[SpaceProgram] Lagrange Solar Sail Challenge

Wed Oct 3 20:03:28 CEST 2012

Great minds thinking alike and feeding each other new memes.
We are going to need some G+ or similar hangouts to chat about ideas in the future.
Hard part of these is figuring a time, given we are scattered through a LOT of timezones.

Jerry Isdale
http://MauiMakers.com
http://www.mauimakers.com/blog/thursday-public-meeting/

On Oct 3, 2012, at 5:32 AM, Lee von Kraus wrote:

> No problem, I myself am a little oversensitive in that regard anyway, thanks for your input. Thinking about what you wrote about a 'cable car' led me to think of using a ground based motor instead of a helikite based motor, so your thinking aloud did help. That brings up a really interesting aspect of collaboration that I had never thought of before: that actually talking with people verbally (or via text but in a more verbal, stream of thought way) would cause a lot more of those types of instances in which specific words used in a stream of thought by one person could trigger ideas in others, and vice versa. So, although it would create a lot more emails to read through with a lot more spread out content, that could theoretically be the best way to generate ideas as a group. I guess that could be one of the critical components of why it's easier to 'brainstorm' in person (or maybe via audio/video chat) than it is via text.
> 
> 
> 
> On Wed, Oct 3, 2012 at 11:08 AM, Alex Cureton-Griffiths <alexcg at gmail.com> wrote:
> Sorry about that, I definitely didn't mean to. I was basically thinking out loud and typing it into an email -- usually my thoughts are my own, but looking over your email now, yeah, I basically repeated it myself. I didn't realize it at the time. My bad!
> 
> Anyhow, it does show how much I agree with your post, that I would go to all the trouble of repeating it :)
>  
> On 3 Oct, 2012, at 10:26 PM, Lee von Kraus wrote:
> 
>> Alex, no offense taken, but you somehow managed to restate as your own almost every part of the idea that I posted in the original email,...
>> 
>> As for what to use as an aerostat, I provided a link in the first email that describes a kite/balloon hybrid ('helikite') that would probably work really well. The balloon part allows it to stay up in zero wind and the kite part adds stability and lift in high wind conditions.
>>  
>> Matt, that's a really good idea. The climbing mechanism could be useful but also, as in the space elevators, the power supply for the helikite's winch mechanism could be delivered via laser from the ground. That way the helikite wouldn't have to hold up the weight of power supply cables too.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On Wed, Oct 3, 2012 at 6:59 AM, Matt Johnson <railmeat at gmail.com> wrote:
>> It sounds like you should talk to the space elevator folks about
>> climbing tether quickly.
>> 
>> --
>> Matt Johnson
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On Tue, Oct 2, 2012 at 10:37 PM, Alex Cureton-Griffiths
>> <alexcg at gmail.com> wrote:
>> > Maybe have a line tethered to a weather balloon and have payloads somehow
>> > get 'carried' up the line like a cable car. That way can do tests much more
>> > quickly since don't have to send balloon up and down all the time.
>> >
>> > Having said that, I have no idea how you could pull that off myself :) Could
>> > also use a kite instead of a weather balloon, though not sure if could get
>> > to the right altitude
>> >
>> > On 3 Oct, 2012, at 1:11 PM, Lee von Kraus wrote:
>> >
>> > How about making and demonstrating a miniature microgravity 'generator' to
>> > allow DIY testing of things in microgravity on earth. It would be pretty
>> > easy and cheap and would open space research to the masses by allowing short
>> > duration generation of microgravity conditions. It could be a
>> > weather-balloon-dropped capsule or something with cameras build into the
>> > inside to allow observation of whatever short duration experiment one is
>> > interested in. This is a relatively quick and easy project that would help
>> > attract attention and funding, while also facilitating hackerspaces in doing
>> > their own future experiments.
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > On Tue, Oct 2, 2012 at 11:41 PM, Jerry Isdale <jerry at mauimakers.com> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> Apparently Arthur C Clarke did a story on Solar Sail racing (Sunjammer,
>> >> aka The Wind from the Sun, ~1963)
>> >>   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunjammer
>> >>
>> >> A graphic novel/short of it is at
>> >>    http://240plan.ovh.net/~upngmmxw/imag/bd/bd_a.htm
>> >>
>> >> Jerry Isdale
>> >> http://MauiMakers.com
>> >> http://www.mauimakers.com/blog/thursday-public-meeting/
>> >>
>> >> On Oct 1, 2012, at 2:51 PM, Matt Johnson wrote:
>> >>
>> >> I think that is an outstanding idea. It is rather ambitious, has
>> >> anyone even been able to steer a solar sail yet?
>> >>
>> >> I agree with Alex a spacers cup might attract some real money.
>> >>
>> >> --
>> >> Matt Johnson
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> On Sun, Sep 30, 2012 at 9:42 PM, Jerry Isdale <isdale at gmail.com> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> What do you think of a challenge to sail a solar sail around 3 earth
>> >>
>> >> Lagrange points?
>> >>
>> >> Would it be possible to control a sail to navigate around three such
>> >> points?
>> >>
>> >> Maybe have a Spacers Cup, akin to America's Cup sail race.
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> Jerry Isdale
>> >>
>> >> isdale at gmail.com
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
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