Questions tagged [rockets]
For questions focusing on rockets and rocketry or fuel-powered ballistics.
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What is the best kind of nuclear reactor to use for a criticality accident if I want to expose my crew to a huge amount of radiation?
I've recently been making an attempt to write a short story that leans very heavily towards hard sci-fi. My area of expertise is primarily in biology and neurology, and the backbone of the story is ...
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Is it possible to use the tech behind Project Daedalus as an asteroid defense system?
Assuming that all requirements are met, is it possible to use the gigantic Project Daedalus fusion propulsion to move large "Planet-Killing" asteroids at a meaningful pace, be it asteroid ...
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Engine most likely to be available in the next 80 years to accelerate a craft at 1g for 4 weeks
I posted this in Space SE, but someone suggested I also post it here. So here it is!
I am wondering what type of engine would most likely be available in the next 80 that can constantly accelerate a ...
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What's the maximum thrust to weight ratio of a photon rocket?
Outside of science fiction, photon rockets are positioned as low-thrust, low-acceleration, space-use-only engines. But... do they have to be?
For purposes of this question, a "photon rocket" ...
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Can ultra-low-frequency photon rockets be "safe"?
Your typical photon rocket is imagined as being an antimatter-powered, gamma-ray laser. A flashlight of extremely lethal ionizing radiation, capable of sterilizing a planet if pointed the wrong way.
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Could a supernova powered starship work/survive?
As in, it forces the star to undergo rapid nova/supernova by contracting the star. It then redirects the force of the nova/supernova out the back end, via ricocheting the force around the ship till it ...
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How far away can (non-dusty) rocket exhaust be detected?
There are several questions around regarding stealth in space, where the general conclusion is that stealth is not really feasible because (among other things) heat radiation from a spaceship doing ...
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Can we use magnetic fields to make metalic hydrogen for rocket fuel?
Metallic hydrogen is probably the best possible chemical rocket fuel. It would make single-stage-take-off possible. The trouble is the stuff is extremely hard to contain, and requires exotic fuel ...
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A planet you can take off from, but never land back
Can there be a planet that space missions can take off from, but never land back?
It is easy to imagine that thicker atmosphere, large amounts of space debris or higher gravity could entirely stop ...
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How can we make dumbfire rockets more accurate?
I am using rockets as a main weapons platform for my vehicles. Currently they are fired from a railgun like apparatus. A rocket is at the center of three rails arranged in the fashion of a triangle. A ...
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How can unguided rockets be more effective than the main gun on a tank?
I have a setting where the environment is constantly changing on the ground level. As a result, hover tanks are used more often than tracked or wheeled tank destroyers/IFV/APCs. The ground can ...
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How much more specific impulse could the Saturn V rocket get with better heat resistant material?
Humanity has found a way to travel to another dimension (kinda like Asgard in the MCU). There they have found boulders of a wonderful substance. It is light, strong, has a high melting point, it ...
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Could a hand launched missile work?
If we're assuming that a missile has a similar sort of soft launch capability to the Javelin but with a smaller and lighter missile, could it be plausible to have a missile that is sort of hand thrown/...
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What are some hypothetical specs for Elon Musk's next generation Starship for 2060?
Elon Musk's Starship, formerly known as the BFR (then the ITS), is planned to be the workhorse to transport people and goods to Mars. Theoretically, the rocket could be ready for orbital testing ...
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1-month Free Shipping... To Mars
Amazon has extended to Mars, and their Prime customers there need, if not 1-day shipping, at least 1-month shipping.
They have created a shipping mechanism involving some method, that allows them to ...
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