[Gunnair]

2Cdo 2Cdo:

Let me guess, YOU invented this. Did I win?

You win.

[Winnipegger]

Ok, you want to know what I did invent. I attended a NASA conference in Washington DC. They wanted ideas from the public, not traditional NASA contractors. For the life support track, they scheduled me as the first presenter. I pointed out batteries in spacesuits were only good for 11 space walks. I'm talking about the Portable Life Support System (PLSS) backpack of the white EMU spacesuits used in orbit. Batteries were silver nickel. A document published on NASA's technical report server said they had considered lithium ion batteries, but at that time the only ones available were AA cells. In my presentation I named two companies that manufacture large lithium ion batteries: 27 amp hours each cell. Just connect 6 cells in series, and you have the same voltage and amp hours as the battery module for a PLSS. These are commercial off the shelf. They aren't rated for vacuum, but I pointed out modifying a cell for space would be expensive. And traditional aerospace contractors would want to do just that. Instead I called for using just 6 commercial battery cells, and placing them in a pressurized plastic bag. And not just any plastic, I want to use a fluoropolymer called PolyChloroTriFluoroEthylene (PCTFE), sold by Honeywell under the brand name Clarus. Because it's a fluoropolymer, it's immune to battery acid. If there's a leak, the bag will contain it. And if a battery leaks so badly that oxygen touches the lithium anode, then the lithium would spontaneously combust. To protect against that, fill the bag with argon gas instead of air. Argon is an inert noble gas, won't react with lithium, yet 0.9% of air on Earth is argon so it's safe. A lithium ion battery will require a control circuit to ensure it isn't discharged too far; but every cell phone and laptop computer today uses lithium ion batteries, and they all have that circuit, so it's well known. Temperature control would be simple: place the bag in the backpack, outside the neoprene pressure envelope, but pressed against the neoprene. That way temperature is regulated by the astronaut's body heat. Keep It Simple Stupid.

One manufacturer is French, their batteries are particularly sensitive to temperature fluctuations. They're rated for 1,500 charge/discharge cycles, but temperature changes can reduce that. The German battery is rated for 500 cycles, but designed for more realistic temperature conditions. That would make the battery good for 500 EVAs. (Extra-Vehicular Activity) That's more EVAs than the design life of the International Space Station. Or for Mars, that's one full duration 8 hour EVA every sol (Mars day) on the surface of the Red Planet. So this would make the suit ready for Mars.

I made point of not mentioning the name of the battery manufacturers, because a representative of Lockheed-Martin was at the back of the room. But NASA asked every presenter to start by copying the PowerPoint presentation onto their laptop. I pointed out the name of the manufacturers were written on the image of the batteries, so NASA need only look at my PowerPoint and zoom in on the image.

I expected to get the contract to build this for NASA. But never was contacted by them, and never received an announcement of opportunity regarding this. The next I heard, Lockheed-Martin got the contract to do exactly this. Lockheed-Martin had bought the American subsidiary of the German battery manufacturer. Even if I did receive the announcement, how do I compete with a multi-billon dollar company that can simply buy my supplier?
---

At the same conference, I spoke with a representative from X-Corp. He mentioned his company is working on a carbon fibre composite tank for oxygen. I mentioned carbon burns in oxygen, that's why DC-XA used carbon fibre for liquid hydrogen, but aluminum-lithium alloy for liquid oxygen. It would require a polymer liner. He said they intend to do just that. I asked which polymer? It would have to be impermeable to oxygen, and able to withstand the cold of liquid oxygen. He said they looked through the entire DuPont catalogue and chose the right one. So I said that must be Teflon FEP. (His eyes opened wide when I said the name.) But there's one that's even better. It's more impermeable to oxygen, the most impermeable to water of any polymer known to man, better able to withstand cold, and more UV durable. UV is not really an issue for a tank liner, but the rest is. That polymer is PCTFE, sold by Honeywell as Clarus. Let's see if X-Corp now uses Clarus.
---

And when I dated one Engineer who got a job with Lockheed-Martin, they had her call me to ask for a referral for Commercial-Off-The-Shelf space hardened electronics. They were working on a satellite that required it. I was able to answer that off the top of my head. Was uncomfortable giving away free advice to Lockheed-Martin, but I wanted to help the lady I was dating.

[Gunnair]

[Winnipegger]

You shoot guns. I design stuff.

[Gunnair]

Winnipegger Winnipegger:

You shoot guns. I design stuff.

Actually, you merely boast on an Internet forum.

[Winnipegger]

It's my experience that those who refuse to listen, who constantly accuse others of lying, do so because they themselves are liers. So you're saying you haven't served in the military? That you know nothing of guns?

[Batsy2]

Xort Xort:

The UK makes bad gear that gets worse as they try and fix it.

Have you got any evidence for that?

[Jabberwalker]

" This is my rifle
This is my gun.
This is for shooting.
This is for fun."

[Gunnair]

Winnipegger Winnipegger:

It's my experience that those who refuse to listen, who constantly accuse others of lying, do so because they themselves are liers. So you're saying you haven't served in the military? That you know nothing of guns?

In my experience, internet boaters such as yourself are pitiful types that pretend forums are the crowded room where you can yell out your back patting exercises as you wash your Subway uniform. You want accolades and attention; you usually get scorn and laughter.

[Winnipegger]

Gunnair Gunnair:

In my experience, internet boaters such as yourself are pitiful types that pretend forums are the crowded room where you can yell out your back patting exercises as you wash your Subway uniform. You want accolades and attention; you usually get scorn and laughter.

You sound like a little boy from elementary school. Bullying everyone because you are so insecure.

I have run for political office. I have described how I can completely eliminate federal personal income tax. That was created in 1917 as the "Temporary War Income Tax Act", I like to point out the acronym is the "TWIT Act". It was supposed to be temporary for World War 1 only. We still have it. I can't get rid of both personal and corporate income tax, but I can get rid of one. I already explained how. It does start with being responsible with taxpayer's money.

You obviously don't have any clue what it's like to run for political office. There are bureaucrats there, trying to ensure government exists to support bureaucracies, not citizens. Many members of the party accept me, but there are some who are bureaucrats, not willing to accept reducing spending or reducing taxes. These people are in every party. It's not easy. There are some who believe only the very rich should be politicians. Again most accept me, but there are some who don't. I'm not rich, never have been. I'm a computer programmer, not a subway employee; but I'm not some spoiled rich brat either. To get elected, I do need support from voters. Bullies like you only support those who gouge and screw average Canadians to line their own pockets.

[ShepherdsDog]

Damn.....I laughed so hard that I almost sprayed coffee all over my blueprints for the new ion drive I'm creating for Weyland Corp.

[Jabberwalker]

Whatever happened to Paul Hellyer, anyway?

Oh, that's right! They took him away in a straight jacket because "aliens from UFOs" were following him around.

[Winnipegger]

ShepherdsDog ShepherdsDog:

Damn.....I laughed so hard that I almost sprayed coffee all over my blueprints for the new ion drive I'm creating for Weyland Corp.

Really? I started with NASA's ion engine. Before the Columbia accident, I contacted NASA to see if I could get more information for the NSTAR ion engine. That's the one flown on Deep Space One. I wanted to build a small one for a Mars Society mission. I hoped to send a Get-Away-Special on a Shuttle, slowly spiral out from Earth orbit, then head to Mars. To my amazement, they let me speak directly to the lead engineer who developed it. He told me that NASA management had hired engineers from Energomash to teach them everything the Russians knew about Hall thrusters. Turned out the Russians had developed Hall thrusters farther than anyone had expected. This engineer was bitter than NASA management considered Russian stuff to be top-of-the-line, and Glenn Research Center engineers were being schooled by Russians. He was glad someone was interested in his work. He sent me everything allowed to be exported from the US. So I have the schematics and in-space flight performance reports. As he said, I have everything short of the blue prints. When NASA announced an opportunity for the Next Generation Ion Engine, I thought this was a way to pay for tools and equipment to build one. So I submitted a Notice Of Intent. I had to come up with something to improve upon NASA's engine; not easy to do, but that was the job. The Announcement of Opportunity said they wanted to improve specific impulse, and improve engine life by reducing exhaust impact on engine parts. So I thought to replace the charged metal mesh with a set of rings configured as a particle accelerator. This makes the accelerator a multi-stage ion engine. Apparently NASA liked it: they sent me the full proposal package. There was also the fact that Sean O'Keefe, NASA administrator at the time, wanted input from someone other than aerospace engineers. He wanted fresh ideas. The fact I'm a computer programmer, not an aerospace engineer, but able to write a cogent Notice Of Intent, made me exactly what he was looking for.

Ps. The director of the Small Shuttle Payloads Project gave me the form that I have to get signed to get a Get-Away-Special launched. Limit: 200 pounds, and fits within a container the size of an oil barrel. Or if it was to be released in space, room had to be left for the release mechanism, so 150 pounds. He pointed out there were members of the Mars Society board of directors who worked for NASA and authorized to sign that form. So the ride to orbit was already arranged. But that was cancelled after Columbia.

So what's your idea?

[BartSimpson]

Gunnair Gunnair:

internet boaters

The problem with internet boaters is that they have 65,535 ports and not one single starboard.

[PluggyRug]

Winnipegger Winnipegger:

So what's your idea?

Well as you know gravity is a push (not a pull) force.

I will take a membrane manufactured from silicusbantium and bombard it with horizontal anomalous waves at a perpendicular angle. This membrane now accutards on the wibble wavelength.

Any gravitational polytons will now be deflected from the membrane at an angle conducive to the relative plane of the graviometrical force. The result is measured in caliophtenic terms, or grams per square redopple.
This makes any further development on the ion engine obsolete.