Discovery One

• Size of the Engine Modules (Fusion) (4 in 1)
• Size of the [Habitable] Stem (50-100 meters)
• Size of the Habitable Receptacle (25-225 meters)
• Size of Sphere for Crew and Payload (cargo)

  (50m somewhat livable -- astronauts only)
  (100m livable -- astronauts and tourists)
  (200m livable -- astronauts and tourists)
  (250m livable -- astronauts and tourists)
  (300m very livable -- astronauts and tourists)

• High-Bandwidth Communication (Laser)
• Instant Communication Device

  Entangled Particles -- Theoretical

Posted by thinktank.tsert.com on June 28, 2017

• Titanium

  Frames and Trusses for armatures
  

• Poly-Amide

  3D-Printed Structures (Space Pod)
  

• Carbon fiber

  Plates for walls and floors
  Trusses for armatures
  Furniture -- Foldaway and retractable

• Kevlar or Linar (High-grade)

  Micro Meteorite Protection
  

• Polyurethane Foam or Other Compound

  Micro Meteorite Protection
  

• Ceramic (High-grade)

  Cold/Heat Shielding
  Interior Plumbing

• Aerogel -- Carbon or silica

  Interior Cold/Heat Shielding
  Sound proofing
  Furniture

• Carbon plating

  Exterior Cold/Heat Shielding
  

• Boron/Graphene/Fullerene

  Solar and Cosmic Ray Shielding
  Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP) Shielding
  

• Cotton and Bamboo Fiber (High-grade)

  Interior Clothing and Footwear
  Bed spread, pillows, cushions
  

Posted by thinktank.tsert.com on June 28, 2017

• Oxygen production

  Algae walls
  Oxygen soaking material

• CO2 Scrubbing

  Algae walls
  Plasma burner

• Food

  Astronaut rations (microwavable)
  Excess Algae growth

• Water

  Evian (250 MT by heavy launch rockets)
  

• Body Cleaning

  Hand and Body Wipes (Alcohol laced)
  Ceramic and carbon bathtubs for tourists

• Garbage Disposal

  Plasma burner located at both ends of the receptacle
  Pneumatic plumbing for garbage
  Cotton/Bamboo/Paper garbage canisters
  Printable RF-ID tags for garbage canisters
  Upward access for garbage disposal conduit
  Garbage Collection areas near the Plasma burners
  

• Power Generation

  Hydrogen Fuel Cells
  Solar Panels
  Solar Concentrator
  Adiabatic Systems

  • Thermo-electric Power Generator (Seebeck effect)
  • Thermo-acoustic Power Generator
  • Adiabatic (+150C to -200C) Convected Gas power Generator

Posted by thinktank.tsert.com on June 28, 2017

• Rectangular-shaped carrying platform.

  Few or no control surfaces.
  Flyweels/gyros are used in place of control surfaces.
  Retro rockets (static or on a swivel).
  Parachutes on top of the upper flat surface as fail-safe.
  Very wide or ultra wide fuselage -- essentially a wide rectangular air foil.
  All or most of the frame in titanium or carbon (10x stronger than steel).
  Stripped down interior to reduce weight.
  Non pressurized -- passengers wear their space suits.
  Swivel seats for vertical re-entry.
  Second generation have aerospikes for takeoff -- maybe in 40 yers.

Posted by thinktank.tsert.com on August 28, 2017

• Material costs -- Mostly already R&D(ed) materials

  Titanium Grade1 ($US25000/MT)
  Titanium Alloy ($US8000/MT)
  Titanium Grade5 ($US6000/MT)
  High-Grade Ceramic ($US2000/MT)
  High-Grade Poly-Amide ($US2500/MT)
  Oxygen soaking material ($US10000/MT)
  Carbon Tiles ($US50/Meter^2)
  Carbon Fiber ($US10/Meter^2)
  Aerogel tiles ($US10/Meter^2)
  Kevlar ($US10/Meter^2)
  Linar ($US10/Meter^2)
  Alcohol Wipes ($US10/1000)
  Cotton fiber ($US2000/MT)
  Bamboo fiber ($US2000/MT)

• Research & Development Costs
• Engineering & Manufacturing Costs
• Launch costs

  Heavy launch rockets (15K/MT not feasible)
  Skylon space plane (1K/MT feasible)

• Manpower Costs

  ($100/Year base salary)
  ($200/Year base salary astronaut)

• Estimated Cost

  Optimistic, Half NASA's budget for a year (US$10B)
  Realistic, All of NASA's budget for a year (US$20B)
  Pessimistic, Twice NASA's budget for a year (US$40B)

Posted by thinktank.tsert.com on June 28, 2017

• Sphere

  Geodesic Titanium Frame
  Assembly done using a By-the-number method.

• Panels

  3 to 5 meter wide (25000-51000 for 100m radius)
  Hexagonal, Pentagonal, Triangular
  Embedded Transponder (RF-ID)
  Algae wall on the interior side
  Vacuum seal with frame or other panel
  Insulator foam for micro meteorite
  Shaped magnetic field generator (optional)
  Handles for grappling (allowing for a ladder around the sphere for EVA)

• Space Pod

  Titanium Frame
  3D-printed poly-amide sphere
  Coated with Kevlar or Linar
  Aerogel cold/heat shielding
  Carbon tiles for the exterior
  4K-OLED (180-270 degree) screen instead of cockpit window
  3D-Camera or multiple cameras for increased depth of field
  Transparent aluminum casing for camera lenses
  Manipulator arms plus tooling for Sphere assembly
  Fly-by-Wire controls and automated pilot mode
  Peroxide for propulsion, or better alternative.

• Receptacle

  Titanium Frame
  Habitable (Pressurized)
  Docking (2 to 4)
  Entrance to stem cargo area (Optional)
  Housing for Plasma burners.
  

• Stem

  Titanium Frame
  One to three stories
  Mostly water for cargo
  Cargo JIT machinery using RF-ID.
  

• Rotating Wheel

  Titanium Frame
  Titanium housing for axle and docking.
  40m to 240m in width
  5/10m or 10/10m private quarters
  Full width communal areas 25m in length (every 50m)
  Panels for surface (Minus magnetic shielding and Algae wall)
  Two electric engines for wheel rotation (4L Cayenne pulling Airbus-380, 300MT).

Posted by thinktank.tsert.com on June 28, 2017