Water-Powered Spaceship Could Make Mars Trip on the Cheap

Space.com ^ | 3/25/11 | Mike Wall

[LibWhacker]

He estimates a roundtrip mission to the Martian moon Phobos, for example, could be made for less than $1 billion.

It depends on how large the spaceship is going to be, of course, but I don't think they could even get all that water to low earth orbit for a billion dollars. Interesting idea, though.

[JRandomFreeper]

Lots of ice asteroids in orbit out there. Much cheaper than lifting water from earth.

/johnny

[thackney]

Bad Title. This isn't water powered, it is solar powered.

Water is only the mechanism to transfer solar energy into motion.

It would be the same as calling our cars rubber powered since the tires provide the force against the road to move us.

[Nachum]

Read some interesting sci fi stories about this technology. The primary problem is having a platform to launch from in space.

[cripplecreek]

Yeah, getting the water was my first thought as well. However not having to launch from earth is always a good idea.

[Erasmus]

I’m not convinced they did the math.

What’s the specific impulse of water used in this way?

[r9etb]

LOL! Just add water....

The problem is.... it will cost one hell of a lot of money to find water and then move it to a place where it can be put in the tank.

The practicalities of moving huge masses of water into and between orbits are not to be trifled with.

[agere_contra]

Steam-powered spaceship!

[Jack of all Trades]

I spent last weekend at Old Sturbridge Village with my CubScout pack. Sturbridge is a museum set up as a replica of an early 1800’s New England village. While visiting the blacksmith’s shop, the smith qupped that back then everything was powered by fire and steam. My answer was that it still is...

[Moonman62]

Electrothermal engines that use water as fuel, however, have not been flight-tested, so some work needs to be done on the propulsion system.

I wonder why they saved that for the third from last paragraph.

[r9etb]

I’m not convinced they did the math. What’s the specific impulse of water used in this way?

Depends. If you could create really high-temp, high-pressure steam, then you could probably achieve a pretty good Isp.

But I'm pretty sure they didn't do the math.... the problem of getting water from source to space ship is pretty unattractive.

[IrishCatholic]

That is sooooo cool. I had one when I was a kid. It was red. It looked like the Saturn V rocket. You filled it up with water to the line and then pumped it full of air. Pull the latch back and WHOOSH! Off to the moon.

[Dead Corpse]

Steampunk...

Cool.

[dfwgator]

Excellent!

[fso301]

It depends on how large the spaceship is going to be, of course, but I don't think they could even get all that water to low earth orbit for a billion dollars. Interesting idea, though.

They can get it from the moon

[Tar and Feathers]

I used to have one of those water rockets as a kid. You’d fill up the plastic rocket half full with water, then pump compressed air into it, pull the release latch, and the rocket would shoot up about 50 feet and land on the roof. Pretty fun stuff.

[Yo-Yo]

I used to have one of those water rockets as a kid.

Yeah, me too.

[lurk]

Fund to dream about, even if it never happens. Collectivism has a way of crumpling these kinds of dreams and tossing them into the waste basket. People will be more occupied with dreaming of how to find a crust of bread.

[Wuli]

Water weighs a lot (about 8.3 lbs per gallon), could it add to the amount of thrust needed to move and maneuver? There must be fuels with as great or greater energy capacity than water and less weight.

How many grams of Uranium would it take to power a small reactor to power a space ship for years? Would it’s reactor weigh more than all the weight needed for other fuels?

Our modern navies seem to think, for large ocean going vessels - aircraft carriers - and vessels with trips that last a very long time - strategic submarines, that nuclear power is the best? Why would space travel be any different?

[wally_bert]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Y39gHihP74