Question How tiny or light weighted can we make a rocket that is able to send 1 gram of to deep space...?

[scotch]

Hi,

I was wondering if there is any absolute lower weight limit to reach space with a rocket?
The rocket itself doesn't need to make it, but some part of it, even if it is only 1 gram...


Scotch

 

[TommyJo]

Hmm ... I like your question. But more detail seems to be needed. For example, you want to launch matter into low orbit. Then you take a booster rocket to lift 1 kg to that height. And scale it according to the decrease in load. But, most likely, the difference in the lift of 1 kg and 1 g will be too small for the weight of the rocket to be significantly reduced. There is a Skylark Nano rocket for lifting up to 1 kg. Take a look. It is only 2 m high. It is hardly advisable to build something smaller. At least with current technology. Perhaps when we'll find a fundamentally different source of energy for rockets, then talking about a further reduction in size will make sense

 

[scotch]

Hi,

Thanks for the rocket information, NICE!

Yeah, I was a bit scarce on details...

The thought was more about sending 1 gram of to the deeper parts of space...
An example would be, to send a tiny luminescent microchip into deep space, floating into eternity...


Scotch

 

[Helio]

There could be many ways to get something tiny into space. A high-altitude balloon, for instance, could carry a small rocket or even a small gun, then shoot it at a high speed from there.

An EM linear accelerator could be made to do it from the ground.

Orbiting our planet or sending it beyond earth would take more effort, of course.

 

[Helio]

Yes, about a year ago, here was a splash about sending a tiny probe to the Centauri system using a sail and powerful lasers. It's believed they could achieve up to 20% the speed of light, so at that speed, the time would only take about 21 years, though it would be fly-by event.