All Questions
256 questions
12
votes
6
answers
2k
views
View from a ship with an Alcubierre Drive
What would a person on a ship with an Alcubierre Drive see as the drive starts running and once it is running? Once the drive is fully powered, the ship would be going faster than light.
I have found ...
- 3,476
0
votes
3
answers
150
views
How much faster can time flow than on earth? [closed]
Simple question : outside any galaxy supercluster, given an acceleration of 0 (not moving to anything nor orbiting anything) along with a hypothetical gravity of 0, how much faster would time flow ...
- 519
3
votes
1
answer
106
views
Gas-giant aided interplanetary transfer system, ring vs laser
As I mentioned in previous questions, my story takes place within a star system featuring several gas giants.
I have been wondering how they could be exploited to make interplanetary travel more ...
- 1,444
22
votes
7
answers
3k
views
Do mini-humans need a "real" Saturn V to reach the moon?
What if humans would not be in the scale we know, but being much smaller. If they wanted to go to the moon in the 1960s, would they have had to build a "real sized" Saturn V because of the ...
- 2,630
9
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Will a spaceship that never stops between earth and mars save fuel?
The most commonly proposed plan to build a colony on Mars (notably the plan SpaceX is actively building) involves building a ship, launching it to space then have it (or part of it) land on Mars, then ...
- 7,232
7
votes
2
answers
146
views
Looking backwards to navigate forwards
We often have questions here about objects moving at relativistic speeds through real space and one issue that always comes up is particle interactions at those speeds. This creates a bow shock of ...
- 51k
7
votes
5
answers
3k
views
Can Victorian engineers build spacecraft with an Epstein drive?
During the 18th century, astronomers discovered a variable star whose variability turned out to be a coded message, describing a simple way to build a rocket engine that (somehow) has performance ...
- 461
2
votes
8
answers
290
views
Could asteroid mining be made viable if there were a resource rich asteroid in orbit just beyond the moon?
Two of the biggest issues with asteroid mining is the issue of actually getting materials from the the asteroid in question back to earth, and the relative abundance of resources on earth vs in space. ...
- 5,163
3
votes
7
answers
2k
views
Is it possible to use thermal pumping for power generation in space? [closed]
There's this one component that exists in real life that uses the thermoelectric effect to pump heat, basically, by creating a temperature differential using voltage. Is it possible to use this in ...
- 117
5
votes
3
answers
212
views
Would the discovery of a room temperature superconductor with a high critical current improve ion drives?
I'm just an optimistic, uneducated bum, so if any of the terminology or ideas are wrong I apologize. So I understand that ion drives are very economical but very low thrust. Partly because powering ...
- 377
11
votes
4
answers
3k
views
What would be easily missed, but undeniable, proof of life from non-advanced detectors?
I need a way for a spacecraft to detect absolutely irrefutable proof of organic, but not intelligent, life on a planet, most likely through spectroscopy or another similar concept. The spacecraft is ...
- 417
4
votes
6
answers
397
views
How would you get a ship out of a gravity well?
Context
I'm helping a friend with a hard sci-fi story and we ran into an issue. In this setting the technology for absurdly powerful and efficient fusion drives which seem not to have heat managment ...
- 111
3
votes
3
answers
870
views
Internal Mass Driver Engines in Cislunar Space
An internal mass driver engine uses electrical power to accelerate reaction mass in a mass driver and to accelerate a spacecraft that way. Some designs assume relatively large exhaust particles (dust ...
- 120k
15
votes
17
answers
5k
views
How can we meet aliens in an underpopulated galaxy?
I am designing a hard sci-fi universe where humanity is confined to the Solar system and travels using fusion.
One of the obstacles I am facing is how to make humans meet one alien race which is ...
- 1,374
6
votes
2
answers
964
views
Communication between a stationary observer and a spaceship traveling at near lightspeed
I was wondering about the possibilities of communication between a stationary observer and a spaceship traveling at near light-speed(lets say 99.99%). If the observer can send out signals at a certain ...
- 163
9
votes
5
answers
654
views
Would a star's spectroscopy be stable enough on approach to use it as a navigational reference from a great distance?
NOTE: The offered "duplicate" question IS NOT WHAT I AM ASKING. Alternative methods of navigation ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE as answers. I am specifically asking whether or not a ship traveling in ...
- 132k
8
votes
3
answers
342
views
Preexisting wormholes: How to find aliens?
Setting
The future, but not too far. No antimatter and no teleportation. Space travel is relatively reliable, but it's not cheap and it's powered by fusion. Space travel outside of the solar system is ...
- 1,374
24
votes
24
answers
6k
views
What would stop a large spaceship from looking like a flying brick?
In the far future, galactic space travel is now a common reality, and spaceships reach sizes of over 1 kilometer in length.
Any capital ship in existence would therefore be designed for functionality, ...
- 1,019
4
votes
1
answer
266
views
Maximum acceleration of minimally modified humans in acceleration fluid
I've been looking into viable accelerations for minimally modified humans in an acceleration-gel-type chamber. Minimally modified means no permanent or significant changes to the human body. Examples ...
- 867
16
votes
13
answers
3k
views
Is a "20th century" spacefaring civilization plausible?
This civilization has computational technology roughly equivalent to Earth's in the late 20th century. We're talking post-moon landing, but pre-Internet (roughly 1969-1983). They may or may not have ...
- 976
7
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Would a rogue planet experience more asteroid collisions?
I'm working on a novel where the characters inhabit a rogue planet. Would that planet get hit by more asteroids due to the fact that it isn't orbiting a star? I have a feeling that the distance is ...
- 175
3
votes
1
answer
128
views
Could you use the gravity of an extremely close gas giant to assist in leaving a planet
Scenario: A gas giant knocked off orbit is projected to make an extremely close approach to our planet. Close enough to cause miles high tides, continent wide earthquakes, and send our planet on an ...
- 163
-2
votes
2
answers
220
views
What is the difference between space-planes and rockets? [closed]
The Background
Well... for the first time, sort of, I have a question that doesn't tie directly into anything else. To define what I'm referring to, because I don't actually know the correct ...
- 1,994
5
votes
4
answers
489
views
What is the minimum specifications for a ship to survive propulsive reentry?
Backdrop
In the ending of my book, the closing scene is the control room of the mangled and torn-up starship diving into the atmosphere (maybe not so dramatic) on its fusion engines, slowing down and ...
- 1,994
2
votes
2
answers
402
views
What would be the ideal reaction mass for hall-effect engines?
The Setting
In a bright future, after the brutally efficient totalitarian dystopia-state that once controlled solar systems fell to its own people, the world is still getting back on its feet. They ...
- 1,994
53
votes
27
answers
11k
views
A planet you can take off from, but never land back
Can there be a planet that space missions can take off from, but never land back?
It is easy to imagine that thicker atmosphere, large amounts of space debris or higher gravity could entirely stop ...
- 3,304
3
votes
2
answers
161
views
If a planet orbits fast enough could it make a star appear red/blue-shifted depending on the direction of travel?
Suppose a copy of Earth. This planet can travel at any arbitrary speed, and it's set to travel along the galaxy's spiral arms. It rotates counterclockwise, at the rate of 24 hours a rotation. It keeps ...
- 8,950
3
votes
2
answers
484
views
If the current population of humanity along with necessities could fit on a spaceship, how large would that ship need to be?
Here's the picture. Earth is beyond saving and is too polluted to be habitable anymore. My plan is to have this ship built on the moon, using materials from our asteroid belt. A bit of a problem is, I'...
- 335
4
votes
6
answers
1k
views
Countering Free-Electron Lidar?
In my hard sci-fi setting, there is a technology called free-electron lidar, usually deployed in space. Edit: Essentially, it is a lidar with the ability to change its laser frequency.
One free-...
14
votes
5
answers
2k
views
Preserving medicines on a long-haul space flight?
So I have a really long space-flight section of my story with all necessary requirements for preserving the crew is in place (hypersleep etc.)
But one thing went into my mind with preserving other ...
- 567
17
votes
11
answers
5k
views
How would a blind intelligent species navigate space?
I am writing about my own fictional cluster of solar systems where one planet had many environmental circumstances that lead to the majority of the planets species evolving to be blind and rely on ...
- 1,212
52
votes
8
answers
11k
views
The Earth is teleported into interstellar space for 5 minutes. What happens?
Humanity has just developed a star drive and begun sending their first probes, and have now discovered an unstoppable force of doom approaching to destroy the solar system. Their only option is to ...
3
votes
1
answer
178
views
Where should I put a planetary propulsion system?
I want to add a planetary propulsion to Earth, to be able to move it at subluminal speeds.
I found this document , taken from What is the largest planet size that can be pushed out of orbit?. I want ...
- 313
2
votes
1
answer
194
views
How much more specific impulse could the Saturn V rocket get with better heat resistant material?
Humanity has found a way to travel to another dimension (kinda like Asgard in the MCU). There they have found boulders of a wonderful substance. It is light, strong, has a high melting point, it ...
- 1,607
3
votes
1
answer
199
views
Suborbital Flight: Duration, Acceleration, Delta-V
As I understand it, the delta-V requirement for a suborbital, intercontinental flight is only slightly lower than that for Low Earth Orbit, but a few percent of fuel mass could make a large difference ...
- 120k
15
votes
13
answers
6k
views
What would be the least physics breaking way to travel at light speed or faster?
Essentially, by bending a few rules of physics and other sciences with as little handwavium and unobtainium used, could there be a way to travel several parsec and/or lightyears in a (relatively) ...
8
votes
5
answers
538
views
Galactic 'geographic' features, how could they impact galactic colonization efforts?
I have been wondering how galactic features could impact interstellar civilizations in the process of colonizing a galaxy (either andromeda or the milky way).
According to this video these features, ...
- 1,444
3
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Could harvesting antimatter from a Gas giant's van Allen Belts be feasible?
Could a sufficiently advanced civilization feasibly harvest antimatter from the van allen belts of a gas giant and use it for fast interplanetary travel.
The main idea stemmed from this video, among ...
- 1,444
5
votes
10
answers
831
views
How to Sneak Von Neumann Probes Past the Enemy?
150 years into the future, a space faction is in a confrontation with a stronger rival. Our faction is a Kardashev Type I civilization and has a similar technological level to its rival, but the rival ...
5
votes
5
answers
274
views
How would time logically be measured on a massive starship in perpetual flight?
So, say I'm writing this story that takes place on a giant starship travelling from galaxy to galaxy (delivering goods or something like that). This ship was created and inhabited by one race ...
- 71
8
votes
7
answers
588
views
Social status by fuel used?
In this universe contained self sustaining fusion has been achieved. As we know the fuel for fusion is most commonly isotopes of hydrogen, and helium is produced as a byproduct of that.
Helium is, as ...
- 2,356
0
votes
1
answer
89
views
Non-sphericity of "omnidirectional" signals? [closed]
Short version: If an omnidirectional signal is being sent from one side of an object that causes appreciable attenuation does it result in an egg shaped detection envelop or something stranger?
Long ...
- 51k
12
votes
11
answers
4k
views
With FTL technology is it possible to leave after another and yet arrive before it?
There's a plot point in my script that has been bothering me for a while. My story has faster-than-light travel thanks to distortion engines, which re-purpose the artificial gravity inside the ships ...
- 10.7k
3
votes
3
answers
265
views
What is the most optimal thruster placement in a planet-sized creature?
As a follow-up to my previous question, I spoke about an anomalous planet-sized serpentine creature that lives in space and how close it could get to earth. However, while developing the thing, I ran ...
- 14.3k
12
votes
10
answers
2k
views
What phenomena can explain not detecting a planet while detecting a more distant planet?
Humanity detects a very suitable planet, lets call it Vaung, that is roughly 80 years away from us with their current technology. A ship is made and sent to colonize it, same old stuff.
The issue is ...
- 8,543
2
votes
3
answers
300
views
What's a practical use for a gravity based magic system? [closed]
My magic system operates thusly -
Using some kind of material, probably a special clay, maybe it's been changed by some kind of process, a magic user can shape the clay into balls of varying sizes, ...
- 3,491
4
votes
6
answers
1k
views
Landing humans on Venus - MacGuffinite
NASA, SpaceX, CNSA... all organizations in space right now seem to have their eyes on the Red Planet. But what if that were to change, and the main goal of manned spaceflight redirected towards Venus?
...
- 1,048
8
votes
7
answers
956
views
What is the most plausible way to lower cost to orbit?
Of the general options that exist in terms of hypothetical space launch systems, what is the most plausible option for a relatively near future SF setting? The focus here is on Earth to LEO, as the ...
- 5,165
5
votes
2
answers
277
views
How big do a fusion reactor and bank of capacitors following it up have to be to power a mass driver into space?
(Hi, please be kind - first poster. Also, didn't know if it'd be allowed to put hard-science on something like this, so going with ...
- 153
3
votes
5
answers
228
views
How would natural gene-editing ability help a species to the space age?
I've been thinking through the feasibility of a species; I won't give a ton of details since it's all pretty fluid at the moment.
The big thing I'm curious about is whether their bodies having a ...
- 2,559