I've been thinking about this for years...

[aqua...@gmail.com]

Electromagnetics have a LOT of advantages over chemical propulsion
systems for space exploration.

Mass drivers as currently thought of are suitable for launching
hardware that is capable of withstanding high g-force loads far beyond
what living organisms or delicate electronics can handle. The concept
needs a revamp, a new paradigm. The basic idea for mass drivers has
been around since the late 1970's at least. So have some of my ideas
for upgrading them to handle larger and more delicate payloads. One of
the largest discussion topics here will be on mass driver technology
and how to improve it. Mass drivers can launch a payload per minute,
rather than the payload or three per month current rocket technology
can support.

Another concept that needs rework is the electric rocket, or ion drive
propulsion. Current ion drives use very small amounts of fuel at very
high velocities to produce a tiny amount of thrust for months at a
time. We need ion drives that can produce higher thrust levels at even
higher velocities over a sustained period, which would make them
suitable for relatively rapid travel of full-sized, manned space
craft. This is the second piece of a lower-cost, high-volume space
transportation infrastructure, and it will be another heavy topic of
discussion.

Finally, the third major area of discussion will be overall strategies
for exploring space using these technologies to explore and colonize
the solar system. It may surprise some people that I would say it, but
George Bush actually got at least one thing right during his tenure as
President of the USA, and it was the idea of going to the Moon first
and establishing a permanent base there. It's not until you understand
the full power and potential of an integrated electromagnetic space
transportation infrastructure that it becomes clear why that is. I
will be writing on exactly why getting a solid presence on the Moon
first is key to opening up the rest of the solar system to exploration
and colonization.

We might no have warp drives, but we can definitely have much better
electric drives. Here is where we'll hash that out.

There is also a companion Google Group to go with the Magnetoverse
blog, which you are welcome to Join: http://groups.google.com/group/magnetoverse?hl=en

For those reading this on the Group, here's a link to the Magnetoverse
blog: http://magnetoverse.blogspot.com/

It's time for space 3.0

Dan