NASA tested an impossible space engine and it somehow worked

The Verge ^ | August 1, 2014 | Carl Franzen

[DannyTN]

If the tests of the Cannae Drive technology hold up, a trip to Mars could take weeks instead of months

7 inShare NASA has been testing new space travel technologies throughout its entire history, but the results of its latest experiment may be the most exciting yet — if they hold up. Earlier this week at a conference in Cleveland, Ohio, scientists with NASA's Eagleworks Laboratories in Houston, Texas, presented a paper indicating they had achieved a small amount of thrust from a container that had no traditional fuels, only microwaves, bouncing around inside it. If the results can be replicated reliably and scaled up — and that's a big "if," since NASA only produced them on a very small scale over a two-day period — they could ultimately result in ultra-light weight, ultra fast spacecraft that could carry humans to Mars in weeks instead of months, and to the nearest star system outside our own (Proxima Centurai) in just about 30 years.

... More at site

[AceMineral]

What a real spaceship looks like.

[bert]

Many believe that the written word forty-two is commonly misinterpreted as 42.

Deep thought returned the answer forty-two which is actually not 42 but 38.

The answer to the ultimate question is 38

[DrDavid]

There was a lady in my office who had seen the movie but never read the book or saw the old series. I recommended both. Later I heard 42 a lot.

Have you listened to the radio shows? They preceded the books and TV series.

[Bear_in_RoseBear]

What I find most fascinating about this story is that Joel Hodgson, creator of MST3k, is "Creative Lead for Media" for Cannae.

[EEGator]

Three would be fun...

[kidd]

ultra fast spacecraft that could carry humans to Mars in weeks instead of months, and to the nearest star system outside our own (Proxima Centurai) in just about 30 years

= = =
Proxima Centurai = 4.24 light-years away = 24.9 trillion miles
4.24 / 30 = 0.141 times the speed of light.

24.9 trillion miles / 30 years = 0.83 trillion miles / year
= 2274 million miles / day

Curiosity travelled 350 million miles to get to Mars
= = = =

350 million miles / couple of weeks to get to Mars
vs
2274 million miles / day to get to the nearest star

Must be accelerating or decelerating the entire trip to Mars

[DannyTN]

I think that’s the idea, a small thrust continually applied, would eventually allow very fast speeds in the vacuum of space.

[DannyTN]

I think that’s the idea, a small thrust continually applied, would eventually allow very fast speeds in the vacuum of space.

[DannyTN]

LOL that’s something to think about!

[Willgamer]

Actually since 1 newton weighs about 3 1/2 ounces, 30-50 micronewtons is about 10 MILLIONths of an ounce.

I wonder how close that is to the limits of detection?

[InterceptPoint]

I think you have it right.

The microwave source requires a sustained energy source that will slowly but surely be consumed. If so, you are right that there are no fundamental laws in jeopardy here. But there may be some NASA calculations that are.

[skinkinthegrass]

??? ..they may need to recalibrate their testing/detection gear.

[PapaBear3625]

So with this they only need fuel for energy. They no longer need a propellant.

Doesn't even need fuel. Solar panels can provide the energy, which would make it good for keeping satellites in proper orbit.

[tet68]

Yes, yes, that’s all well and good, but how does does
it stop? Flip 180 degrees half way there?

[tet68]

A plastic propeller and rubber band can do better.

In space?

[-YYZ-]

“The timeless words of Douglas Adams. Hitchhiker’s never gets old.

There was a lady in my office who had seen the movie but never read the book or saw the old series. I recommended both. Later I heard 42 a lot.”

I liked the movie, even as someone who had previously read the books and watched the BBC TV series. It wasn’t anywhere near as clever as the book, but fun in it’s own way. And Zoey Deschanel (sp?)...

[Moonman62]

Probably. Even at the orbit of the ISS there is a thin atmosphere. NASA should be ashamed to fund a study like this.

[varon]

Every day my satellite dish moves to the other side of the house all by itself and I have to move it back every night.

I have carpet runners with non-slip backing that do that.........

[Rodamala]

It runs on pure hate.

[UCANSEE2]

I wonder if that “weeks instead of months” thought includes deceleration?

Every time I read an article like this, I think about that same thing.

Sure, if had a FTL craft, we could PASS BY Pluto in about 15 minutes.

The problem, (as you obviously know), is that a trajectory designed to allow you to go into orbit around a body in space is a GIANT "S".

The faster you go, the BIGGER the "S" curves must be to arrive at the destination.

Going FASTER only means that you travel FURTHER. The TIME to get there is the same.

CURRENTLY, there is no 'straight line' shot from point A to point B as a trajectory for any outer space craft.

SO.... if we were able to go the speed of light, we could only accelerate to that max until the halfway point. Then we would need some way to 'brake' the craft. The speed required to drop into orbit is nowhere near the speed of light.

Currently we have no method of 'slowing' the craft in proportion to the ability to accelerate.

Bottom line,using current technology for interplanetary space craft, there is a 'best' speed for going to Mars, and even if you could go faster, you wouldn't get there any sooner.