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Category: space travel

For nearly 100 years, scientists have dreamed of turning the lightest of all the elements, hydrogen, into a metal.

Now, in a stunning act of modern-day alchemy, scientists at Harvard University have finally succeeded in creating a tiny amount of what is the rarest, and possibly most valuable, material on the planet, they reported in the journal Science.

For metallic hydrogen could theoretically revolutionise technology, enabling the creation of super-fast computers, high-speed levitating trains and ultra-efficient vehicles and dramatically improving almost anything involving electricity.

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In Brief Science fiction often serves as a curiosity catalyst for a lot of technological innovation. One such example is this Alcubierre Warp Drive, that would absolutely revolutionize the capability of humans to traverse the stars.

It’s always a welcome thing to learn that ideas that are commonplace in science fiction have a basis in science fact. Cryogenic freezers, laser guns, robots, silicate implants… and let’s not forget the warp drive! Believe it or not, this concept – alternately known as FTL (Faster-Than-Light) travel, Hyperspace, Lightspeed, etc. – actually has one foot in the world of real science.

In physics, it is what is known as the Alcubierre Warp Drive. On paper, it is a highly speculative, but possibly valid, solution of the Einstein field equations, specifically how space, time and energy interact. In this particular mathematical model of spacetime, there are features that are apparently reminiscent of the fictional “warp drive” or “hyperspace” from notable science fiction franchises, hence the association.

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More on the completion of phase 1 testing of by the Chinese on their Quantum Satellite as they have kicked their second phase that includes hacking.

Five space exploration projects to begin during 13th Five-Year Plan

Micius, the world’s first quantum satellite, has successfully completed four months of in-orbit tests since China launched it on Aug 16, the Chinese Academy of Sciences has announced.

“The overall performance has been much better than we expected, which will allow us to conduct all our planned experiments using the satellite ahead of schedule and even add some extra ones,” Pan Jianwei, chief scientist for the satellite project, said at a ceremony on Wednesday.

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Ever since Jules Verne and before — perhaps as early as the 5th century B.C. — writers, philosophers and scientists have brought fantasies to life about spaceships carrying humans to other planets, solar systems and galaxies.

Of all the potential targets, only the moon thus far has hosted Earthling “boots on the ground.” Next on most wish lists is Mars. NASA’s tentative schedule designates the first manned mission sometime around 2030.

Aside from the formidable task of designing a safe, efficient vehicle to transport people and supplies, such a mission — depending on the positions of the two planets and other logistics — would take in the neighborhood of nine months each way. Not only is that a long trip, but it would also expose the human body to ambient space radiation for close to a year. Can’t this travel time, many have asked, be cut down somehow?

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The International Space Station is getting on in years, and at some point in the next decade we’re going to learn the date of its shutdown. But what comes next? A new company called Axiom Space has a plan to launch a commercial space station in the next few years, which would get its start as a module attached to the ISS.

It’s easy to shrug off a plan from a company you’ve never heard of, but Axiom has some big names on board. For example, it’s led by one Mike Suffredini, who managed NASA’s ISS program for 10 years. The time is fast approaching that we need to come up with a successor to the ISS, and Axiom’s commercial station could be it.

The plan calls for the core module to be launched around 2020. There are two versions of this phase of construction; one in which the 9×5 meter module (known as Module 1) is launched in one piece, and another where it’s sent up in pieces and assembled in orbit. Assembling in space would take longer, but sending it up as a single payload would be expensive and risky. The completed Module 1 will have its own propulsion, so it will fly to the ISS after reaching orbit.

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Now that the EmDrive has made its way into the peer-reviewed literature, it falls in range of Tau Zero’s network of scientist reviewers. Marc Millis, former head of NASA’s Breakthrough Propulsion Physics project and founding architect of the Tau Zero Foundation, has spent the last two months reviewing the relevant papers. Although he is the primary author of what follows, he has enlisted the help of scientists with expertise in experimental issues, all of whom also contributed to BPP, and all of whom remain active in experimental work. The revisions and insertions of George Hathaway (Hathaway Consulting), Martin Tajmar (Dresden University), Eric Davis (EarthTech) and Jordan Maclay (Quantum Fields, LLC) have been discussed through frequent email exchanges as the final text began to emerge. Next week I’ll also be presenting a supplemental report from George Hathaway. So is EmDrive new physics or the result of experimental error? The answer turns out to be surprisingly complex.

By marc millis, george hathaway, martin tajmar, eric davis, & jordan maclay

It’s time to weigh in about the controversial EmDrive. I say, controversial, because of its profound implications if genuine, plus the lack of enough information with which to determine if it is genuine. A peer-reviewed article about experimental tests of an EmDrive was just published in the AIAA Journal of Propulsion and Power by Harold (Sonny) White and colleagues: White, H., March, P., Lawrence, J., Vera, J., Sylvester, A., Brady, D., & Bailey, P. (2016), “Measurement of Impulsive Thrust from a Closed Radio-Frequency Cavity in Vacuum,” Journal of Propulsion and Power, (print version pending, online version here.

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