Catapulting rockets to cut costs

Scientists propose sending a fleet of drones to explore the lakes of Titan, the world's largest floating solar power farm is now open in Thailand Nov 11, 2021 # Together with [Iterate]( Good morning. The sun is incredibly bright in Thailand, which is why the country opened a new floating solar farm the size of roughly 70 soccer fields on a river, in a bid to achieve carbon-neutral status by 2050. We may not need solar power on Saturn’s moon Titan, but its bodies of liquid are just as fascinating. So a team of scientists wants to send a fleet of drones there, where they might even find extraterrestrial life. Additionally, a deadly weapon from the Middle Ages is making its debut on the space scene: A company wants to catapult small satellites into orbit to cut costs and avoid using pollution-heavy rockets. We could swing a joke about catapults, but it’d be a long shot. This is The Blueprint. Keep reading. We'd like to get to know you better and improve our newsletter. [Take this survey and tell us more about you]( it’ll take only 1 minute! SCIENCE [Medieval Space Flight? A Company Is Catapulting Rockets to Cut Costs]( [SpinLaunch's Suborbital Accelerator]( Why use unsustainable rocket propellants to launch small satellites when you could just catapult them into space? It may sound absurd, but a California-based startup called SpinLaunch [is actually developing an alternative launch technology]( that spins a vacuum-sealed centrifuge at several times the speed of sound before releasing the payload and sending it into orbit. - Space catapult? SpinLaunch’s new system is called the Suborbital Accelerator, and it doesn’t rely on rocket fuel, instead turning to electricity, kinetic energy, and a centrifugal mechanism that looks like a postmodern twist on a medieval contraption. SpinLaunch has already built a one-third scale version of its launch system, and conducted its first test flight on October 22 at Spaceport America in New Mexico ([yes, that Spaceport America](. The company says its test flight only used roughly 20 percent of their prototype system’s total capacity, and that the projectile, which stood in for a satellite payload, reached dizzying heights "in the tens of thousands of feet”. The iron lady? Even at one-third scale, it's worth noting that the big space catapult still reaches a height of 165 feet (50 meters), meaning that the final model would be nearly half as tall as the Eiffel Tower. - How it works. The machine is made up of a 1,000-ton steel vacuum chamber that keeps the pressure low enough for a carbon fiber tether to spin at high speeds while minimizing aerothermal heating. To create a low-friction environment, air is drawn out of the chamber prior to launch, allowing the projectile to achieve speeds of thousands of miles per hour before being propelled out of a skyward-facing tube. Rockets are so last century. SpinLaunch claims it will be able to launch payloads weighing up to 440 pounds (200 kg) into orbit for one-tenth the cost of [other satellite launch services offered by]( SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, and other space companies. It also plans to recover its systems after launch and install rocket engines that will only be used once the projectiles have reached suborbital space. Over the next eight months, the company will conduct roughly 30 suborbital test flights from Spaceport America, and we'll be on the lookout since this project is so bizarre that it might just work. [Read More]( INNOVATION [The World's Largest Floating Solar Power Farm Is Now Open In Thailand]( [The solar panels on the floating platform.]( A floating solar farm the size of roughly 70 soccer fields [has now begun operations at the Sirindhorn Dam]( on the Lam Dom Noi River in Thailand. The facility combines two techniques of electricity generation: During the day, 145,000 solar panels collect energy from the sun, while at night, three turbines convert electricity from flowing water, reflecting the country’s push to achieve carbon-neutral status by 2050. - Zoom out. At the United Nations Climate Change Conference being held in Glasgow, U.K., Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha pledged that his country would attain carbon neutrality by 2050, much sooner than the earlier target date of 2065. Since natural gas accounts for two-thirds of Thailand's current power output, the announcement is extremely significant, and the solar farm is a step toward that direction. The farm. Built for $34 million, the facility has an output of 45 MW of power, and seven large panels of photovoltaic cells are positioned at an angle against the platform. This allows sunlight to pass through into the water without affecting the underwater environment. The panel covers only 1 percent of the reservoir's surface area, yet it will save roughly 121.5 million gallons (460 million liters) of water per year that would otherwise be lost to evaporation. - The farm’s 145,000 panels [are made of eco-friendly material](. Thanks to the water, the panels won't overheat, and will be up to 15 percent more efficient than similar, land-based installations. Safer than sorry. To ensure stability during power generation, the solar farm's energy management system uses inputs from the weather forecast system. The designers have also included three turbines that can tap into the flowing water of the reservoir to generate power when there is no sunlight or when the peak demand for power is high. The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand plans to open the solar farm for public viewing to raise awareness of the technology and create environmentally sustainable jobs in the region. The organization now has another 15 such projects in its pipeline, which will boost Thailand's power generation capability by 2,725 MW once completed. [Read More]( SPONSORED Some Perceptions Shouldn't Be Just Ideas. They Need To Be Reality. As humans, we have multiple opinions or ideas on various sorts of things. Whether it’s food, music, sports, politics, or almost anything else, opinions are the bedrock of perception. And when it comes to products, the story is no different. While not every opinion about a product may not be constructive or useful, there’s no denying that leveraging the consumer’s ideas about a product can drastically improve it. Hence, feedback surveys are essential to tailor your product to suit the consumer’s needs. Iterate creates embedded website surveys to collect valuable feedback that can shape your products and change them for the better. This, in turn, improves the user experience and ensures brand loyalty. [Start your free trial]( with Iterate today to build products that your consumers love! SCIENCE [Scientists Propose Sending a Fleet of Drones to Explore the Lakes of Titan]( [And they might reveal alien life.]( We've already witnessed the first controlled flight on another planet, so it might only be a matter of time before humans send swarms of flying machines to explore our Solar System. Or at least, a team of scientists seems to think so, since the team wants to [send a fleet of mini-drones to the liquid lakes of Saturn's largest moon]( Titan, where scientists believe we might discover signs of extraterrestrial life. ‘An explorer’s utopia’. Titan is home to lakes and oceans, and its surface is frequently spattered by rain. However, unlike on Earth, these are all made up of liquid methane and ethane. Without an in-situ orbiter and lander, it is impossible to investigate and observe the moon's dense atmosphere in detail, and the researchers state that Titan's low gravity and dense atmosphere are perfect for flying robots. - What’s on the table. The proposed mission, dubbed POSEIDON, would send a lander to Titan's surface that would then deploy either a fleet of mini-drones or a large amphibious drone. Whichever option is chosen, it would explore Titan's polar regions, where the highest concentration of lakes and seas are located. The researchers behind the POSEIDON proposal say that, after deploying its lander, the mission's orbiter would continue to travel around Titan collecting data. Simultaneously, the lander could deploy a fleet of mini-drones — monocopter cubes only a few inches tall — to analyze and image the surface of the moon, providing invaluable data back on Earth. Bird's-eye view. The mission plan was developed for the European Space Agency (ESA), which recently launched an initiative called "Voyage 2050" calling for ideas for ambitious future missions. If it is accepted by the ESA, it would aim to launch to Titan before the moon's next northern Spring equinox in 2039, as seasonal effects on its climate will be most pronounced at this time. - Even before the newly proposed POSEIDON mission, the scientific community has had its sights set on exploring Saturn's celestial neighbor. In fact, NASA has already planned a mission to Titan, slated to reach the moon in the 2030s. The mission, called Dragonfly, will also send flying machines, or rotorcraft, to explore and potentially find signs of life. If all goes according to plan, we will have learned a lot about one of our Solar System's most interesting destinations and [the possibility of extraterrestrial life]( by the following decade. [Read More]( MAIL & MUSINGS Among the astonishing variety of worlds in our solar system, only our blue planet is known to host life. But with hopeful eyes and wary hands, we are searching for other moons and planets that could show signs of life. If we discover extraterrestrial life, where do you think it’ll be? Be sure you check back tomorrow for the results! [Titan.]( [Europa.]( [Ganymede.]( [Outside of our Solar System.]( Yesterday’s Results And now let’s check out your answers to yesterday’s question! We asked you whether you think the ‘metaverse’ will fail. And we appreciate your honesty since 33% of you answered with your disinterest in the topic, which is perfectly valid. On the other hand, half of our readers are split on whether this will become an inevitable feature of modern life, or is just overhyped noise from Silicon Valley, with 25% voting that it's both. One thing is for sure though: we’re going to hear about it all the time, and it will be a boisterous and, at times, exhilarating, journey for the world. Don’t know, don’t care. 33% It’s just more Silicon Valley hype. 25% No, this is inevitable. 25% 10/10 do not recommend. 16% QUOTE OF THE DAY “ The greatest danger to our future is apathy. ” Jane Goodall said in a Time article from Aug. 2002. [Video]VIDEO OF THE DAY [How to Build Your Own Four Sluice Mini Dam in Your Backyard]( Like dams? Like concrete? Then this might be the best thing you've seen this year. [How to Build Your Own Four Sluice Mini Dam in Your Backyard]( AND ANOTHER THING... - Nuclear power could become a crucial feature in a world free of fossil fuels. [Here’s why you should care about small nuclear reactors](. - How would Earth be different if modern humans never existed? Turns out, [it could have been a land of giants](. (LiveScience) - Scientists [detected a mysterious barrier near the center of the galaxy]( and it’s strong enough to block cosmic rays. - A Viking axe struck a Newfoundland tree in the year 1021. [Watch how scientists proved it](. (Aeon) - After hundreds of years, we’ve pushed through every threshold, and here we are. [Heinz is growing tomatoes in Mars-like soil]( so we can have ketchup on Mars. - The United States, Russia, and France now describe [the once-neglected nuclear power technology]( as a key part of their decarbonization plans. (The Atlantic) - In the pantheon of 20th-century geniuses, there are a few stand-out figures: Albert Einstein, Alan Turing, Steven Hawking, and, without question, [John von Neumann belongs in their company]( even if many have no idea who he is. Prepared by Derya Ozdemir and Brad Bergan Enjoy reading? Don't forget to forward to a friend! Was this email forwarded to you? 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