05-17-2019, 11:01 PM
(05-17-2019, 03:01 AM)The Astronomer Wrote: I'm surprised nobody mentioned the lack of radiator. ... Without radiators, the waste heat from the drive would immediately turn the ship into plasma. While they can indeed be reduced, I don't believe we can completely direct all energy into the thrust. Some will remain as waste heat that you need to use gigantic radiators to dissipate.
Idle thought: open cycle coolant. That's really why Ceres ran out of water, they blew it all out into space as steam keeping their ships cool!
Now they have to use something less valuable as a coolant. Molten regolith? Aluminum? Vaporized into the torchdrive exhaust as a minor contribution to reaction mass.
...Maybe not. Maybe it can't be justified.