Space

McMaster University

Introduction to Professional Engineering

The Mechanics of Space

Presented By:

Piotr Jan Czerwinski

0373805

Engineering Year 1

November 8th, 2004

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.0 Abstract........................................................................................... 3

2.0 The Mechanics of Space ........................................................................4

2.1 The Mechanics of Space: Introduction ..............................................4

2.2 The Mechanics of Space: Main Body................................................4

2.3 The Mechanics of Space: Conclusion................................................7

3.0 Work Cited........................................................................................8

Abstract

Aeronautics has allowed mankind to understand the concept and surrounding of the universe. From ancient times, there have been discoveries made by Egyptians, Incas and many others who have used different tools to discover consolations and planet, which often symbolized gods. Trips were not made into space until the twentieth century, but as soon as they started, there was an explosion of discoveries. First man observed the moon through space stations, and then soon afterwards landed. Then it was Mars, but man is yet to land on the surface. NASA is known as one of the fathers of space. The organization has developed shuttles, space stations and many other apparatuses. NASA continues to provide research data and plans of upcoming missions. Though lots of calculations can be made for missions to be complete, humans are still unable to explore the wonders beyond the Milky Way Galaxy.

The Mechanics of Space

Galaxies, black holes, stars, and planets all relate to one another. These enormous elements belong to what man has come to call space. Space discoveries are made everyday. Whether they're large or small, it is still newly discovered knowledge for mankind. Mechanics, more specifically Astronautical Engineering has made discoveries more valid and lets scientists calculate specific quantities of data acquired. Aeronautics has allowed the human race to get to where it is today and further use of knowledge in this field allows future discoveries to be made.

Space has always boggled the mind of many scientists for thousands of years. Many different instruments have been used to observe the skies above us and the natural phenomena's that occur on rare occasions. Different tools have been used to calculate and analyze numerous aspects of space, and in conjunction with these tools numerous calculations and equations have been developed to support these different apparatuses.

The Egyptians used triangles for calculations; the Inca's used the mirrors to become more familiar with the gods or the sky.

The past years gave different civilizations a way to communicate with different gods; using the stars as a way to communicate. However, as the years went by and we entered the 20th century, space exploration had become the main focus and analyzing different data from numerous planets such as Mars and the Moon.

NASA is one of the first pioneers to become interested in space exploration and put plans into motion. Firstly numerous satellites were launched into space to try and see if communication could be made from far distances. Then as time progressed and technology was improved with the way satellites were made and the way transmissions of signals were done, new ideas surfaced.

NASA came up with the idea of launching a space station. They proclaimed that establishing a permanently manned space station would be beneficial to any future launch missions (the Moon) and recovery phases of expansion missions Modular launch systems would be assembled easily at the station to make space performance more efficient. Returning space missions at the space station would provide analysis of certain data to be done at zero-gravity [1].

After the space station was launched and in full swing, plans were finally in gear to launch missions to numerous planets, starting with the Moon in the late 1960's, after many successful, and some futile, plans were made to visit other planets. The most prominent was Mars, in which probes were sent to analyze the surroundings of the planet. In spite of this, there still have not been any missions to send a shuttle with astronauts.

There still needs to be numerous of calculations that need to be made in order for this to be accomplished in the nearby future. There are calculations that can be made using set formulas, however further data analysis has to be made on Mars in order to substitute the variables needed into different formulas to produce the results that are needed for safe and productive exploration [2].

Though lots of successful missions have been accomplished over the past years, lots of improvement can still be made. Costs of missions are definitely holding back scientists from pursuing further research and exploration of our galaxy. The main problems in missions is the amount of fuel needed (cost and distance of travel come into play), the cost of making feather weight apparatuses and providing enough oxygen to a crew to last for a distinct amount of time [3].

Propulsion technology