I reallly want to see the movie astronaut farmer but one question still is unanswered to me. How much does it cost to build a spaceship and how do you build one? Science fiction movies are far from reality when it comes to an actaul spaceship but I really want to know how to design one. Also how far is it to orbit (outer space) from earth if one is to get past the burn. How much fuel would you need? Would it be jet fuel or could you use some other kind of fuel considering the price of gas. Once you get into space then do you still use fuel in space or electricity and how do you make the return to earth. This question has been on my mind for many years because one day people are going to have to leave this planet in search of a new one and I don't want to be left behind.
2007-02-16 04:21:49 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
OK, to build a spaceship its roughly one to three billion dollars, depending on what you are planning to do with it. First you draw a rough design then you take it to NASA so they can approve of it (not that they will). Then you are going to need lots of special clay tiles to withstand the heat of going through the atmosphere and reentry. To orbit Earth you need to be a few hundred mile above it so you can stay within its gravity but not to far so that you get pulled in. The full is up to around a few hundred thousand gallons of liqued hydrgen and a highly refined kerosene called RP-1. in space you use both , electricity is used to power all the equipment but some fuel is used to keep the rocket from moving around too much in space. To make the reentry you need to use the boosters to go toward Earth at an angle of around 30-45 degrees depending on the shape of your rocket. I hope all this answers your question, good luck on your rocket.
2007-02-16 05:10:55 · answer #1 · answered by Richie B. 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
There are two problems here. First one is going to orbit or leaving the Earth's gravity. Second one is to travel vast distances. Going to orbit is easy-send a shuttle to the nearest asteroid, attach rocket boosters to control it's flight, set it on a high-Earth orbit, drop some cable to earth and build an elevator to lift stuff up from earth. Traveling through space is tricky-there are lots of answers for it.
2007-02-16 04:51:19 · answer #2 · answered by Rio C 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
To design and develop one from "scratch", just to get into low earth orbit (like the ISS and shuttle) will cost you several 100 million USdollars. Even if you just wanted to joy-ride outside the atmosphere for a few minutes (SpaceShipOne) it will cost you a up to a 100 million.
If you want to, say, go to Mars or beyond, then tack on another billion USdollars, or so.
If you just want to ride (or put your satellite in orbit) on some other private rocket (several under development, like SpaceX, Bigelow, and others). You many only have to spend 10s of millions of USdollars, instead of 100s of millions.
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2007-02-16 05:14:59 · answer #3 · answered by tlbs101 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Scaled Composites built SpaceShip One for about $25 million. SpaceX has spent over $100 million on their rocket, which failed on its first flight last year. But another attempt is scheduled for next month.
2007-02-16 06:12:08 · answer #4 · answered by campbelp2002 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
It costs several hundred million to one billion dollars, depending on the type, mission, and payload.
2007-02-16 04:47:01 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
It's like a gazillion dollars.
2007-02-16 04:29:03 · answer #6 · answered by jaypea40 5 · 0⤊ 3⤋