How many different types of energy generation systems could exist in outer space ?

There’s mirrors to laser ground based designs but are there any others?

Honestly I think the number of prospective space-based energy generation systems that will be useful in the next hundred years is zero

Mirrors in space could charge up rechargeable batteries in space.

Tau.Neutrino said:

Mirrors in space could charge up rechargeable batteries in space.

They could operate all day, with no cloud cover or day night cycle.

I wonder if Biofuels could be made in space ?

Tau.Neutrino said:

Mirrors in space could charge up rechargeable batteries in space.

These could be used for, Asteroid mining space vehicles , Space Planes, Tourism Space Planes.

Make swapping batteries simple as possible.

Tau.Neutrino said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

Mirrors in space could charge up rechargeable batteries in space.

These could be used for, Asteroid mining space vehicles , Space Planes, Tourism Space Planes.

Make swapping batteries simple as possible.

If designed to Standards these space batteries could extend various missions etc.

Tau.Neutrino said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

Mirrors in space could charge up rechargeable batteries in space.

These could be used for, Asteroid mining space vehicles , Space Planes, Tourism Space Planes.

Make swapping batteries simple as possible.

If designed to Standards these space batteries could extend various missions etc.

A rechargeable battery platform in space using mirrors.

Tau.Neutrino said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

These could be used for, Asteroid mining space vehicles , Space Planes, Tourism Space Planes.

Make swapping batteries simple as possible.

If designed to Standards these space batteries could extend various missions etc.

A rechargeable battery platform in space using mirrors.

or using arrays of solar panels

both systems fold out on deployment

Tau.Neutrino said:

I wonder if Biofuels could be made in space ?

No. Bio derived energy is just rearranging molecules into other forms and storing energy in the chemical bonds that hold them together. You need all of the “stuff” in space, water, carbon dioxide, nutrients like nitrates and phosphates and trace elements etc before any living organism can start rearranging them. AFAIK the Earth’s atmosphere, surface, oceans and very very thin bit of the top crust have all of the required “stuff”.

party_pants said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

I wonder if Biofuels could be made in space ?

No. Bio derived energy is just rearranging molecules into other forms and storing energy in the chemical bonds that hold them together. You need all of the “stuff” in space, water, carbon dioxide, nutrients like nitrates and phosphates and trace elements etc before any living organism can start rearranging them. AFAIK the Earth’s atmosphere, surface, oceans and very very thin bit of the top crust have all of the required “stuff”.

stuff can be taken up into space

some stuff is already in space such as gas clouds, the moon, Mars or asteroids

you don’t need to take large plants into space, you can send seeds, that grow etc

Energy system generation platforms could exist anywhere is space, such as along space mining routes. or around space tourism orbits etc

Mirror or solar arrays power direct to swappable rechargeable batteries.

Tau.Neutrino said:

How many different types of energy generation systems could exist in outer space ?

There’s mirrors to laser ground based designs but are there any others?

Could be an almost infinite number of different types.

If you can imagine a chemical reaction that generates energy on Earth, then that’s a potential energy generation system in outer space.

But i did a bit of work earlier reviewing different types of nuclear power in space.

First a few non-nuclear, compressed gas, flywheel, monopropellant, magnetic torque, Tesla car

For nuclear there is:

• Nuclear thermal – heaps of variants there
• Nuclear pulse (eg project orion)
• AIMStar, a proposed Antimatter-catalyzed nuclear pulse propulsion craft that uses clouds of antiprotons to initiate fission and fusion within fuel pellets.
• ICAN-II, a proposed manned interplanetary spacecraft that used the Antimatter-catalyzed nuclear pulse propulsion engine as its main form of propulsion
• External Pulsed Plasma Propulsion (EPPP), a propulsion concept by NASA that derives its thrust from plasma waves generated from a series of small, supercritical fission/fusion pulses behind an object in space
• Bussard ramjet, a conceptual interstellar fusion ramjet named after Robert W. Bussard.
• Fission fragment rocket
• Fission sail
• Fusion rocket
• Gas core reactor rocket
• Nuclear salt-water rocket
• Radioisotope rocket
• Nuclear photonic rocket
• Nuclear electric rocket
• Project Prometheus, NASA development of nuclear electric propulsion for long-duration spaceflight, begun in 2003

Etc. That barely even scrapes the surface of how many different types there are.

For more on the above nuclear options see https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_propulsion

mollwollfumble said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

How many different types of energy generation systems could exist in outer space ?

There’s mirrors to laser ground based designs but are there any others?

Could be an almost infinite number of different types.

If you can imagine a chemical reaction that generates energy on Earth, then that’s a potential energy generation system in outer space.

But i did a bit of work earlier reviewing different types of nuclear power in space.

First a few non-nuclear, compressed gas, flywheel, monopropellant, magnetic torque, Tesla car

For nuclear there is:

• Nuclear thermal – heaps of variants there
• Nuclear pulse (eg project orion)
• AIMStar, a proposed Antimatter-catalyzed nuclear pulse propulsion craft that uses clouds of antiprotons to initiate fission and fusion within fuel pellets.
• ICAN-II, a proposed manned interplanetary spacecraft that used the Antimatter-catalyzed nuclear pulse propulsion engine as its main form of propulsion
• External Pulsed Plasma Propulsion (EPPP), a propulsion concept by NASA that derives its thrust from plasma waves generated from a series of small, supercritical fission/fusion pulses behind an object in space
• Bussard ramjet, a conceptual interstellar fusion ramjet named after Robert W. Bussard.
• Fission fragment rocket
• Fission sail
• Fusion rocket
• Gas core reactor rocket
• Nuclear salt-water rocket
• Radioisotope rocket
• Nuclear photonic rocket
• Nuclear electric rocket
• Project Prometheus, NASA development of nuclear electric propulsion for long-duration spaceflight, begun in 2003

Etc. That barely even scrapes the surface of how many different types there are.

For more on the above nuclear options see https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_propulsion

mollwollfumble’s modular space nuclear reactor design. Expanded view to show internals.

mollwollfumble’s nuclear powered space laser design.

Sort of fits here. Ferrari is going to introduce an iintelligent turbo, linked to the shaft is an electrical generator connected to the battery. The battery provides torque fill to stop turbo lag, and by changing the resistance you don’t need blow off valves or bypass plumbing. It also charges when the turbo is spinning.

Tau.Neutrino said:

I wonder if Biofuels could be made in space ?

But why? What’s the advantage?

dv said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

I wonder if Biofuels could be made in space ?

But why? What’s the advantage?

Powering vehicles on the moon / Mars.

Tau.Neutrino said:

dv said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

I wonder if Biofuels could be made in space ?

But why? What’s the advantage?

Powering vehicles on the moon / Mars.

Cool so maybe an internal combustion engine running diesel on Mars or the Moon?

does that count as a drive test for which we should install some defeat devices

dv said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

dv said:

But why? What’s the advantage?

Powering vehicles on the moon / Mars.

Cool so maybe an internal combustion engine running diesel on Mars or the Moon?

Sure, but carbon is precious on both the Moon and Mars.

My idea is to import hydrogen from Earth (lightweight and the vacuum of space makes the crhogenics easy) and use local oxygen from rocks. Then feed them into either an internal combustion engine of fuel cell. Capture the resulting waste water and drink it.

mollwollfumble said:

dv said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

Powering vehicles on the moon / Mars.

Cool so maybe an internal combustion engine running diesel on Mars or the Moon?

Sure, but carbon is precious on both the Moon and Mars.

My idea is to import hydrogen from Earth (lightweight and the vacuum of space makes the crhogenics easy) and use local oxygen from rocks. Then feed them into either an internal combustion engine of fuel cell. Capture the resulting waste water and drink it.

Zubrin goes into this. Take H from earth use CO2 on mars to make methane and O for fuel have water as a by product. Or something along those lines.

JudgeMental said:

mollwollfumble said:

dv said:

Cool so maybe an internal combustion engine running diesel on Mars or the Moon?

Sure, but carbon is precious on both the Moon and Mars.

My idea is to import hydrogen from Earth (lightweight and the vacuum of space makes the crhogenics easy) and use local oxygen from rocks. Then feed them into either an internal combustion engine of fuel cell. Capture the resulting waste water and drink it.

Zubrin goes into this. Take H from earth use CO2 on mars to make methane and O for fuel have water as a by product. Or something along those lines.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabatier_reaction

I think I need to be flagging my sarcasm better

dv said:

I think I need to be flagging my sarcasm better

i thought you were just being daft.