Galileo Proposal

Economic/Scientific Justification

Scientific
1. Provide facility for reaserch into lunar geology, etc.
2. Research into low gravity environment on humans, plants, animals
3. Excellent location for optical and radio telescopes
4. Proving ground for future Mars missions, etc.

Economic
1. Engineer means of approaching extraterrestrial self-sufficiancy
2. Mineral and ore mining
3. Low gravity fabriaction (medical, industrial, etc.)
4. Tourism
5. Communications relays (ala com satellites)?

Support Technologies

There are several support technologies that are required for the operation of a successful colony.

1. Power
a. Nuclear
b. Solar
2. Air recycler
a. Algae based scrubber
b. Hydroponic garden
3. water recycler
4. General waste recycling
a. Reuse, breakdown of metals, thermoplastics, etc.
b. Extract hydrocarbons from waste for use in making fuel, water, etc.
5. Hydroponics
a. Fresh food
b. Air cleaning, recycling
c. Moral boost
d. Plant science in low gravity environment
6. Mining operations
a. For minerals and ores required by the colony
b. For materials to be exported for use in space construction, or use on other planetary bodies
7. Communications
a. Orbiting com satellites
8. Transportation
a. Rovers for exploration on surface
b. tunnels, trams between colony buildings?
9. Manufacturing
a. Of goods used to maintain and grow colony
b. Of goods for export to space or planetary bodies

Colony Location

There are several factors which will influence the selection of a site for the moon base.

1. Bountiful Natural Resources
a. Sunlight - for power
b. Oxygen - tied up in the regolith? Ice?
c. Hydrogen - for rocket fuel, tied up in ice?
d. Ores - iron, uranium, plutonium
2. Scientifically interesting features for exploration
3. Location visible from earth - to encourage armchair involvement
4. Location which offers protection from solar radiation, meteors, etc.
5. Location which is economical for boosting objects into orbit.

Useful Links

Here's a list of useful links containing facts, caluclations, ideas, etc.

1. Here's a link that talks about model rocketry, trajectories, etc.
2. Here's a site with several papers on anti-gravity.

Launch Methods

Here's where we can talk about all the different launch methods that could be used. Space Elevator? Saturn V? A giant railgun? I'll keep posting more ideas as discussion continues.

1. Conventional rocketry. We launch from the ground with a multi-stage rocket that puts our vehicle in orbit.

2. We use a hot-air baloon to get us halfway, then use a space-plane piggy-back to get us further, then launch a conventional rocket from the upper atmosphere.

3. We use a ground-based propellant (like a human cannonball), combined with conventional rocketry.

4. Use a magnetic slingshot to propel the space vehicle into orbit (or part way?).

5. Use a laser propelled vehicle.

6. Explore anti-gravity experiments, and use to reduce equivalent mass of spacecraft.

7. Use a space elevator, and terminal in GEO to lift spacecraft and supplies into orbit.

8. Use a space fountain. (see Wikipedia)

Questions to Answer

This is going to be a running list of questions that the Galileo Project needs to have answered. Most of this is going to be technical, so get out the graphing calculator, and roll up your sleeves. We're relying on "donated" solutions. We'll cross reference as many solutions as possible to verify their accuracy.

1. What is the ideal altitude for an earth-orbiting space station (Space Station One)?
2. What is the ideal altitude for a moon-orbiting space station (Space Station Two)?
3. What are the lunar orbital characteristics (speed, distance from Earth, eccentricity, etc.)?
4. What's the best rocket fuel to use (cheapest, safest, most efficient, etc.)?
5. Where is the best place to land on the Moon (most interesting, easiest, most natural resources, etc.)?
6. Is there a "real" anti-gravity effect, and could it possibly be used to achieve orbit? Specifically check out work done by Russian scientist Eugene Podkletnov.

Mission Profile - Updated 8/8/05

Here's an idea for a mission plan. It needs significant refinement and change, but it's a starting point for discussion.

Stage 1: Hot-air balloon launch platform gets you to upper atmosphere circumventing a lot of friction and a little bit of gravity.

Stage 2: Spacecraft piggy backs on a "Space plane" which takes off from the floating launch platform.

Stage 3: Space plane releases spacecraft which uses rockets to reach earth orbit.

Stage 4: Once in earth orbit, the spacecraft sheds a section and leaves it in orbit. This section is dubbed SS1 (Space Station One).

Stage 5: Spacecraft minus SS1 leaves earth orbit for the moon.

Stage 6: Once in lunar orbit, the spacecraft would shed SS2 and the return fuel module.

Stage 7: A command module and a habitation module land on the lunar surface.

Stage 8: The "hab" module is left behind and the command module leaves the surface and enters lunar orbit.

Stage 9: Once in orbit, the command module links with return fuel module and returns to earth orbit.

Stage 10: fuel module is docked with SS1, and command module returns to earth (or the Russians come and pick us up?).

The concept of modularity is central to this design. The idea is to establish permanent living and working facilities in orbit around the earth, around the moon, and on the surface of the moon. Each successive trip to the moon would add a new module to each of these facilities. This would provide the necessary infrastructure to allow regular travel to and from earth orbit, lunar orbit, and the lunar surface, and create a permanent human presence in each of these places.

Another key idea is to avoid any kind of waste. It costs a lot of fuel to lift mass into space, so anything we do lift should be used. Nothing should return to earth that can be used to establish the three facilities I mentioned.

Here's another proposed mission profile:

Stage 1: Robot delivers SS1, return vehicle, and fuel into earth orbit.

Stage 2: Robot delivers SS2 and return fuel into lunar orbit.

Stage 3: Robot delivers Hab module to lunar landing site.

Stage 4: Crew vehicle (taxi and lander) launches from Earth, and rendezvous with SS1 to fuel.

Stage 5: Crew vehicle rendezvous with SS1, dropping off and refueling "taxi".

Stage 6: Lander rendezvous with Hab module on lunar surface.

Stage 7: Lander returns to SS1. Crew transfers to taxi.

Stage 8: Taxi returns to SS1. Crew transfers to return vehicle.

Stage 9: Return vehicle returns to Earth's surface.

Galileo Project - Transparency

I'd like to note here that I'd like everything that happens in the Galileo Project to be totally transparent. I'd like to publish our finances, timelines, designs, etc. so that the public can see that honest people do exist, and that they can get to the moon.

Some thoughts I've had on the subject:

Publish financial records on website
Publish all designs on website
Update published information on a daily basis
Publically release all information gathered by the expidition in a timely fashion

Galileo Project - Resources

I want to address the issue of resources as it relates to the Galileo Proposal. The first objections that many of you will raise are related to the expense of such a venture. Let me put the issue of finances as plainly as possible:

I can't pay for a moon trip. Likely you can't either. But maybe I could afford $100, maybe you could afford $300. If we could market the moon, if we could be "The Man Who Sold the Moon", we would have all the cash we'd need. Even if there were only 50 million people in the entire world willing to financially back a private space venture, and each of them was only willing to donate $100, we'd stil have 5 billion dollars.

I'm no marketing expert, but, like other donation based organizations, we could erect a donor's wall on the Moon, with the names of those willing to support us. $100 for a small name, $1000 for a big plaque, $100,000 for a monument, etc. Something along those lines, anyway. We have the money.

Another objection often raised, is that of "expertese". I firmly believe that the private scientists and engineers of the world can get us to the moon. Think about all the folks who work in private industry. All the engineers who work in electronics, cars, aireospace, computers, manufacturing, design, etc. Think about all the patents held by private citizens. Who invented the car? Who invented Radio? Who invented the areoplane? Who invented the internet? We did.

I will fully admit we have a long way to go, and there's a lot of hard work to be done. But why should that scare us away? Isn't it worth it? Isn't it a noble and worthy thing to live and work for one's dreams?