduces its costs while accelerating decision making and delivery, controls quality, and ensures constant liaison between the design and manufacturing teams. At Home in Space, the third book in the series, continues the story throughout the later Seventies and into the Eighties. It was a period of time characterised by great promise. Regular Soviet missions demonstrated that humanity could not only survive, but thrive, in a weightless environment, and the arrival of the Space Shuttle seemed to offer a more economical and routine means of accessing the heavens. Living in space became truly international as astronauts from many nations lived and worked together on Soviet space stations and aboard the Shuttle. At the same time, however, relations between two key players in this drive to conquer the high ground of space - the United States and the Soviet Union - steadily declined from the high-watermark of Apollo-Soyuz to the nadir of Star Wars. This third volume charts the progress made in space during this pivotal phase of humanity\'s quest to explore the final frontier. The Space Shuttle has been the dominant machine in the U.S. space program for thirty years and has generated a great deal of interest among space enthusiasts and engineers. This book enables readers to understand its technical systems in greater depth than they have been able to do so before.The author describes the structures and systems of the Space Shuttle, and then follows a typical mission, explaining how the structures and systems were used in the launch, orbital operations and the return to Earth. Details of how anomalous events were dealt with on individual missions are also provided, as are the recollections of those who built and flew the Shuttle. Many photographs and technical drawings illustrate how the Space Shuttle functions, avoiding the use of complicated technical jargon.The book is divided into two sections: Part 1 describes each subsystem in a technical style, supported by diagrams, technical drawings, and photographs to enable a better understanding of the concepts. Part 2 examines different flight phases, from liftoff to landing. Technical material has been obtained from NASA as well as from other forums and specialists.Author Davide Sivolella is an aerospace engineer with a life-long interest in space and is ideally qualified to interpret technical manuals for a wider audience. This book provides comprehensive coverage of the topic including the evolution of given subsystems, reviewing the different configurations, and focusing on the solutions implemented. To create the exotic materials and technologies needed to make stargates and warp drives is the holy grail of advanced propulsion. A less ambitious, but nonetheless revolutionary, goal is finding a way to accelerate a spaceship without having to lug along a gargantuan reservoir of fuel that you blow out a tailpipe. Tethers and solar sails are conventional realizations of the basic idea. There may now be a way to achieve these lofty objectives. Making Starships and Stargates will have three parts. The first will deal with information about the theories of relativity needed to understand the predictions of the effects that make possible the propulsion techniques, and an explanation of those techniques. The second will deal with experimental investigations into the feasibility of the predicted effects that is, do the effects exist and can they be applied to propulsion? The third part of the book the most speculative will examine the question: what physics is needed if we are to make wormholes and warp drives? Is such physics plausible? And how might we go about actually building such devices? This book pulls all of that material together from various sources, updates and revises it, and presents it in a coherent form so that those interested will be able to find everything of relevance all in one place. Written for the educated non-scientist and scientist alike, the book spans a variety of scientific disciplines, from observational astronomy to particle physics. Concepts that the reader will encounter along the way are at the cutting edge of scientific research, however the themes are explained in such a way that no prior understanding of science beyond a high school education is necessary. How do you make a polar sundial? In order to analyze the light of cosmic objects, particularly at extremely great distances, spectroscopy is the workhorse of astronomy. In the era of very large telescopes, long-term investigations are mainly performed with small professional instruments. Today they can be done using self-designed spectrographs and highly efficient CCD cameras, without the need for large financial investments.This book explains the basic principles of spectroscopy, including the fundamental optical constraints and all mathematical aspects needed to understand the working principles in detail. It covers the complete theoretical and practical design of standard and Echelle spectrographs. Readers are guided through all necessary calculations, enabling them to engage in spectrograph design. The book also examines data acquisition with CCD cameras and fiber optics, as well as the constraints of specific data reduction and possible sources of error. In closing it briefly highlights some main aspects of the research on massive stars and spectropolarimetry as an extension of spectroscopy. The book offers a comprehensive introduction to spectroscopy for students of physics and astronomy, as well as a valuable resource for amateur astronomers interested in learning the principles of spectroscopy and spectrograph design. In Stars Above, Earth Below, Tyler Nordgren examines a range of astronomical topics and makes the connection between them and the landscapes, processes, and cultures which can be seen and experienced within specific U.S. National Parks. For each park and topic the story unfolds in three steps: what does the reader see for him - or herself? What is the scientific cause or explanation of what is seen? And finally, what is the big picture about ourselves, our world, and our Universe? The author takes us the length and breadth of the U.S., from the coast of Maine to the Yellowstone volcano, from the depths of the Grand Canyon to the heights of the Rocky Mountains, exploring the natural links between the features of the parks and those of our Universe. The technological marvel that facilitated the Apollo missions to the Moon was the on-board computer. In the 1960s most computers filled an entire room, but the spacecraft\'s computer was required to be compact and low power. Although people today find it difficult to accept that it was possible to control a spacecraft using such a \'primitive\' computer, it nevertheless had capabilities that are advanced even by today\'s standards.This is the first book to fully describe the Apollo guidance computer\'s architecture, instruction format and programs used by the astronauts. As a comprehensive account, it will span the disciplines of computer science, electrical and aerospace engineering. However, it will also be accessible to the \'space enthusiast\'. In short, the intention is for this to be the definitive account of the Apollo guidance computer.Frank O\'Brien\'s interest in the Apollo program began as a serious amateur historian. About 12 years ago, he began performing research and writing essays for the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal, and the Apollo Flight Journal. Much of this work centered on his primary interests, the Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC) and the Lunar Module. These Journals are generally considered the canonical online reference on the flights to the Moon. He was then asked to assist the curatorial staff in the creation of the Cradle of Aviation Museum, on Long Island, New York, where he helped prepare the Lunar Module simulator, a LM procedure trainer and an Apollo space suit for display. He regularly lectures on the Apollo computer and related topics to diverse groups, from NASA\'s computer engineering conferences, the IEEE/ACM, computer festivals and university student groups. The book focuses on the design, testing and manufacture of the F-1 engine, but also covers its incorporation into the first stage of the Saturn V and in-flight record. It concludes with an examination of what might have been, if the F-1 had not been discarded, together with the Saturn V, at the conclusion of the Apollo program. The account draws on original documents and interviews with engineers and managers, and is illustrated by many never-before-published photographs, both colour and monochrome. The intention is for this to be the definitive account of the development of this most powerful of rocket engines. As NASA is developing an evolved version of the hydrogen-burning J-2 engine for use in the forthcoming Ares launch vehicles, the author includes development of the J-2 engine within the context of the Saturn V development, thus bringing rocket engine development up to the present and thus provide this book with a long shelf life. Soviet Robots in the Solar Systemprovides a history of the Soviet robotic lunar and planetary exploration program from its inception, with the attempted launch of a lunar impactor on September 23, 1958, to the last launch in the Russian national scientific space program in the 20th Century, Mars 96, on November 16, 1996. This title makes a unique contribution to understanding the scientific and engineering accomplishments of the Soviet Union s robotic space exploration enterprise from its infancy to its demise with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Theauthors provide a comprehensive account of Soviet robotic exploration of the Solar System for both popular space enthusiasts and professionals in the field. Technical details and science results are provided and put into an historical and political perspective in a single volume for the first time. The book is divided into two parts. Part I describes the key players and the key institutions that build and operate the hardware, the rockets that provide access to space, and the spacecraft that carry out the enterprise. Part II is about putting these pieces together to enable space flight and mission campaigns. Part II is written in chronological order beginning with the first launches to the Moon. Each chapter covers a particular period when specific mission campaigns were undertaken during celestially-determined launch windows. Each chapter begins with a short overview of the flight missions that occurred during the time period and the political and historical context for the flight mission campaigns, including what the Americans were doing at the time. The bulk of each chapter is devoted to the scientific and engineering details of that flight campaign. The spacecraft and payloads are examined with as much technical detail as is available today, the progress is described, and a synopsis of the scientific result is given. This book is as a detailed, but highly readable and balanced account of the history of animal space flights carried out by all nations, but principally the United States and the Soviet Union. It explores the ways in which animal high-altitude and space flight research impacted on space flight biomedicine and technology, and how the results - both successful and disappointing - allowed human beings to then undertake that same hazardous journey with far greater understanding and confidence. Unlike other books which were written for younger readers, this is a comprehensive and fully researched book that will be used as the ultimate reference on the subject. Other books have concentrated on the animal space flights and research carried out by either of the two major spacefaring superpowers. This book tells the total story and will undoubtedly become the ultimate authority on animal space flights.