4 ms·
This is delusional. Even the Orion project [1] was aiming for only a 4-month trip to Mars. As a reminder, the Orion project was a concept of a rocket propelled
by credit_guy 2y ago
This is delusional. Even the Orion project [1] was aiming for only a 4-month trip to Mars. As a reminder, the Orion project was a concept of a rocket propelled by nuclear bombs exploding behind a pusher plate that pushed a spaceship. There are no credible alternative propulsion methods that could match or exceed the Orion mission parameters, and be anything close to being technology ready.
To go into a bit more technical details. To get to Mars in 60 days you need to achieve velocities of about 40 km/s. This Rosatom thruster has a thrust of 6 Newtons. And the photos of the engine make it look like it's of the order of one ton. One ton pushed with a force of 6 Newtons accelerates by 6 mm/s every second. It would take 77 days to accelerate to 40 km/s. If you attach a spaceship to the engine, then it would take much longer. For example, if the spaceship is 9 tons and and the engine one ton, it would take 770 days.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Orion_(nuclear_propulsion) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Orion_(nuclear_propuls...
- sharpshadow 2y agoDoes your calculation assume a start of 0 km/s?
- AnimalMuppet 2y ago6 Newtons?!? Color me unimpressed. I could get six newtons from a very small number of squirrels.