In May 2015, the Planetary Society will launch its first LightSail spacecraft for a “shakedown cruise” in Earth orbit. So who better to answer fan questions about the program than their CEO, Bill Nye, and comic co-host Chuck Nice?
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This is an unofficial transcript meant for reference. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
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welcome to start on your place in the universe where science and pop culture collide. Dartle begin right now welcome to start talk bill nigh here. Your guess toes this week, a mere with my colleague charm
you associate Chuck nice Jack good to see you hey bill could be here and this week is a cosmic queries in which we answer.
Your question. That's right. We call the questions from the internet and
all of our various incarnations, twitter, Facebook
the social media. Nor does it also media relax. Your computer me exactly so this week our focus, thank goodness jerk. Is me
we're talking about the planetary society, the world's largest non governmental space interest Organization based advancing space science and exploration,
crystal full disclosure! You are the fearless leader. I s right of the planetary society, seo and
Just so you all know. Neil digress. Thyssen was involved with this
So I am, I
Carl Sagan first round me back in the disco era. We took one classroom, but it
directed my life, I've loud, and so I join.
Planetary society which he into other guys started.
Who Friedman was an engineer, a J, P, L and Bruce Murray, who was the head of the jet propulsion lab during the
Where's, your missions, the Viking missions, the hey, hey Days, Jape here right
and so I got on the mailing list and then
Carl Sagan had this misfortune of getting this extraordinary, very difficult to deal with form
cancer. Will he died right.
I was asked to speak at his memorial service because his kids, SAM, especially like the science gusher yeah,
and then I got on the board of directors and then here
and then Neil was asked to be on the board of directors. How
rising star in astrophysics. Now he is of course, yes, Galactic Galactic Ray
elastic overlord. So anyway, then we the prayer
precisely because of the the fame anarchy,
women's Carl Sagan right. We
your recognised enough to give Stephen hawking an award, the Cosmos Award, oh, and so we went to Cambridge
oh do you care of God and that's when you
Neil and allow much time is, but there's a lot of wine. Yes, it's a lot of
as the slowing why a meal and Bacchus yes
good fresh zest well acquainted, and now I'm the ceo. I dont, really, I'm not sure how that happen, but I've been
c, for over four years
for the first time since the ninety nine. These were growing
and exciting thing is. This goes back,
Carl Sagan. We're going to launch our own spacecraft first weaker, may well
How is solar sail a solar sale
which is extraordinary, fang FI can you
that known it gets pushed through
base by sunlight? Yes, now that
is that seems crazy. Does him crazy? It is really intriguing, though, and you say Bill Nigh CEO printers cited. Yes,
I thought light had no mass. How can it passed
We have all madame when I walked
on the street.
If I'm John Denver
and their sunshine. On my shoulder. Yes, I don't
I don't get high, I don't get a push right, even if, if I'm way
king on sunshine. Yes, I know and or
or you might as well be walking on the same. Ok, that's the only thing is whether and when I get singing the references, stop rainy weather
Moscow Physics or through relativity, ok
eight, has momentum, photons have momentum is a fun little thing you can do in your head. If you're out, there you're physics person of any kind
or just ass? If you ve ever watched? U S football! Ok!
mental? Yes is multiplicative, it's the one, you're multiple
I Mass Times Velocity mass time, speed right, we're indirection. So
ever for popular. That is more massive and he's going faster. It has more momentum right.
And so along this line. Let's take
equals M C squared which everybody loves now what's divide. Both sides by sea
in your minds head all right then
overseas, some packet of energy, divided by the speed of light right, which is causing some mass times the speed of light
So some mass times some speed
this momentum and that's it so
somebody think about anyway, so you get those too.
It's coming together, concussion Paul Basic right, but, unlike
the NFL we were not in denial, so
this thing, we're gonna, have this very large sale deployed
this almost you would almost
dry, but his tiny spacecraft. So like a sale
but then yes, it's a sailboat in Spain and, furthermore, you steer it by attacking the same way. You steer a sailor. Rattlers read not it's amazing failures, and so this goes car. I we have footage now of on the website of
Carl Sagan in nineteen. Seventy six described on the tonight
Joe Johnny Carson, describing sore sale.
And yet a model of it and so on in this thing, is visually very, very
more minutes. I, as Mr Scott would say. Well you know
what do you say, Mr Scott, because the first time I learned or knew about a solar sale workers from an episode of STAR trek- and I thought it was like so cool that they came
with this praise the idea and then-
read about it that they did not come up with that crazy. I always are consistent with the laws of physics, exactly that they're dead. Did they cooperate that crazy idea? So, let's, let's get to the question? Ok, so what we have before us is a number of questions from
Our listeners and sometimes viewers, if they're on Youtube and they have submitted these questions,
typically for you to answer bill with respect to the
light sale and you do not have the questions
thirdly, I do not see the question you have. I not feeling well so just for the sake of disclosure bill does not know what I'm about to
ask. But these are your questions. Let's get to it. This one is from Joe Foster and he comes us to us from at fast. Do not or donut
at their good. Don't that's a good, don't let us don't say most, let's just go with that. Exactly here's! What Joe wants to know? What are you hoping to learn from this launch? What's what's the purpose and in terms of information, so the
big. The biggest picture is, if you had sore sailing spacecraft that were never operated very well. You could exe
What were the cost of any mission to any destination the solar system by by pick a number of factors of tens of thousands, because there's no few
right. So as we say, you can trade time for money. If you have time you're a space it
see, for example, Rosetta that spacecraft twelve years right to get out
the comet
I have time to soar. Sale is fantastic system because it gets
when you think of a regular rocket the engine
one twentyman such a huge rocket.
Engine might run nine minutes still further
Well! That was a smaller. When I press your first one was pretty big, yes
solar say I was just
face so day and night weight in
There's no night so gets a push, a tiny push continually for Fort continuously, rather for
as long as it's in space, and so we are approving the stick
our duty in the big thing is NASA and what the world
Now has a standard color
cube, set a cube set, cubicle satellite cubicles us cube, sat through upset
upset ten centimetres by ten centimetres. Both ours is thirty centimetres, which is smaller than a loaf of bread. Really weird
when things get that small, the electronics are to be very small software. Us we very efficient everything as we really good and so weird may. We built a spacecraft estimates very for about a fifth of what
would have caused a regular space agency to build. Why? Because we too said passionate guys and we're supported by forty six thousand members around the world, and so we hope to prove
that sore sailing is practical on this scale and which would mean
or universities, private corporations everybody to participate in inexpensive.
Sis, lunar spacecraft, us between the earth and the moon and out to destinations in sources, unbelievable Emmy, very believable and extremely cool. Ok. So now, let's touch on what you just said about getting up to speed and continual speakers. Our next question is from Ben Shankar and Bill
says I mean bans in plants as though you are bill, it's a blurring really as it's just it's all a mush here up here. That's my my us what your wife was. First, I shall first she thought you're kidding
the mouse what I'm seventeen years? Anyone that's right! You are absolutely correct bill. Seventy years ago she reminds me she realizes that does he's vision with her head ass. He does here. We got banned, wants to know this. How long will it take for a light sale ship to get to a useful speed and output addendum onto that? What
exactly. Is a useful speak like so so the first thing is you gotta get a chemical rocket. That's our state of the art to get into above the atmosphere. Right, then sober work,
We are a secondary payload on an atlas. Five,
then rocket, that is descendant of the rocker. That launch on Glenn very eyes. Is engineering descent
this limit lice lineage right
so, once you're in space exceed the planter recited trying to watch some for Thor sales, two thousand five,
on a russian rocket. Ok, there that was left off
from the cold war, and
very well- and I remember
would not they would not. Let us
I gotta more leftovers right
on a real. I was five brand new smells new.
He's got a rocket Smith gets above.
Atmosphere, and then, if you, for example, wanted to go to the moon, it would take you about a month to get to the moon.
A man if you want to go beyond that source, you start computing years, but the thing
you can go to destinations. No one's ever thought of practically like catching up with a comet would
think about the same amount of time
the four
in April the Rosetta mission, because it's always getting up, who always always getting a push once you're out there. But what
gonna do with light say, although, as we call it light, sale is
go around. The earth showed that the thing deploys show that the antenna works is quite
important thing- you might not have thought about it, but when you're in lower earth orbit, if you are not a great big
base Agency with U S, naval ships all over the world and
the means to have
stations on exotic coral attack,
or in the middle of the ocean. Most of the time
not over the land wrangling
the time? There's nobody listening to your little beep beep beep beep,
and so this sort of things have to be carefully worked out: a men, rigour
Ro. Steering. Can we talk
the sale. Imagine this in your minds head, you have to go
John toward the sun right and then
face away going away from the sun.
Are you build or little energy so we're gonna,
it s like that. Now, that's fascinating, very, very cool, whether you girl, just by people just by people, thought it was cool they go. Then there's there's your end.
Let's move onto Sharon Smith, snot, grist attorney Sagres, my dear,
was a prisoner of war. We got him some address, really that's what he told me that, such from the fact that we have fought Chuck, I wasn't there
He told me round up still used. This is true, so glad, ok, how far away from the sun candlelight sale travel before it, there's no further means of propulsion and at that point, can change direction or is it on a one way trip in
last direction that it was propelled well nominally, is getting a push indefinitely
that is to say, as the first cut
there are always getting a push. Consider, for example, that the applause
which will be visited by a spacecraft in July. Lord has it by
Spacers no sounded goes
so on. Let's hear that again shall we
The plutonium atmosphere grow
when there's just a tiny bit of sunlight on everybody believes its volatile using some milk making some ice triangular gas.
Then as it moves away from the sun that shrinks. So even
way, the out there PLUTO theirs,
of sunlight to influence the whole planet right so there,
we'll be enough? Sunlight influences spacecraft and then, if you wanna go crazy, which is funded, do yeah.
Put a laser in your minds. I on the moon,
we want a sore sale and we have made an agreed.
With international governments and
federation is running things at that and we beam a laser on space.
For solar cell spacecraft
for ten thousand years in a ghost
proximate centurion goes too,
Star system right pushed by
humankind's ten thousand year. Nuffin breaks
we all agree. This is worth doing. Lasers is right, but if you think about it, it is the only known technology that could take us to another. Star system is quite cool because there's always a push always applies always up and we can vote for four Sharon's clay.
We could artificially from what you're saying we could artificially create that push. If
So you have solar panels all over the far side of the moon right running a laser.
But somehow redirect
Sid Cellphones, always aiming at the chalk,
this memorial, solar sales spacecraft meets. These are some complex issues
I've seen it couldn't be done. It's gonna get ought to think about really is going to think about very cold.
Related to light sail in the planetary society. Absolutely
Ok, we got a couple minutes here. So let's go. Let's go to John Thomson and he's coming to us through Twitter at aviation is his handle. He says with respect to the light sale. How are they built and
Is there a top speed? Well, everybody's dream is to get to.
Hundred kilometres a second spacecraft, tsar, cable. What so? Here's why to get to those speeds? You'd have to get close.
Closer and closer to the sun right
I have the materials that can take that right now, but this spacecraft itself
Icarus Syndrome is right, but this spacecraft is made of mylar aluminized, my oars, its inaction.
To mature, infected so inexpensive
How how inexpensive visit so cheap that they send us a sample which was big enough to make the first set of sales,
became so in such a very the booms, as are called, are often called tape measure
because they resemble a steel tape measure that you use to get size your carpet
you're, a contractor sewing would or whatever the outcome and other Strutton airily stiff there. Maybe this cobalt steel hours were made at the air force, research, lab and Kirtland AIR Force Base in Albuquerque New Mexico
and day. We have a proprietary mechanism to wind these things, which are four and a half metres long AMOS. Try me little well, they extend that extent, but we have proposed
practice extending so if you think about it, you ever had
what? When you, you have the tape measure extended right and you let go of the lock? Was writers working well. What we do is push them and
so there loaded,
story loaded spring load. At their extraordinary springs there. Really there is cool and they can
just of two ribbons stitched, welded together and stick
Building is a term, they made up in just a laser dictated to two to two very cool. So it's a high tech thing that guy's it is have been working on for
decades and we have combined. All these technologies are hoping for a successful flight, the first week of tasks,
listen to start chart radio on your hosting sitting as we build. I with my co host chuck. Nice will be safer for you.
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World your Red STAR, George Radio, I'm your city and bore the underground station in this week. This is a big
For me, I'm I'm here with shock nice Yazzi, taking your request.
Who's, your cosmic queries and it's a big weak for me, because we are talking about
planetary society, of which I am a ceo
and our specifically our light sale, spacecraft. We has our sources,
various draft which are going to launch we the norm.
A is this
they may, but these dates slip around its by the white shark. I didn't tell you it's it's an air
worse payload, an air force
that is to say the prime.
Hurry payload.
Is something therefore withdrawing your early challenge. What it is
there's a lot of speculation that justice by satellite or its,
ex thirty seven b, lifting by
but no one really sure anyway. So it's really call you guys when you think about rocket science, this part of its not that hard.
The primary payload or the thing where they ve paid a lot right to load on is
a mere forced the units on top then
Oh, that is the secondary pewee payload
This is where we are and its
seven of these very small satellites, these cubes, that's right, ten cents,
there's by ten centimetres by thirty centimetres smaller than a loaf of bread,
and so we're on there and after the primary payload is off
then these set these seven little ones go sprains brains behind Frank off into space where these
who all stainless steel sort of Jack in the box is so I say it's it's very cool, but let's get back.
The questions very exciting weak for me very cool. Alright, let's go, let's go to dance
when's there. How have you been sandstorm very well from what I can tell and this what he says. What is the tops?
Have a solar sale of feasibly reads before the losing the sun's influence? Now here's the real question after that, could it be propelled by an
bored photon source or would that be the equivalent of
trying to blow your own sale. Yeah, trying to boy you're on sale exerted strangler, yours
However, I can say that I haven't done so think about Dan Owen. Yes,
think about it. This way, suppose you had solar panels,
and you soaked up sunlight and you power the laser on board your spacecraft years, our pensioners, spacecraft
not right on your wristwatch retrim that which I have won. But that's not really it's not that
is that his insides outer space, for example,
so then you'd shoot the laser off some way, hoping.
I mean and expecting that you'd get a push like
you are holding the famous thing will stand on rowers gates and you have a bowling ball right and you throw the bowling ball to somebody. You get you go on, go right because of the
conservation of or momentum, the momentum of the bowling ball going. That way will be
want to your momentum going this way
well imagine you did this: U soaked up sunlight drove a laser. You shoot the wiser well back up back up its simpler than that
If you have just a mirror in space right,
Oh Tom Bounces often gives you a research where you go well, and so that's what the solar cells and eyes you don't even leave the old fan,
the sailboat trick. We out where you ve got the electric ban in the back of a sailboat
what you need is a mirror thrive in space age based
space. That is a mere you have a fan right, which is decide this.
Is your father. You got or push your own sailboat thought experiment
So I was by the way
if you have just a black surface, there's an expression in physics called a black body, a perfectly absorbent material. Yes, we have that saying in my family
I was gonna, let you do when you get a push, but you get twice as much push theoretically perfect if it was a perfect Mary twice as much wasting my purse
Oh, this thing is made of super shiny, mylar, right and making out of my water. It makes it a little cheaper than if you made it out of other better fancy or
like Aluminized, Captain Polly image image, but the my art.
He's gonna burn up in the atmosphere, this first flight, because
The man is only
taking our spacecraft, the man and so
taken our spacecraft tool in fifty four hundred kilometres. Ok of
fifty miles is rife and there still up there. Although you and I would suffocate in a few moments right, there's still a few air molecules and so let rugs finally better atmosphere that will, but we are going to launch a second light sail in me.
You have twenty! Sixteen, ok that one on the mythic modern super
Falcon mine from
Spacex fancy and so that we will be a much higher altitude and we will get sore propulsion and much more easily. Now. This first test is the first test.
That's right and were very hopeful that things will seed NASA has tried,
Applying these sales on another spacecraft, called man or sale de ok
by the way Nana Sale Man, oh so
White man. Oh sat, that's another word they like, but cannot agree with that, but
upset as a standard that people have settled on and by people I mean mostly. Universities in the air force is quite another
cubes? That's anyway, there they tried this and it didn't deploy right. The the
tape. Measure booms didn't boom. Ok, so we believe we have solve that problem
where's. The guy solvents used twelve years old is twenty six right. Of course, any just wrote it
and he is now a billion right? That's how it works so no eyes their young guys in there and many men and women in their passionate, and they just done out standing work. It's really ass. What Dan Owens! Thank you for that great question and
answer is the sun? Is your fan always remember that our let's move on and let's go to where the sun is
The science is your family dont forget this. That's right! That's strange, attract sorry Joey Piero Skull from, and I love it that Chile rights from Green Bay was caught in here. Hey belt.
The light cell technology is phenomenal. However, how will you prevent microscopic space debris from penetrating or completely destroying its fragile mirrors or, as you call it, mylar that it needs for proposing? This is a really great question. Joey
I am interested right now and bill. I loved the look in your face. Let's have it so two things joy. First of all that three things first thing. Thank you for your question,
that's an outstanding question and many people wondered that, but we'll start with.
Not that many micro meteorites
we all worry about cause. That's what you hear about we and space debris has seriously weakens our hall in my soon we see, that's never happened. Get our example
is that all Hollywood? No,
Oh, it's all sort of common sense, its there's just not that much stuff is not love stuff up there. With that said,
the sale manufacturers have embedded this rip stop feature, and when you look at the
and by that I mean they're strands or fibres.
Into the mile into the fabric into the shiny plastic super thin stuff. Ok, and if you look,
John grazing angle. You can see the lines a mere about
two centimeters apart a little less than an inch apart,
go on this way above all, go in that way and so to keep it from tearing me.
Sleeping just handling it with humans with those Cornel white gloves on when they re folded like origami in this clean room anyway, I as a great question but rethink we redress that
Micro meteorite, going at
ten kilometres are second or seven miles of certain just go right through price. It won't.
You're up. There were the utility knife going wrong. It's like the old pirate knife and the sale of threat, the beach, just poker or but nervous rip stop built into it. So this rip stop weaves so
so to speak, actually keeps it from liked. Her like a running a stock exact keeps it from continuing on. This is an old trick him. It's called a clay. Polymer mylar is a brand name like tissue or frisbie
play polymer and polymers plus
clay means it has an Cohen, it has a notch.
Hydrogen hanging off the end, and it does something to make this plastic. Have these wonderful property as fantastic hate, jelly periscope. That was a really great question life right. We do not act. Jelly, nice job! Ok, let's see here are right. This isn't
nuts. These people are thinking man. This is arrogant, check your choosing Goodwood now you know what I,
got my I'm she's in Dublin. This is Erics hard. Eric shard would like to know what light sales be: a viable approach to de orbiting comets to aid in terror, forming
bars excellent acts. Loser kick acts not lie to not until you come, it would be ideal
for changing the orbit of camp com. It's ok
now along this line. To hold this.
In shock who's this. This is Eric shower.
Eric along this line. Eric
keep in mind that there might be a shorter term more important use.
This closely related to your question, is
of changing the orbit of comments. We might want to change the orbit of an asteroid. That's what I was there, so it doesn't heading. That's what I'm saying like, for instance, a pacifist is actually going to go through them.
Key hole and we are guy you're down. Jacques. Exactly right upon us name for the God of anxiety, that's gonna menaced us, God of worry, is gonna miss us, but for when it was discovered that look like it would not miss exactly and we end as we always liked to say it may be wrong. We may be wrong they're probabilities here, but
Imagine this Eric! You
We have a sore sale that would catch up with an asteroid which is not trivial catch up with it and then to
right.
Just get on top of it and then
The Chinese would change. The momentum. Would change
Take sunlight momentum and change the path of the asteroid, just ass, its advocates lightened, and so
Oh then, now to get back to the bigger picture of your question of taking comments which might be full of ice
and smashing Amanda Mars so that we can terror for Mars. Terror form being a word.
That to you and me is makes sense. But if you talk to argue the cave guy, he would think you'd come
lost your mind. Ok, it's a whole planet
can barely manage the planet that we live on. We have enough
a ball with managing water here and weed
Do a very well, but I saw ok, I went with enough trouble. You couldn't go with suck year. We saw cover
let's not sugar coated robot. That said
you guys about terraforming, Mars, there's a reason. Mars doesn't have much of an atmosphere and that's the sore wind scrapes, the atmosphere off the sore, whether these particles
cream off of stars,
case the sun and leaves
rape, the martian atmosphere away because Mars isn't quite big enough to have a magnetic field to stay molten to cry
magnetic field which
it's! The charged particles come streaming
to the poles instead of sideways tangentially across the surface. So you
it's terrifying Mars? That's it! Nobody mean Zaka here,
She's, not the mouths of York. Aisy, there's not
debris, there's nothing to eat and its freaking cold. You guys
we live in this world on on this worldwide
humankind.
Has migrated all over the place. Everybody
Mr Africa jog your people.
Much more recently, then my people,
wet north. You have my people is Africa's. Did
it's like that, but it actually
I'll bring you to hold digression?
skin color, but it has to do with ultra violet light. You go north into Mesopotamia than you migrate across Europe. Recourse Eurasia then there's this week
stage all the snow is frozen up in the mountains, so we can just walk to Sarah payments place last
South Korea,
everybody or by everybody I mean all the big man,
ozone, eating meat bright and
We d migrate across all the way down to South America School, but
we're running out of places to which to migrate. That is so true, you're, not
gonna, be able just to leave the earth and go to Mars is a very complicated and long distance. However, if you
listen, spacecraft Mars to study its environment, and I recommend that we all do that. I cannot help
but recommend solar sailing
as a means of inexpensive propulsion. For let us say, citizen research for people were
interested in interplanetary missions. You
embrace a sore salespeople, not
the way to sail which the planetary society he's gonna allowed hours a week of May. Did you see that circle of life,
back around. You see that that was fantastic, great, do it well, there you have it forget about Mars. Now,
and it happened the solar when com
stolen in cross, the atmosphere are right and take a chair
musical styling of chalk mega very much pleased
EL yourself so movements here in the Stardust lounge Tipp your servers, tragic, let's go with a real, quick question because we have just a just a little bit.
Up here with the Logan its. I guess it's keeps Logan says all the talk is about propulsion of solar sale. My question is: how does it stop make flight path, corrections, etc? So
hundred Rockets when that defeat the purposeful? Yes, you seldom stop. In space,
ass. When you learn on the surface of Mars, you stop, but mostly you go into orbit around things
By that I mean you start out in orbit around something chart. The big thing you start out in orbit around is out of the earth.
Our soldiers are jobs, that's everybody Ashley on board,
even when we're on the earth were in orbit around the sun, even when you're orbiting the earth rather in orbit around the sun is welcome so seldom stop. You go out there and just the right trajectory to get
captured by, let us say Mars, Mars's gravity or the moons gravity. That's the most at a much more common thing. In a spacecraft mission,
and light sales ideally suited to that. Its ideal for that, so
it's gonna, be an exciting launch supported.
Planetary society members around the world- and we don't stop basically we're, don't stop
the boy sale will Missouri burn up
membership dollars at work, but it's gonna be a fantastic national. Regional, learn, a lot about an anomaly that
I mean I'm build. I guess toes this week and start talk. My programme chuck nice and we'll be right back
welcomes taught radio, I'm sitting in euros, build I'm here with my colleague, conspirator Chuck NICE and its cosmic queried time where we take your questions, but this week I M very excited as the ceo of them
Jerry Society,
to take questions at all
to do with our solar sale, spacecraft, online sales, spacecraft, light sale which launches
first week of May on an ATLAS five.
And the
A everybody is the world's largest now
non governmental space interest group, we
that space science and exploration. So that's it.
Since enabling citizens of the world to know
cosmos and our place within it, and so we advocate in U S Congress for good space,
policy and limited extent in Europe in a very limited extent in Israel,
The meeting this year's in Israel
a very limited extent in India and in Japan.
Members around the world who have a great interest in advance.
Space, science and exploration, and that's why we built this very
who also or spacecraft Chuck yes, sir, you got questions. I've got great question. So far
I have to say that our audience has been thinking why, in depth about this light, sale
and we ve had some really really interested and want to sound so surprised
They're your fan so clearly there there smart people. This is true. They are so, let's wow, and I don't know if this person's actually school
with me you know that this radio chalk, don't righteous, don't give him too much information. I write so it sir they Rick is sweet. China cake, that's it I did. My
asked towards using roman characters to prescribe a language that they were made for absolutely, but we're doing our best go for how can how big of a saint was required for this project?
does the size of a sale actually matter, in other words, bitter assail fashionable here, is that you, yes,
and it's more, such as the bigger the sale, exactly it's, the bigger the sale
all have to the mass of the whole thing got right. Writer
so
the sailors. Thirty
square metres, is quite large. Compared to this thing, which these spacecraft,
us, as is called, is smaller than
for bread
this will be the highest acceleration spacecraft,
the solar cell spacecraft launched
hi it'll have the most on for its mass of the japanese Aerospace, expiration, idiocy Jackson launch this very cool icarus, spacecraft
A few years ago that
was a demonstration that they could do it. No work. Fine ended. It was intended that whole spacecraft
end up in orbit around Venus, but
and so now is enough in an orbit about.
The same distance from the sun, but
not around Venus about single.
Since has venuses from the sun, so we are. We are
oh sir, we're close friends with our bodies, a jack so who got a lot of got a lot of experienced by
following the same work really really well, but because it is six hundred kilos, spacecraft
similar killed room, spacecraft, it didn't get
much acceleration. Strangely enough, as light sale will get here, the first we can make interesting. Now here's the follow up to that question for the says we can
several weeks after that themselves, boy and atmospheric conditions have to be just right and so that the system
moved slowly disclaimers, so I'm not sure if death, which is trying to express a disbelief in light sales but says in addition, how much funding is put into figuring out in a fish
fusion reactor, that's a separate issue. That's what's gonna say like. Are you saying, like light sales,
works. Are we really need a fusion reactor actually there
the light sale does work on a fusion reactor met might be his time, whereas the diversion reactor chalk actors to take a shot take a shot
we have a fusion reactor at a safe distance. I'm gonna say that would be the bit
plasma ball in the sky. The sun
go right now,
is our react. Hijacker he's the man he's a real checks, so it's the sun provides the hydrogen abroad,
combined to make what we normally call helium atoms and it didn't happen.
Just release a tremendous amount of energy photons which will push the light sale, but invest
fusion reactor is something we do,
here in United States as taxpayers all the time
Fusion reaction reactors are always in my experience,
a forty years away there. Always
for years in the future,
it doesn't matter what time it is that you're thinking about my whole life, forty years, but that doesn't mean somebody we'll figure it out. I not being dismissive but
planetary societies not really into building fusion reactors worry into taking it
image of the net
draw fusion reactor, which we call the sun very cold
Take another question: I right. Let's take another question all right: this is from Denard sprinkle coming to us from Google Plus and Denard says the first attempt at the light sale by teepee
yes was, sadly a tragedy. Gps, everybody means the planetary society. Ok, two thousand five
Cosmos, one crashed in the bear
see which I had not really notice,
before it's in the Arctic is part of the area of the Arctic Ocean lead all. He says this isn't not instilling a lot of confidence there Denard. Will there be a third attempt it? The same should befall the second attempt. So if
same freight befalls our white sale, light sail away. We have rights,
b, which launches in May of twenty sixteen
Yeah we're going out to sea and of Europe
planetary society? Member. Thank you because one of the things that my predecessor did do was
get everybody by sending letters to people, get everybody to build a second spacecraft. What once you have the design building
second one isn't merely as difficult as you mom. Are you mass produce car tyres exactly in the Ets
Making. The hardware is one thing, but it's really it's the software man ass would just takes it.
People a long time to get
to really actually work. Actually, you can get it
almost work right away right, but also
work is a lot like not work
but we gotta work it and so everybody's very excited. That's a great question. Almost work is a lot like not
working, so there you have it. I wasn't requested way to go there Denard. I appreciate you pardon me for that whether light so sorry when we back up here, this is from Andy.
Visit. That gives me every time out of tariffs and the border, the showing our age I mean you I know, there's rewinding now is not a blue. Is that electromechanical things through our and click on a collector, mainly to see exactly Andy Bracken wants to know where the light sale
be used in the future for missions to the planet's just our outer play. Is this basically
the future, a future Campbell we can eliminate you. Can you make this the future we claim it is so, as we say, if you have time,
Are you can trade that for money? In other words,
white sales
we'll go wherever you want. Well zones
get too close to the sun with our current materials right,
we'll go a long way over
on time, but yes, missions to more,
in Japan, or have been discussed at length in theirs guys. You are people who are into this and they run the numbers. They do calculations on this in the s it's all quite doable, but the law,
this journey jock yes starts with, but a single step
So that's why we're doing light sale. I hear and may fantastic sobered its
I all of your unmanned missions. This could be yes, yes could be that thing.
For all of your unmanly. I fear, and the big thing is the cost is so much lower than the chemical rocket. That cute
That's as recalled what another
sales or not
are made by universities by small companies
and now, which is really help things. The air force is quite interested in cube sets and they want to fly there
when a fly and armada them a flight of them? I guess in the air force we don't have our models, we afraid
three things in formation cubes
information.
And they would look for
if we use as wide aperture radar, would have you in and along this line,
in May, we are going to have a companion mission. Cube sad is gonna, be part of a George attack proximity
mission. Were you the spacecraft, keep their stations relative to each other like ships at sea, so it's very robot chuck coming up on four minutes left in the shop
we are- and I think you know what that means. I believe that means it is time for an hour
lightning rod
where we take your question raised very quickly here. We go the first question from the lightning round: Jack nice. How easy would it be for to repair the light sale if my,
Romania, Macromedia Royds peppered it like a shot gun shot. So this isn't just won. T like we talked about earlier in the show. This is a shot gun shot like pop up.
Where still have a little bit of proportion, with the shreds of sale that are still there, but that that shred that job ripped up feature? I think we'll keep that shit.
Current eventuality,
from venture sweet. Ok, what does the ideals, but
First, the lightning round? I'm sorry, I'm screwing up the lightning round, because I did not give the last person name which is Gabe Zella is the motto of cares about. Oh thank you, but next question: ok, this from Jesse Robertson, coming from Google plus what is the ideal speed of travel and how long,
Will it take to achieve that speed or first followed your lower that we're matter?
you can go units that the ultimate
oh, by the way, to get a two hundred kilometres a second, where you're going very close to the sun and get sworn way they hack out of the solar system. But in the meantime, weren't
earth orbit,
So in nautical miles you and seven miles a second seven miles of second just to get started there you go airing Kelly was coming us too to us from Twitter, says ocean sailing ships used to kill in a rudder to leverage.
When on the sales and steer is there an equivalent for the law,
say I love this question. Yes, so what we do? Two things
first of all, we have torque rods. These are twist rods that reactor
Hence the earth magnetic field as electromagnets. There
this long, job, ok,
but one centimeter sunshine and the very fine wire walnuts. Electricity comes onto solar panels which are part of the spacecraft and you twist
against the earth magnetic field than the other
is there is an old technology which we love, gyroscopes, which in
based graft? Often go by the expression? Momentum, wheels, IRAN, electric
where's, keep him spinning right and they twist Wu Wu Wu twist against,
gravity and orbital motion and
squash, also we're steering and tackling the light snail's pace. Glaring attacking I love, thought the whole gyroscope, though, in that sector. Ok, Nelson is amazing
But that's Nelson is amazing, elzevirs amazing. How would you predict a
Wholesale could revolutionise ok life on earth. In other words, how does it change international travel for us down here as opposed to travel up there? Well, but it would do
if a practically you wouldn't get on a light sale and fly around roared you're to massive
you gonna, braided, spades and so
can't breathe in space. But what could practically happened is the future of, let us say, air air traffic control could
involve cube sets fly
information to make excellent high quality inexpensive higher
ability, radars could happen. K are at that. We have time for just one more, and this is pretty sure you want to know can sail be wrapped up in orbit for a few years and then
It's a ride. Well, yeah we're gonna we're gonna run for about a month, which is very traditional because so little of the time are you over land to get
I met you gonna run for about a month before we deploy the sails and we are also planning to run test.
Of extending and retracting sales. The same will you furl and unfurl
rules on ships, it see you I've been listening to start talk. Radio with your guess, told me,
build I and my colleague conspirator chalk, nice. I think I very much for your excellent questions and we could consider the plant of fairy society like failsafe trap. A push people start on which you can listen. The star talk Commercial free joint start talking
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Transcript generated on 2020-01-25.