Hypothetical spacecraft Hypothetical spacecraft Astrochicken is the name given to a thought experiment expounded upon by theoretical physicist Freeman Dyson. In his book Disturbing the Universe (1979), Dyson contemplated how humanity could build small, self-replicating automata that could explore space more efficiently than manned craft could. He attributed the general idea to John von Neumann, based on a lecture Neumann gave in 1948 entitled The General and Logical Theory of Automata. Dyson expanded on Neumann's automata theories and added a biological component to them. ...more on Wikipedia about "Astrochicken"
A Bracewell probe is a hypothetical concept for an autonomous interstellar space probe dispatched for the express purpose of communication with one or more alien civilizations. It was proposed by Ronald N. Bracewell in a 1960 paper, as an alternative to interstellar radio communication between widely separated civilizations. ...more on Wikipedia about "Bracewell probe"
The Bussard ramjet method of spacecraft propulsion was proposed in 1960 by the physicist Robert W. Bussard and popularized by Carl Sagan in the television series and subsequent book Cosmos as a variant of a fusion rocket capable of fast interstellar spaceflight. It would use a large scoop (on the order of miles in diameter) to compress hydrogen from the interstellar medium and fuse it. This mass would then form the exhaust of a rocket to accelerate the ramjet. ...more on Wikipedia about "Bussard ramjet"
A cross generation ship is a variant of a generation ship that takes into account obstacles that slower than light generation ships might have. ...more on Wikipedia about "Cross generation ship"
A generation ship is a hypothetical type of starship that would travel much slower than light across great distances between stars (see interstellar travel). Since such a ship might take thousands or tens of thousands of years to reach even nearby stars, the original occupants would die during the journey, leaving their descendants to continue traveling. ...more on Wikipedia about "Generation ship"
A moonbus is a small, light-duty VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) spaceship designed primarily for short-range low-altitude point-to-point ferrying of people and supplies on a moon. A moonbus "flies" over terrain by regulating downward thrusters to counter the moon's gravity while using horizontal thrusters or angling downward thrust to move over the moon's surface. While plausible, this seems to be more trouble than it would be worth in actual practice. Given the moon's low gravity, it would be far easier to simply plot sub-orbital trajectories which would be far safer and require less supervision from pilots. Currently no practical moonbuses exist for lack of applicability. The first specific depiction of a moonbus appeared in the science fiction movie 2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick, 1968). ...more on Wikipedia about "Moonbus"
The NEXUS reusable rocket was a concept design created in the 1960s by a group at General Dynamics led by Krafft Ehricke. It was intended as the next leap beyond the Saturn V, carrying up to eight times more payload. Fully fueled, it would weigh 24,000 tons, as much as an ocean-going freighter. It would carry a 1,000 tons to orbit, allowing it to launch a spaceship bound for Mars. This behemoth would have a diameter of 202 feet with its height approaching that of the Washington Monument. It would fly as a single-stage launch vehicle. Fully recoverable, it would touch down in the ocean following a return from orbit. Parachutes would slow its descent. Retro-rockets, firing during the last seconds, would assure a gentle landing. ...more on Wikipedia about "NEXUS (rocket)" http://www.shortopedia.com for you!
The Preliminary Design of an Experimental World-Circling Spaceship was a 1946 proposal, by Project RAND, for a US satellite program. ...more on Wikipedia about "Preliminary Design of an Experimental World-Circling Spaceship"
Project Daedalus was a study conducted between 1973 and 1978 by the British Interplanetary Society to design a plausible interstellar unmanned spacecraft. A dozen scientists and engineers led by Alan Bond worked on the project. ...more on Wikipedia about "Project Daedalus"
Project Longshot is a design for an interstellar spaceship, an unmanned probe intended to fly to Alpha Centauri powered by nuclear pulse propulsion. Developed by the US Navy's Naval Academy and NASA, Longshot was designed to be built at the Space Station Alpha, the much larger precursor to the existing International Space Station. Unlike the somewhat similar Project Daedalus, Longshot was designed solely using existing technology, although some development was required. ...more on Wikipedia about "Project Longshot"
The Sea Dragon was a design study for a 168 metres high, 23 metres wide rocket which would be launched offshore. The rocket would have been able to carry a payload of up to 550 metric tons into low earth orbit. Payload costs were estimated to be between $59 to $600 per kg, which is much less than today's launch costs. ...more on Wikipedia about "Sea Dragon (Rocket)"
A sleeper ship is a hypothetical type of manned spaceship in which most or all of the crew spends the journey in some form of hibernation or suspended animation. As there is currently no known technology that allows for long-term suspended animation of humans, the term is usually only found in science fiction. ...more on Wikipedia about "Sleeper ship"
Starwisp is a hypothetical unmanned interstellar probe design proposed by Robert L. Forward. ...more on Wikipedia about "Starwisp"
A von Neumann probe is a specific example of a hypothetical concept based on the work of Hungarian-born American mathematician and physicist John von Neumann. Von Neumann rigorously studied the concept of self-replicating machines that he called "Universal Assemblers" - and which are most often referred to as von Neumann machines. While von Neumann never applied his work to the idea of spacecraft, theoreticians since then have done so. The idea of self-replicating spacecraft has been applied - in theory - to several distinct "tasks", and the particular variant of this idea applied to the idea of space exploration is known as a von Neumann probe. Other variants include the Berserker and an automated seeder ship. ...more on Wikipedia about "Von Neumann probe"
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