How can a man made object flying through space use space to generate power?

Question

Once the object has gained a certain velocity from any of the current methods currently being used, are there materials in space itself that the object could gather and somehow convert into energy for further propulsion to either increase speed or store it to be used later? Anyone aware of any ideas along this line?

Answer 1

This has been proposed. Launch an object into space the usual way...rocket propulsion. Once in deep space, far from Earth's gravitational pull, unfurl a sun sail. This large sail will then propel the attached space ship using sun power.

A space ship like this, on a smaller scale, has already been launched. It expects to reach 100,000 mph after three years of sailing. [See source.]

Answer 2

An object in the vicinity of a huge mass or gravitational pull requires escape velocity. Unlike on earth or other planets, the ships can steer in space in the absence of gravitation. That is the reason why we do not need much fuel for the ship to travel in space.

However, the propulsion is required only to land and takeoff. For the ship to travel it still requires acceleration and steering. To control the speed and keep moving in the orbit until it reaches the target.

I could not find the exact link now. Sorry, I could not post it immediately. However, some wikipedia and nasa site pages do have some information on space flights.

Answer 3

The largest objects we probably couldn't find in a hurry would be some of the Pioneer probes IMHO Lost by virtue of how far away they are by now!