Energy-efficient lifting alternative for space cargo.
I have been watching videos about gravity wells and the metaphor that gravity is just like a well in the space-time* field, and I was thinking that birds do not burn half of their body mass in order to take off several times a day from the earth, instead, they leverage aerodynamics and more efficient mechanics and energy sources.
Energy/Mass requirements for lifting trust:
Eagles require to eat around 10% of their body weight to survive, including all body functions. They also can make several launches a day with just that amount of mass. Insects and bats go by similar numbers.
Meanwhile, most rockets and missiles are composed mostly of the fuel required for trust.
In the case of missiles, they are required to be fast, but why are space missions also required to go in the fastest route rather than leveraging the aerodynamics a bit more, at least up until the air density can sustain the lift for a 2nd stage take off?
Alternative cargo lifting:
We could leverage more traditional aerodynamics while we perfect more efficient ways of propulsion such as synthetic muscles to launch smaller cargo packets into space with far less energy than that required for vertical and high-speed take-offs.
We could then leverage regular scale robots to help position satellites properly in orbit or assemble large structures once in orbit. The development of this technology should be way faster and cheaper than developing nanobots and ways to control them at such small scales.
So, for example, we could launch all modular components for a space station or spaceship, assemble the structure there and test the life support systems, tec, all remotely, and finally launch personnel in the same manner, once the structure can receive the personnel space module and sustain life.
The Earth-Space Port
Once we build structures and maintain a regular supply of resources into near space, we should focus on building a larger space station that will serve as an International Space Port, BioDiversity Spacial Research Station, Seeds Vault, etc.
Humans, machines, and materials could then all be shipped to this station, and ships could then be built there and launched from there or a nearby launching port.
The artificial Earth-Mars Belt
The NASA reference mission uses a very similar plan, except they are leveraging rockets for lifting cargo.
Similar to using VASIMIR propulsion as proposed initially in that article, which has a “high power low gear trust,” we could leverage ion trusters to keep running a steady stream of unmanned carriers or spacial cargo trucks and buses that will keep orbiting between Earth and Mars non-stop.
Once we construct this one-way space highway, we could use it to send materials and more assembling robots to build the 2nd port in the orbit of Mars, called the Mars-Space Port.
The Mars-Space Port & Hotel
The Mars-Space Port will allow us to have a safe place to store materials and safeguard crews from planetary weather conditions, waiting to be shipped to the planet Mars or simply visiting the neighbor plant's orbit as tourists.
It will also serve store and ship materials and production from Mars to Earth more cheaply and reliably. Any Martian industry will just be shipping products and materials to the Mars-Space Port, and from there, it will be loaded in the Earth-Mars Cargo Ships to be shipped to earth.
Some industries may find it more convenient to source minerals from Mars to build more space ships and machines in the red planet rather than to use the Earth-Mars transport belt to source and ship raw materials from Earth to Mars.
The benefits All Species on Earth
- Reduced mining operations on Earth
- Increase in food production and agricultural R&D
- Almost unlimited Increase in Job demand and consumption. ( Unlimited Economic Growth )
- Reduced Ecological Impact on Earth to the point one-day Earth could become just a Touristic Attraction to visit one day for the Majority of the Human Kind.
