space travel will never work

[brainhulk]

Even if we achieve

We would be going too fast and hit a random asteroid because you can't steer

so stop talkin about space travel. Not happening

 

[CoPhotoGuy]

Uhm...the cool thing is that you don't really need to steer.

 

[disappoint]

Spacetime travel is the only kind of travel. Has anyone ever traveled outside of spacetime?

I wonder if there is anyone that has been spacetime traveling for over a month now, and would like us to make it stop...

 

[Atomic Playboy]

We launched Voyager 1 37 years ago and it hasn't hit anything yet. Space is remarkably empty. Worrying about crashing into some random asteroid is like being afraid of crossing your living room and crashing into a shark. There's a reason ridiculously long odds are called astronomical.

 

[cabri]

1) Do you have any understanding at all about propulsion?
2) Do you have any understanding at all about radar?

 

[disappoint]

We launched Voyager 1 37 years ago and it hasn't hit anything yet. Space is remarkably empty. Worrying about crashing into some random asteroid is like being afraid of crossing your living room and crashing into a shark. There's a reason ridiculously long odds are called astronomical.

While it's true space is quite empty, I'm sure before sending it on it's way NASA did some calculations to make sure it wasn't going to cross the path of any known interlopers (for lack of a better term). I doubt they would just send it off in any random direction and hope for the best.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Space is really really empty. Just drive a spaceship like a teenager in a Camaro, gun it and hope for the best.

 

[Markbnj]

I tend to think this is true for interstellar travel, but I do think we will develop drives that let us exploit our own solar system.

 

[Printer Bandit]

/wormholes

 

[TheELF]

/warpdrives

 

[Atomic Playboy]

While it's true space is quite empty, I'm sure before sending it on it's way NASA did some calculations to make sure it wasn't going to cross the path of any known interlopers (for lack of a better term). I doubt they would just send it off in any random direction and hope for the best.

Question: When we send spacecraft through the asteroid belt to the outer planets, how do we navigate the craft through the belt?

Answer: Pioneers 10 and 11 had preceded the Voyagers to Jupiter and the asteroid belt was a major concern for them. By the 1960's more than 3000 minor planets had been discovered and their orbits well determined. Even 50,000 minor bodies spread over the volume of space occupied by the asteroid belt would produce little direct danger, although a chance collision with an uncatalogued object was possible.

"While the largest of the asteroids were known and their orbits charted, many of the asteroids moved in unknown orbits. Although the risk of a spacecraft colliding with a charted asteroid was negligible, there was no way to estimate how many particles the size of a grain of sand might be present in the asteroid belt to collide with the spacecraft and seriously damage it". (From Pioneer, First to Jupiter, Saturn and Beyond, NASA SP-446, 1980) Only by going there could the danger be properly assessed - and Pioneer was first.

Source

Even something the size of a grain of sand could potentially damage a craft traveling at the speeds required for space exploration and Voyager has gone past Pluto without encountering any. Space is really, really empty. Even if you did zero calculations whatsoever, your chances of crashing into something are virtually non-existent. But you're right, we probably wouldn't send up anything without doing some pretty extensive calculations beforehand, all of which run counter to the OP's point that we're going to crash into something in space.

 

[andylawcc]

/EVE online

 

[z1ggy]

For having the name "brain" in his user name, guy sure doesn't use it.

 

[Newell Steamer]

You're worried about asteroids?

How about shit we can't even see?
http://www.space.com/11642-dark-matter-dark-energy-4-percent-universe-panek.html

All the stars, planets and galaxies that can be seen today make up just 4 percent of the universe. The other 96 percent is made of stuff astronomers can't see, detect or even comprehend.

If we figure out how to fold time & space, then speed is not even an issue, nor is the worry about slamming into something. But, with our current understanding of the universe (which is based on what we observe,.. again, 4%), we ain't going anywhere via meta/quantum physics.

Right now, our best bet for 'space travel' to other galaxies, systems, etc., is to load up space probes and rockets with human DNA, shoot them at hospitable planets and let evolution "happen". Of course, our knowledge won't be transferred and humanity will evolve / grow as nature & survival dictates.

So, aside from quantum 'enlightenment' and firing off spunk rockets into deep space, we are stuck dreaming of terraforming Mars,.. which is sci-fi pipe dreams as well.

 

[Bubbleawsome]

Something I've thought about is g-forces. If you're going 0.9 the speed of light (for interstellar travel) or even hundreds of thousands of miles an hour (for inter-planetary) you would have to turn so slowly and slow down so soon the journeys would still take forever.

 

[Insomniator]

I don't think the idea of some kind of energy shield protecting spacecraft from small objects at high speeds is too out of this world sci-fi.

What is a bummer though even if we could get anywhere near light speed is the (relatively) slow rate of the acceleration and deceleration required to prevent us from being splats of guts on the wall.

 

[DrPizza]

While it's true space is quite empty, I'm sure before sending it on it's way NASA did some calculations to make sure it wasn't going to cross the path of any known interlopers (for lack of a better term). I doubt they would just send it off in any random direction and hope for the best.

37 years ago, NASA knew about less than 1% of the "interlopers" that are out there. When I watched the first episode of Tyson's Cosmos, I was disappointed by the depiction of the asteroid belt. Rough estimate - you could fly through the asteroid belt millions of times before hitting an asteroid large enough to cause damage.
https://pseudoastro.wordpress.com/2...y-navigation-is-not-dangerous-sorry-han-solo/

 

[Aharami]

I too, espouse this belief, but I will be ecstatic if/when I'm proven wrong. We're just too tailored to the conditions of this planet. And space is a very hostile place

 

[TheFamilyMan]

/wormholes

/warpdrives

/wormdrives

/warpholes

 

[Grooveriding]

if we ever manage to be able to travel to even the nearest star to the sun with manned spaceflight, there is a slim chance it will be done using any sort of method we'd expect today such as a rocket or similar propulsion.

It's just too far. If we ever do it my guess would be we will get there in a feasible timeframe for a manned flight without having to move past what separates us from our destination.

 

[Gunslinger08]

I think that "never" is difficult to support, as our understanding of physics could change dramatically in millions or billions of years. The cliche quote is that "sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

With our current understanding of the universe, I think it's unlikely we will ever travel beyond our own solar system, unless it's an "ark" carrying families who live their entire lives onboard and procreate to produce the next generation of passengers. Space is just too big for anything other than FTL, which currently seems impossible.

Talking about hitting something, I don't think it's a huge concern. I've read that the average density of the universe is half an atom per cubic meter. Obviously this varies dramatically based on your locale, but it seems fairly unlikely that we would occupy the same spacetime as something large enough to damage a ship during a journey of a few years.

 

[Anonemous]

Spice.

/worm signs detected

 

[disappoint]

37 years ago, NASA knew about less than 1% of the "interlopers" that are out there. When I watched the first episode of Tyson's Cosmos, I was disappointed by the depiction of the asteroid belt. Rough estimate - you could fly through the asteroid belt millions of times before hitting an asteroid large enough to cause damage.
https://pseudoastro.wordpress.com/2...y-navigation-is-not-dangerous-sorry-han-solo/

Thanks for the link. Interesting read.

Though I'm not sure which is more important right now, exploring spacetime or exploring our own minds. Maybe both.

 

[Ken g6]

My favorite page of math about interstellar spaceflight:

http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/Relativity/SR/Rocket/rocket.html Edit: Fixed link

But take the numbers near the end for the "stopping" case with a grain of salt. It's hard to go faster, but it may be a little easier to slow down.

 

[dainthomas]

It'll have to be something utilizing bending spacetime (or some other physics concept we don't know of yet). Ain't nobody got time for conventional propulsion.