Sky Platforms

Science & Futurism with Isaac Arthur

Isaac Arthur

Science, Futurism, Sci Fi, Future, Scifi, Technology, Space, Engineering

4.8 • 739 Ratings

🗓️ 9 May 2019

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The option of using floating platforms, balloons, or cargo air planes to launch rockets into space and save fuel is often discussed but rarely employed. Today we'll look at stratostations, rockoons, and other suggested methods for getting into space using these methods. Watch the video version: https://youtu.be/5wKOOsY9xOY Visit our sponsor, Brilliant: https://brilliant.org/IsaacArthur/ Visit our Website: http://www.isaacarthur.net Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IsaacArthur SFIA Merchandise available: https://www.signil.com/sfia/ Social Media: Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1583992725237264/ Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/IsaacArthur/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Isaac_A_Arthur on Twitter and RT our future content. SFIA Discord Server: https://discord.gg/53GAShE Credits: Upward Bound: Sky Platforms Episode 185, Season 5 E19 Written by Isaac Arthur Editors Darius Said Evan Schultheis Sigmund Kopperud Olly Epsom Cover Art: Jakub Grygier https://www.artstation.com/jakub_grygier Graphics by: Ervin Oprea Fishy Tree https://www.deviantart.com/fishytree/ Jarred Eagley Jeremy Jozwik https://www.artstation.com/zeuxis_of_losdiajana Katie Byrne Kris Holland (Mafic Studios) www.maficstudios.com Sam McNamara Sergio Botero https://www.artstation.com/sboterod?fref=gc Produced & Narrated by: Isaac Arthur Music Manager: Luca DeRosa - [email protected] Music: Sergey Cheremisinov, "Sirius" https://www.s-cheremisinov.com Dracovallis, "Wander in Frostland" https://dracovallis.bandcamp.com/ Miguel Johnson, "Drifting" https://soundcloud.com/migueljohnsonmjmusic Sergey Cheremisinov, "Phoenix" https://www.s-cheremisinov.com Paradox Interactive, "Riding the solar wind" https://www.paradoxplaza.com Marcus Warner, "In Arcadia" https://marcuswarnermusic.bandcamp.com See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hello, SFIA audio listeners. In this month's Nebula exclusive, big alien theory,
0:05.2	we're asking the reason alien civilizations might be rare is because most aliens are huge.
0:10.5	To hear it and every episode early and add free, plus hours of bonus content,
0:15.1	check out go.nebola.tv slash Isaac Arthur and use my code, Isaac Arthur.
0:20.5	This episode is sponsored by Brilliant.
0:23.8	It's always amazing to watch a rocket take off from the ground and fly up through the clouds into space,
0:30.8	but why not start off higher up to begin with and launch from above the clouds?
1:03.3	Music and launch from above the clouds. So today we are back to the Upward Bound series to cover a topic that's been requested a lot, which is why we don't launch rockets from blimps or planes, and if we could.
1:09.7	Since we've been discussing floating whole cities or even continents
1:13.1	in the sky of late, it felt appropriate to cover floating launches. Plus, we've been spending
1:18.9	a lot of time in the far future in recent episodes, and some folks have asked for an episode
1:24.4	about near future prospects and grounded in the emerging technologies
1:28.7	of today, and this topic seemed appropriate, except for the grounded part obviously, one out
1:34.7	of two isn't bad.
1:36.8	We'll also be taking a look at JP Aerospace's Dark Sky Strato Station, an enormous,
1:42.6	lighter-than-air lifter that offers a somewhat slow but
1:46.2	very cheap route to space, some non-space applications of these technologies, and we'll jump
1:52.6	out a little further ahead in the future to look at what might be on the table for aerial
1:57.2	launch systems if we've got an abundant source of power.
2:01.9	We should start though by asking why you'd ever want to launch from higher up, because you
2:06.8	definitely do if you can, but not for the reasons most folks think.
2:12.2	As we've mentioned throughout the series, the big challenge for launching from Earth isn't
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Isaac Arthur, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Isaac Arthur and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.