Nuke rocket concepts

Alpha-Tech YouTube

You can breed Thorium in space, and then use it for your nuclear thermal energy. Seeding it into some molten salts will keep it under control, as per demonstrations done at Oak Ridge decades ago. But those in Oak Ridge were not for rockets, but possibly for airplanes.

The use of ammonia seems interesting. I would wonder about how to get the most out of it.

The concepts below aren't the only ones. There are many ways to do the same thing. The need is for a definite plan, and then to execute it.

Part II: The initial unmanned landings

Given what the previous post says, the first Starships will be unmanned, and will be equipped with semi-autonomous robots.

These bots must build out a habitat that the first humans can actually live in. That would opposed to dying in the ships, because the ships are not a place where they'd like to live for the rest of their lives.

Preferably, it would employ the strategy of in-situ resourcing. So, how does this get accomplished? Let's start with the Starships themselves. They each have a lot of interior room, but what if you want much more? You'd have to build something on the surface of Mars, and that means you don't have a lot of materials or machines to work with.

We could still use the Starships. How? Let's keep in mind that Musk wants to bring 1000 ships into service. Therefore, he can spare a bunch for this idea. That idea would be to use the Starships to build out a large space for humans to live in. How many? Let's say less than hundred of them could be used in-situ to make an enclosed area as tall as a Starship, and as thick as its diameter. The Starships would be placed around a circle that would be almost 600 feet in diameter. This would enclose an area of 50k square feet and about 150 feet tall. You can make a super large enclosed structure out of these things. But it would need a roof.

It would also need to have the gaps filled in so that it could be pressurized. It may be a challenge to get a roof on top of it. A blimp like structure that could be inflated could go over the top of the structure, and be attached to it. All gaps would be filled in, and the structure could then be pressurized.

A procedure could be employed that would allow this to be accomplished with as much speed as could be brought to bear. A number of Starships would have to be scrapped and used as metal to fill in the gaps. No more than 40 Starships could be scrapped to fill in the gaps on the outside and inside.

For good measure, an inner liner could go on the inside so that there would definitely not be any leaks.

Over time, the structure could be modified so as to improve its durability and longetivity. Once the interior is built out, then interior could be built out next. You could scavenge the remains of the Starships used for a substantial amount of metal that could used in order to complete the task.

In summary, a hundred Starships could be employed to do the job of adding millions of square feet of potential floorspace for a megabuilding the size of a sports stadium on Earth, but with many floors. It could be built out inside with materials obtained from the Martian environment. Bots could do the work before any people arrived.

A single Starship on Mars.  I forgot about the control surfaces.  They won't fit together tightly, so they'll have to be removed first.  That would complicate things a bit.

Musk's first manned missions to Mars

This post is made without the benefit of any inside knowledge about Elon Musk's plans.

In fact, it is being made without studying over his talks all that much. It is mostly speculation about his approach that isn't being talked about. Also that, it is one that some folks that haven't grasped one important point. That is this: the first settlers won't be coming back home at the earliest launch window to Earth. There is a strong possibility that they won't come back at all.

This wouldn't necessarily be a failure. It is an intention. The problem that Musk is trying to solve will be such that there cannot be a return trip, because this will impose a requirement that will complicate the process of creating a permanent presence there.

As it is being pointed out in some quarters, the need to return back will be a huge effort in itself. The removal of that as a goal will simplify their task. It will be enough for these settlers to survive for at least two launch windows on Mars. By that time, the will be so acclimated to space that the return back to Earth may be impossible physically.

For five years away from Earth will change their bodies permanently. That is, if they survive that long.

A return trip to Earth would entail a much faster ship. If it could be done with enough speed, it could be done within one launch window. This will necessitate completely different launch parameters.

So a return trip home is not going to be feasible. But a trip there in order to stay will be feasible. Or at least, more feasible.

If there's not going to be a return trip, and there will be unmanned trips, what will those first trips be like?

He will be sending his robots there to look for resources. A water source will be needed. Besides that, shelter will be needed. Living in a rocket for months at a time is enough. They need some shelter outside their spacecraft.

The first shelters may be included on the unmanned ships. The robots will set up the shelters. Those shelters will need plenty of radiation shielding.

The settlers will need to able to breathe. Some machinery will be needed to produce oxygen for breathing.

There will be a need to detoxify their immediate environment. Mars has a lot of perchlorates in its regolith. These could find their way into their living space. These will have to be removed.

Mars is very cold. There will be a need for a heat source.

The list is long. A lot of ground work will be done in this first mission. The work may not be finished before the first humans arrive. It will be a race to finish the work before the newcomers die off.

It won't be easy. In fact, it may take several attempts to get people to survive long enough to keep the enterprise going. Something to think about, eh?

With respect to solving the world's biggest problems ( by using AI)

Quote:

"An amazing future, as long as it doesn't destroy us first"

Veritasium YouTube

 

 

February 10, 2025 Quick space links

Behind the Black blog

Of these, one stands out for a post on this here speculative blog, maties.

 

There's one about high energy particles trapped in the Earth's orbit.  My speculation is in the form of a question:  Can these be mined in any significant way, such that it can be a source of water?

 

Re-purposing old aircraft carriers for launching and recovering Starships.

 

This is an interesting speculation, but not by ME. So, I'll embed it here on me speculative blog, maties.

 

Aircraft carriers are frickin' HUGE. They also stand tall above the water. Perhaps he could fasten a catch mechanism at the end of the deck, and off the side. It's tall enough to clear the water. The flames from the rocket would hit the ocean water, and just steam back up. No need to use water, cuz it's all around.

 

The retired one they are talking about is diesel powered. The nuclear powered Nimitz class carriers are getting old, so that may be a possibility in the future. Imagine using the nuclear power units to make methane out of sea water. Then, they could be self-sufficient in terms of fueling their ships.