Shields Up! Former astronaut proposes protective system for spacecraft

One of the major obstacles facing manned missions into deep space is the danger posed by radiation and the effects of things like solar flares. Until recently, engineers could only point to the equivalent of high tech armor as a way to keep long-distance crews safe from such debilitating forces. Recently, however, several proposals to create electromagnetic shielding have begun to hit the pages of the mainstraim media.

Now... here's the most recent... and one that could also be tied into a propulsion system:

www.space.com...


"Former astronaut Jeffery Hoffman is proposing a different sort of hybrid system to protect future astronauts; on long voyages through the solar system they will be exposed to lethal doses of radiation from cosmic rays. He has recieved funding from NASA through NIAC (NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts) to research the idea of a superconducting magnetic radiation shielding system to supplement (or replace) traditional passive shielding. "

[edit on 17-12-2004 by onlyinmydreams]

Uber sweet!!! I hope it gets the further study it is due... Ever notice how most of the time things like this just disappear into nothingness?

That's blackness, Chris- they disappear into blackness.

Duh, dont tell me that they just thought of this! They probably have being using magnetic shielding on black craft. We have known for a long time that the earth is protected from radiation by its magnetic shield, so dont tell me that they finally decided to use it in spacecraft.

sounds like the deflector dish idea from the orginal Star trek which introduced things like the cell phone ( comunicator) Antimatter reactor, laser weapons etc. I read somewhere in an article that Gene Roddenberry the creator of Star Trek ( R.I.P) was abuducted or contacted by aliens and thats where he got all these ideas.

Originally posted by Murcielago
Duh, dont tell me that they just thought of this! They probably have being using magnetic shielding on black craft. We have known for a long time that the earth is protected from radiation by its magnetic shield, so dont tell me that they finally decided to use it in spacecraft.

I doubt they just thought of it, implementing would be hard. Hence the research.

But the point is the "research" should of being started 40-50 years ago.

But dont they reckon that what we believe to be the most upto date in form of technology is actually wrong. AS they believe we are actually 50 years ahead of what we believe

I have to agree with Muricelego on this one. I think they (NASA) and the other black programs we know little of have been using this on some aircraft that they are developing or the ones we hav'nt seen yet. It is also entirely possible that they have know this for years. I sure would like to be a speck of dust on the wall in some of these black boxes.

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It sounds like a possible workable idea, but i assume it would take a pretty powerful power source to fuel the magnet. Maybe you could have a (semi?)permanent magnent that was kept fully magnetized with a very small power source.

I wonder if there are light materials that can hold a significant magnetic charge?
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how about inflatable magnetic plasmafields?

www.ess.washington.edu...

This new magnetic sheilding could work wonders in space combat if the need arises.
Since radiation and light are on the same EM spectrum that means they could in effect just deflect the light slightly.....

Why not increase output of earth's magnetic field instead of an individual craft?

Why not increase output of earth's magnetic field instead of an individual craft?

I think that would mean either making the Earth's core spin faster or dumping a lot more iron into it.. don't think that'll happen