Building a Real USS Enterprise- Price Tag: $1 Trilion

[statisticsnerd]

I saw something on Fox News about this the other day:

http://www.buildtheenterprise.org/

Personally, I'm more of a Star Wars fan. I would much rather see the Millennium Falcon built.

 

[Mattyv]

They're probably trying to top the Mars Reality TV proposal.

:uhh:

 

[NovaSilisko]

They're probably trying to top the Mars Reality TV proposal.

:uhh:

This has actually been around longer :rofl:

 

[Pipcard]

The TOS Enterprise was 289 m long, and the refit (which is used on the site) is just a big longer.

But this is 960 meters?

 

[Izack]

Just as I said when this was posted in the chatbox a while back, this is totally absurd. The Enterprise is an artist's ship. Not a single thing about it is applicable to any model close to reality beyond the fact that it has breathable air inside it (more like 'windows to keep the space out.') :facepalm:

As an approach to designing, let alone constructing a spacecraft to be used in reality, this project fails on the first step: a useable concept. This concept of theirs looks like the product of a 12-year-old kid's imagination.

 

[jedidia]

While the whole thig is completely absurd, what strikes me as most silly is thinking that you could get to Mars in 90 days with ion propulsion with a craft several thousand tons in mass (I haven't found a mass figure of course, but you can't get it lighter than this). Three ion engines, none the less. You couldn't break low earth orbit in 90 days with that contraption.

Must be a joke. Noone can be that stupid.

 

[icedown]

Getting approval to build a commercial nuclear reactor. Good luck. But on the ion thruster side, they wouldn't be limited as much by weight and power requirements as current ion drives, so clusters of them may be possible.

I can think of several other fictional ships that would fit the bill much better though. Seems like a bigger, centrally supported ring would require less weight than a maglev ring.

 

[TMac3000]

Noone can be that stupid.

Never underestimate how stupid people can be.

 

[Mattyv]

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."
-A. Einstein

 

[PeriapsisPrograde]

How many third-world countries could we feed with a trillion dollars?

 

[ky]

How many third-world countries could we feed with a trillion dollars?

A lot :lol: We could feed them for about 10 years each with 1 trilion.

 

[T.Neo]

Ok, I think we all have to admit the truth here. It's all over.

Spaceflight has gone to the tribbles.

 

[Ark]

How many third-world countries could we feed with a trillion dollars?

Pfft, we spent a trillion dollars bombing Iraq and Afghanistan into rubble for ten years.

 

[T.Neo]

I mean seriously, can't someone propose spending a trillion dollars on a transportation system to Mars that would actually work? Or a 1000-person, relatively fast ship like this would supposedly be (as overkill as such a crew complement would be) but designed by engineers in reality rather than 1960s artists in Star Trek Physics Land?

Or perhaps use 'realistic' technology to land a few people on Mars for a reality TV show?

Oh... wait. That's Mars One. I think I'm actually starting to like Mars One now. :dry:

 

[theshhh]

Well now, this looks interesting!
id like to see if this works.

 

[Zachstar]

Ok lets see.

Invent a fully operational, economic, and well tested Pb11 Fusion reactor system.

Fund VASIMR though all it's stages and build enough of them so the system is experienced.

Treat us to an Economic phase of growth never before seen in the history of mankind.

THEN we can talk about building the Enterprise.

 

[jedidia]

But on the ion thruster side, they wouldn't be limited as much by weight and power requirements as current ion drives

The power requirements won't change. Current ion drives have an electricity to thrust conversion of about 60%, which is pretty good for an electrical system. There could be slight improvements, but I don't see any electrical drive ever reach an efficiency above 80%.

As for the weight, ion drives scale up very badly. Even if we manage to make them at a quarter of their weight per kW, their thrust to mass ratio is still abysmal. You'd need at least some boosters to break orbit (or you start at GEO), but then establishing orbit will be rather tricky. The VASIMR wasn't invented if ion drives were expected to be able to do the same job.

 

[Ghostrider]

Treat us to an Economic phase of growth never before seen in the history of mankind.

Even with the economy thriving, nobody would build anything like that. We would go back to sit on our asses, do nothing, and live like there's no tomorrow. Just look around, the same bozos who gave us this economic nightmare are not only still doing damage, some have positions of power in some governments.

 

[Goth]

It's typical that enthusiastic people want the real version of something they love about movies/videogames etc.
But although certain things can be possible (a building, for example), this one is almost trolling lol.

 

[Ghostrider]

20 years is too long. I say, let Ty Pennington and the crew from Extreme Makeover Home Edition at it.

Driver! Move that starship! Move that starship! MOVE THAT STARSHIP!