Spacecraft Definition and 222 Threads

I am building a spacecraft simulator in a realistic planetary environment. At the moment it uses very simple Newtonian equations of motion. Each object has displacement, velocity and acceleration vectors. Each time the computer does a loop: 0.1 seconds pass and in each loop each object...

Homework Statement Physics for Scientists and Engineers, 8th Edition, Ex. 47 M4 A spacecraft flies from 24.000 ft to 31.000 ft, in which it enters a parabolic trajectory with a velocity of 143 m/s at an angle of 45, above the horizontal. It exits with a velocity of 143 m/s at an angle of 45...

Hi! I don't know if I'm in the right forum of this site but I'm trying anyway. I was just wondering if someone could explain how the step- and impulse response is related to an angular position (of e.g. a spacecraft )? Just a little about the theory since I am trying to actually understand...

Homework Statement A wire stretches from one side of an Earth-orbiting space station to the other through the centre of mass of the station, such that it always points along a radial line to the centre of the Earth. A bead is threaded on the wire and initially rests 1.0 m from the centre of...

I've been looking after some good books dealing with structural engineering of rockets and spacecraft s in general. I know that Rocket Propulsion Elements is a good book on rocket science, but I'm looking not only for propulsion but more specifically for structural design (loads, stress...)...

this is a small part of a problem on tidal forces and I wasn't sure what the question asks as it seems to me that more information is needed. Am I right or is there something I am missing? the question goes as: "A spacecraft approaches a neutron star of radius 10 km and mass 1.5 times mass...

First let me explain life on-board the spacecraft : Energy supply: There are 7 main energy supplies that the ship uses. One of these involves the Sabatier process, where Nickel is used as a catalyst, along with heat, to create water and methane. Exhaled air can be turned into this water and...

Time-lapse video of two dozen engineers and technicians successfully installing the package of science instruments of the James Webb Space Telescope into the telescope structure.

Homework Statement Calculate the solar array power capacity required at the start of the mission Mission duration is 10 years Distance from the Sun at end of mission is 4.8x[10][/8] km The power requirement for the spacecraft at the end of life is 510 W Solar array degradation over mission...

2 types of nano spacecraft are planned to travel to Alpha Centauri , 4.2 light years away. One powered by an Earthbound laser, another self powered. I have loads of questions about this but here are a few - The report I read talked about an average speed of 25% of light speed. However, it is...

Homework Statement [/B] 1. Homework Statement A spacecraft is prepared to visit α-Centauri, which is at the distance 4.37 light years from the Sun. Provisions for the crew are prepared for the duration of 16 years. How fast must the spacecraft travel for this provision to be enough? Answer...

Question A spacecraft starts in elliptical orbit JK (red solid curve) around some planet and transfers to elliptical orbit MN (blue solid curve). To do so, it changes its speed at Kand inserts into the circular orbit KL (dashed green curve). At L, it changes speed again to insert into...

I was given the following drag profile for a spacecraft upon reentry. I understand that the moment it enter's Earth's atmosphere it will be accelerated due to gravity and pick up speed which in turn increases drag however I don't understand why drag then decreases. Wouldn't density cause...

Hi, as part of my physics assignment, I have the following question: As a spacecraft approaches a planet, the following measurements of velocity and radius were taken. From these values, a graph of v2 (y axis) and 1/r (x axis) was plotted. Use this graph to obtain a value for the mass of the...

So, I did a little searching around on these forums before I posted this, and I do see lots of threads about working for NASA but not something about my specific situation. I'm currently attending a college working on my AA. After that, I'm probably going to transfer to a University, where I'll...

Hi. Does anyone advise me what I can get out from space and use it as energy for spacecraft ? Thank. By.

Hello guys, Below I am presenting a question related to thermal management in spacecraft . Perhaps many of you might find it interesting! And this could be a real-life problem for thermal engineering in a spacecraft . So, the question is following: An instrument dissipates 10W and, in order...

I've heard a lot of people talk about solar sails versus things like Ion thrusters, and it seems that both have their advantages and disadvantages. So I was wondering whether or not it's possible to use both on a single spacecraft ? That way you could get the speed of an ion thruster along with...

Can someone please give a step by step explanation of an orbital rendezvous by a spacecraft for a target that is orbiting the body it launched from? And if possible, can you explain how mission control is involved and what part computers play? When the RCS is active is it changing the...

Sure, it sounds silly, because it is. But would it work? Say, would the rockets use less fuel? And yes, I'm horrible at starting threads.

I need help picking the best route to a careers to do with propulsion systems in space and launch vehicles. Initially, I would have pick the obvious course for this which is aerospace engineering, which most jobs want as basic requirement. But now I understand that the electronics course at this...

Homework Statement A 91-kg astronaut floats outside a 3,131 kg spacecraft . She's initially stationary with respect to the spacecraft . Then she pushes against the spacecraft , and moves away at 0.195 m/s to the left. Find the SPEED of the recoiling spacecraft . Homework Equations Force =...

Firstly, apologies if this is in the wrong thread. I'm currently writing a presentation on the physics of getting a spacecraft from Earth to Mars in the near future. In my research I've come up against Porkchop plots which seem to plot contours of equal characteristic energy so you can find...

Hi All, Not sure if this is the right section but happy if its moved by mods. Back in the 50's Dyson and his team came up with the Orion pusher-plate spacecraft and the figures looked like it would work. Apparently it was shelved due to the nuclear testing treaty. Now in the style typical of...

Homework Statement Okay...So why does NASA launch in the east. Is there an advantage in east from west? Homework EquationsThe Attempt at a Solution

Wasn't sure where I should post this link: astronaut view of re-entry- http://spaceref.com/missions-and-programs/nasa/video-nasa-provides-an-astronauts-eye-view-of-orions-re-entry.html

Are there any drawbacks or potential dangers on using touch-sensitive instrument panels on spacecraft ? Just as seen on Orion and Dragon designs (I haven't checked on other current spacecraft s), there are a lot of benefits from using touch-sensitive panels instead of traditional electrical...

I've been playing Kerbal Space Program. I have found the simplest way to get to an outer planet is to launch straight up at dawn and the simplest way to get to an inner planet is to launch straight up at dusk, and in neither case to mess about with going into Kerbal orbit. This got me to...

I'm going to write a (semi) hard SF. I wonder whether i left out something from spacecraft design, or got something wrong?Armed cargo ship (used for piracy/commerce raid also) At the back of the ship, a large block contains the fusion reactor, the main ion thruster, the manuevering ion...

Homework Statement Been stuck on this problem. Any help will be greatly appreciated 1. The (actual) spacecraft Deep Space 1 tested an ion drive engine in which Xenon atoms were accelerated (maximum voltage of 1,300 volts), neutralized and used to provide thrust. The probe carried 74 kg of...

Homework Statement In terms of the energy involved (using formulas provided), explain why accelerating a spacecraft to the speed of light is impossible. Homework Equations time, mass and length dilation formulas, and a few astrophysics formulas, E = Ek + mc2, projectile motion formulas The...

I'm trying to teach myself celestial mechanics, particularly as it relates to spacecraft navigation. Essentially I'm interested in how spacecraft can get from A to B with the lowest delta-V (or whatever the criteria are), and how mission planners figure this out. Can anyone recommend a...

Hi guys, I got the following question. I am designing a spacecraft for a mercury mission, my task in the process is designing the structure of the spacecraft . I'm in the desining process but struggeling with the effects of the vibrational loads during launch. I've analysed the...

I want to write a science-fiction story concerning the rapid increase in technology affecting the speed at which spacecraft travel and passengers age (relative to each other). Theoretically, would it be possible that a son leaves a certain time (a number of years) before his father to...

I know of Project Daedalus, Project Icarus, and Project Orion. These basically utilize pulse propulsion. In Daedalus and Icarus helium 3 and deuterium are combusted by a laser to create thrust. And in Orion nuclear bombs explode behind the craft to get it moving. All of these designs only reach...

This was something I was kicking around and wanted some advice on. Let's assume you had a big spaceship -- the kind you'd use t set off on a trip to the Asteroids, and were willing to take some time about it, on the order of a couple of years. Maybe you want to do asteroid mining or mine...

Look for help on these equations. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much! :) The Apollo spacecraft must be traveling at what velocity in order to remain in a 110 kilometer orbit around the moon? The magnitude of the Apollo’s orbital velocity can be computed from the laws of...

I am considering getting a BS in Aerospace engineering one day. I want to get a PhD at some point as well. What are the opportunities for people interested in building spacecraft ? Are there many job openings for NASA or commercial space agencies like SpaceX for building space-related...

If a spacecraft moving near the speed of light has a camera set up inside observing the people in the spacecraft , and the camera is connected to a computer on Earth so that observers on Earth could watch the video that the camera sends, what would the people on Earth see? Would they see...

I'm working on an Apollo re-entry program and would like to somehow check my results I got for re-entry. I'm using 3 DOF equations to calculate the trajectory of the spacecraft .Equations of motion: \dot{V} = -\frac{D}{m} - g\sin{\theta} \dot{\phi} = -\frac{V\cos{\theta}}{R+h} \dot{\theta} =...

While thinking about the recent-ish developments in meta materials for 'cloaking' systems, a thought struck me: could a meta material or combination of meta materials (probably of a somewhat more advanced state than they currently are) be used as a form of shielding from cosmic rays of various...

I am a math grad student who has really got interested in spacecraft control and navigation. Like a lot of people, I have been playing too much ksp and gotten interested in the mathematics of spacecraft navigation and control. For fun, I derived some basic motion and control equations...

How is this possible? The reason spinning a bucket of water upside down keeps the water inside the bucket is because you're applying force and accelerating the bucket. But in space, there is nothing 'accelerating' the rotation of a spacecraft , it is merely in continuous Newtonian motion...

I'm working on a project in MATLAB for my own personal benefit. I found a 1966 paper where the limits of the re-entry corridor are found. The control variable is the attack angle. The state variables are flight path angle, velocity, altitude, angular displacement (range), and penalty functions...

There is a circular gate rotating at a constant angular speed of ω. The circular gate has a tunnel across its diameter. The mission is to pass through the gate. (That is, come in one side of the gate, travel the whole diameter, and exit at the other side.) Also, craft is neutrally buoyant...

Homework Statement If a passenger at the back of a spaceship traveling at 3/5c fires a photon forward how long will it take to hit the front of the spaceship in the reference frame of the spaceship if it is 1 light second long? How long will it take in the stationary frame? Homework...

Hello, My question is quite simple. What kind of abuses does a spacecraft sustain from the moment it's launched until it's placed on orbit?I've always heard of what a spacecraft must face in the spatial environment but I've never heard of what it must face before it gets to it. Thank you.

Does general relativity explain the Pioneer effect and the spacecraft flyby anomaly? I have seen several papers on those two topics but no GR explanation.

On a spacecraft two engines fire for a time of 572 s. One gives the craft an acceleration in the x direction of ax = 5.15 m/s2, while the other produces an acceleration in the y direction of ay = 7.41 m/s2. At the end of the firing period, the craft has velocity components of vx = 3782 m/s and...

I recently read about the communication blackout during a spacecraft re-entry.. The reason given was the high density plasma formed whose plasma frequency is such that the communication waves do not penetrate it. Why don't we use a higher frequency for communication which is sufficient to pass...