Im a moderately educated on physics and as many people know helium is true gold.
Im not talking about helium 3 here yet, just normal helium in our earth's mesosphere and ionosphere.
Helium is at high altitudes in our atmosphere for a reason. Because its basicly one of the lightest elements. The problem is that helium is totally abundant on our surface. Not even aircrafts get high enough to store a large amount of this stuff.
So why is helium so important. Today we use Millions of gallons to get a rocket into space of which only 1/50 of the whole structure is for that missions importancy. THe camera in the infinite box of rocketry is my opinion and probably everybody elses aswell.
If you store enough helium however into a compressed tank it will float. And this is not something like the zeppelin because back then they coudnt compress air which caused the immense structure for the purpose of a handfull of people to travel on. And they didnt had any helium back then at all. The zeppelin in addition used hydrogen. Also lighter then nitrogen and oxygen so also suitable, but also very inflammable. Helium is not so its very sufficient to use for floating purposes and it enables even higher altitudes then hydrogen does. Much and much higher altitudes in fact.
However, we are in the 21st century, we dont get in the air with a balloon anymore. And a balloon for that purpose already proved that uncompressed helium in a giant balloon caused altitudes of up to 37-38000feet. Thats around 11km. Imagine what 100 or even 200bar of stored helium would do. You could lift fortresses. In addition to the living and working space of the aircraft the tanks would probably still oversize it like in the zeppelin but with great benefits.
The problem is that we have to get the helium first. And the amount needed for a big craft could take ages to get with current technology. Or can it?
My idea is quite simple. And it will fund nasa alot in my opinion. it is a enormous project but it will allow us and them to build on it further. They will need to make a oversized rocket. With probably 20 solid rocket boosters. The plan is to launch the craft into the ionosphere (so it wont acces orbital speed or anywhere near 7,5-8kms) in fact it has to float in the ionosphere for a period of maybe even 1 minute, anything to get the job done explained as follows.
So what do we store in this rocket. The largest hose that can be build in my opinion. And a giant vaccuum cleaner to fill a balloon with slightly compressed helium which it simply sucks out of the air to keep the hose floating there and the capsule that connects them.
And some other sufficient parts explained further on. The balloon will have to be kinda big and the rope aswell. theirfore you will need 20srb's or even more. and a large multiple liquid fuel engine. In addition to a even much smaller capsule that holds the hose and rest of the objects needed. The hose would have to be 30kilometres long atleast for any suitable amount of helium to gain. and probably even longer since the balloon doesnt have a anchor to position itself. Some airplane will fish and hook to the hose that hopefully landed on our surface with meters to spare. Then we simply build a fabric and suck the helium out of our ionosphere by pumping.
Know you might think. If i use such a hose it would have to be extremely thin and fragile. That doesnt matter. As long as the material can resist to solar radiation your fine.
But it gets more complicated. If you did this and you would suck the air out if the ionosphere you would never get your helium. When it continueslly pumps the airpressure inside the hose airpressure will drop because that pressure is that of the outer atmosphere causing the hose to crank and go vaccuum preventing it from getting to the surface. But the solution again is up in the sky. Not only did the balloon capsule stored a rope and balloon and vaccuum machine. It also stored air regulators closing hatches etc and a nuclear motor for just once. The vaccuum cleaner will be able to airpressurize the entire hose to the ground with 1 bar at the ground. It will continuesly regulate that pressure as the factory on the ground sucks it out on the ground. Its like a oil platform. But then litteraly in reverse litteraly and figuratively.
Such a design coud last years to buil. And it would cost hundred billions of not a trillion dollars to get the job done. The only thing we have to do is putting this craft at fear weather countries. A lightning strike will completely end such a project not to mention radical people with whatever ideology to end this story with a pair of scissors. If it is however possible without the smallest accidents a similar pump coud dwell all helium stored on earth in probably less then a hour if you got a big motor. 1 day of pumping and the helium amount has multiplied 24 times causing shares to multiply 24 times just in the beginning let alone the enormous market that awaits us causing economy into space. The first obtained helium even the large quantities will then be used as first purpose to fund real helium planes to plot even more helium pumps into space which will domino effect an entire new future of spaceplanes and spacetravel. As long as we get enough helium to refund the project and build another space factory which it probably does re-imaging the design and the rate at which it can be obtained and the current value of this product. Then it wont matter if a kid takes it scissors and cut the hose.
Ofcourse ill get to here its a insane idea, but if possible extremely economical.
They never said apollo wouldnt work and that was just ment for some moon samples. This introduces new oppurtunities for space travel. Getting to the moon will be an easy work. With the introduction of VASIMR rocket design we coud float a spacecraft probably around 60 - 80km above the earths surface. When its there the craft doesnt require lifting capacity trough thrust but only thrust for velocity. When it reaches more then 5-6km/s air will friction halt or even seriously damage or explode the aircraft. In addition the gravity on the aircraft would be reduced by 70 - 80% enable a simple vasimr to accelerate the aircraft to higer altitudes into low or even high earth orbits where space stations and launch pads to moon and mars will be created. Mars would in this scenario still be a secondary objective although probably earlier undertaken by humans advanturous spirit. But we might get a little bit more into ficton. Once it gets so easy to get into earth orbit it will require a minimal amount of extra thrust to send it on a 3day trip to the moon. Once their vasimr will de accelerate which is lots of easier on the moon and the craft will contain maybe a small amount of liquid or solid fuel to quikly deaccelerate of the moon for a safe touchdown. Although vasimr will be used mostly for reducing velocity in addition to the moons surface.
Maybe im talking science ficton here. Or maybe not at all with alot of misthoughts.
But i wanted to share it simply.
Hopefully we will never need traffic light in space, but it might get there.
Im not talking about helium 3 here yet, just normal helium in our earth's mesosphere and ionosphere.
Helium is at high altitudes in our atmosphere for a reason. Because its basicly one of the lightest elements. The problem is that helium is totally abundant on our surface. Not even aircrafts get high enough to store a large amount of this stuff.
So why is helium so important. Today we use Millions of gallons to get a rocket into space of which only 1/50 of the whole structure is for that missions importancy. THe camera in the infinite box of rocketry is my opinion and probably everybody elses aswell.
If you store enough helium however into a compressed tank it will float. And this is not something like the zeppelin because back then they coudnt compress air which caused the immense structure for the purpose of a handfull of people to travel on. And they didnt had any helium back then at all. The zeppelin in addition used hydrogen. Also lighter then nitrogen and oxygen so also suitable, but also very inflammable. Helium is not so its very sufficient to use for floating purposes and it enables even higher altitudes then hydrogen does. Much and much higher altitudes in fact.
However, we are in the 21st century, we dont get in the air with a balloon anymore. And a balloon for that purpose already proved that uncompressed helium in a giant balloon caused altitudes of up to 37-38000feet. Thats around 11km. Imagine what 100 or even 200bar of stored helium would do. You could lift fortresses. In addition to the living and working space of the aircraft the tanks would probably still oversize it like in the zeppelin but with great benefits.
The problem is that we have to get the helium first. And the amount needed for a big craft could take ages to get with current technology. Or can it?
My idea is quite simple. And it will fund nasa alot in my opinion. it is a enormous project but it will allow us and them to build on it further. They will need to make a oversized rocket. With probably 20 solid rocket boosters. The plan is to launch the craft into the ionosphere (so it wont acces orbital speed or anywhere near 7,5-8kms) in fact it has to float in the ionosphere for a period of maybe even 1 minute, anything to get the job done explained as follows.
So what do we store in this rocket. The largest hose that can be build in my opinion. And a giant vaccuum cleaner to fill a balloon with slightly compressed helium which it simply sucks out of the air to keep the hose floating there and the capsule that connects them.
And some other sufficient parts explained further on. The balloon will have to be kinda big and the rope aswell. theirfore you will need 20srb's or even more. and a large multiple liquid fuel engine. In addition to a even much smaller capsule that holds the hose and rest of the objects needed. The hose would have to be 30kilometres long atleast for any suitable amount of helium to gain. and probably even longer since the balloon doesnt have a anchor to position itself. Some airplane will fish and hook to the hose that hopefully landed on our surface with meters to spare. Then we simply build a fabric and suck the helium out of our ionosphere by pumping.
Know you might think. If i use such a hose it would have to be extremely thin and fragile. That doesnt matter. As long as the material can resist to solar radiation your fine.
But it gets more complicated. If you did this and you would suck the air out if the ionosphere you would never get your helium. When it continueslly pumps the airpressure inside the hose airpressure will drop because that pressure is that of the outer atmosphere causing the hose to crank and go vaccuum preventing it from getting to the surface. But the solution again is up in the sky. Not only did the balloon capsule stored a rope and balloon and vaccuum machine. It also stored air regulators closing hatches etc and a nuclear motor for just once. The vaccuum cleaner will be able to airpressurize the entire hose to the ground with 1 bar at the ground. It will continuesly regulate that pressure as the factory on the ground sucks it out on the ground. Its like a oil platform. But then litteraly in reverse litteraly and figuratively.
Such a design coud last years to buil. And it would cost hundred billions of not a trillion dollars to get the job done. The only thing we have to do is putting this craft at fear weather countries. A lightning strike will completely end such a project not to mention radical people with whatever ideology to end this story with a pair of scissors. If it is however possible without the smallest accidents a similar pump coud dwell all helium stored on earth in probably less then a hour if you got a big motor. 1 day of pumping and the helium amount has multiplied 24 times causing shares to multiply 24 times just in the beginning let alone the enormous market that awaits us causing economy into space. The first obtained helium even the large quantities will then be used as first purpose to fund real helium planes to plot even more helium pumps into space which will domino effect an entire new future of spaceplanes and spacetravel. As long as we get enough helium to refund the project and build another space factory which it probably does re-imaging the design and the rate at which it can be obtained and the current value of this product. Then it wont matter if a kid takes it scissors and cut the hose.
Ofcourse ill get to here its a insane idea, but if possible extremely economical.
They never said apollo wouldnt work and that was just ment for some moon samples. This introduces new oppurtunities for space travel. Getting to the moon will be an easy work. With the introduction of VASIMR rocket design we coud float a spacecraft probably around 60 - 80km above the earths surface. When its there the craft doesnt require lifting capacity trough thrust but only thrust for velocity. When it reaches more then 5-6km/s air will friction halt or even seriously damage or explode the aircraft. In addition the gravity on the aircraft would be reduced by 70 - 80% enable a simple vasimr to accelerate the aircraft to higer altitudes into low or even high earth orbits where space stations and launch pads to moon and mars will be created. Mars would in this scenario still be a secondary objective although probably earlier undertaken by humans advanturous spirit. But we might get a little bit more into ficton. Once it gets so easy to get into earth orbit it will require a minimal amount of extra thrust to send it on a 3day trip to the moon. Once their vasimr will de accelerate which is lots of easier on the moon and the craft will contain maybe a small amount of liquid or solid fuel to quikly deaccelerate of the moon for a safe touchdown. Although vasimr will be used mostly for reducing velocity in addition to the moons surface.
Maybe im talking science ficton here. Or maybe not at all with alot of misthoughts.
But i wanted to share it simply.
Hopefully we will never need traffic light in space, but it might get there.
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram