In considering rocket engines I think the research and development has a serious gap. With the invention of the liquid fueled rocket by Robert Goddard we have had around 90 years to research rocketry. There was some small engine development the the years of the world wars. Then the next major development in rocker engine was during the space race of the 60's and 70's. There was a large leap in the size of rockets being built and the fuel for our mordern space machines was switched to hydrogen. Hydrogen has a higher specific impulse than other fuels but come across more logistical prolbems such as keeping it cold to keep in liquid form. when dealing with rockets the weight of the engine and vehicle is the largest factor. That has to cautiously weighed against the specific impulse of the fuels.
The space race caused a gap in the gradual development in the size of rocket engines. The demand of the space race calling to put a man on the moon demanded larger rockets to be developed. With that call there was a lack of development of small to mid size rockets. I am of the opinion that small to medium sized rockets will be the ones to transfer the crews to orbit and the lager rockets will be for heavy lifting and cargo transportation. In the future the people will be moving in and out of space quite a bit where the cargo will be shot up in large loads at regular intervals. I think that the various new space companies are going fill specific roles. I will comment later on the positions of the various positions of the new companies and their roles in the future of space.
Comments are encouraged on my opinions, but in leaving comments please use references for information as to encourage more learning and understanding of this subject.
That's really interesting. I never thought of the effect the space race had on the development of rockets, i always just assumed things went faster and better because of it.
ReplyDeleteQuite interesting topic. I think the next big jump in the development of rockets will come from a second space race between private companies. My last blog post kinda ties in with this nicely. :)
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http://craftofwonders.blogspot.com/
interesting stuff, I wonder how many years until we just use space elevators
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Wait till nuclear fusion works, then rockets will change drastically.
ReplyDeleteIn 30 years we will all probably have the chance of travelling to space.
ReplyDeleteI think the private companies working for commercial purposes will be the motivators in future space based innovations.
ReplyDeleteCheck me out at:
http://brassdragons.blogspot.com/
That's a pretty interesting topic you got, also I love your picture. Killer Instinct ftw.
ReplyDeleteSpace has always interested me. Its interesting to see how space has affected rocket development.
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Interesting, looking forward to more posts by you
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I was actually reading an article the other day related to this. It was basically about side projects for furthering space exploration. One of the more interesting ideas was harvesting antimatter from space and using this to propel rockets. When anti matter is combined with regular matter it causes a huge release in energy and the amount of fuel needed to propel a rocket would be decreased significantly leading to lighter rockets that can travel farther and faster.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to reading from you.
ReplyDeleteHa, that reminds me of a rocket I designed when I was 7 or 8. It was called "Zeus V" (V as the Roman 5), but the Space Shuttle destroyed all my dreams of becoming rich by selling the blueprints to NASA :(
ReplyDeleteI read an article today that stated that a nuclear fusion engine should theoretically possible (for operation in space, of course).
ReplyDeletenice theme. Following.
I hope they have commercial space travel in my lifetime. Most likely will, but there's always a chance it turns into the 60s "we'll have space cars and flying homes by 1990!" thing.
ReplyDeleteI wanna ride meteorites!
ReplyDeleteI'm interested in what you have to say about the companies. I've always been curious as to how they operate, considering its rocket engines they're dealing with. Granted, I don't how often produced they are, but I'm assuming it's not much.
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cool blog, i'll be following.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting topic, following.
ReplyDeletei think this is a good idea
ReplyDeleteI won't depend on companies to make my rockets. I'll just make my own rockets to fly into space myself :D
ReplyDeletewow very interesting stuff
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Nothing to add, actually.
ReplyDeleteFollowing and supporting, mate! :)
Veryyyy interesting...
ReplyDeleteSpace Elevators <3
ReplyDeleteI heard that they just recently accidentally discovered a new molecule that is clean burning and has around 2x the payload of the currently used rocket fuel. They just need to test to see if they can make it a stable liquid for transport and use.
ReplyDeleteSorry no link. Saw it on TV earlier this year.
Also remove captcha...
hmmm
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http://jojoplaces.blogspot.com/
found the link for you
ReplyDeletehttp://www.fastcompany.com/1711711/new-rocket-fuel-molecule-could-quadruple-payloads-be-kind-to-earth
I'm going to make a blog entry on this sometime as well. Cheers for the idea. Keep at it