Spaceplanes

Science & Futurism with Isaac Arthur

Isaac Arthur

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

4.8 • 739 Ratings

🗓️ 30 May 2019

⏱️ 23 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Spaceplanes long seemed like the logical next step for getting into orbit after the Space Shuttle, but have seemingly fallen to the wayside in recent years in favor of reusable rockets. But the future may see a return of spaceplanes, and we'll look at some of the more promising designs like Skylon. Watch the video version: https://youtu.be/V4BQvD_QJwM Get a free month of Curiosity Stream: http://curiositystream.com/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: Spaceplanes Episode 188, Season 5 E22 Written by: Isaac Arthur Editors: Evan Schultheis Keith Blockus Mark Warburton Matthew Acker S. Kopperud Olly Epsom Cover Art: Jakub Grygier https://www.artstation.com/jakub_grygier Graphics by: Kris Holland (Mafic Studios) www.maficstudios.com Jeremy Jozwik https://www.artstation.com/zeuxis_of_losdiajana Katie Byrne 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 Evan King, "Enchiridion" https://evanking.bandcamp.com/ Miguel Johnson, "Caustic Conflict" https://soundcloud.com/migueljohnsonmjmusic Aerium, "The Darwin project" https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRnUJY3l5vIJFGsY3XvW4dQ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

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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, check out
0:15.5	go.nebola.tv slash Isaac Arthur and use my code, Isaac Arthur.
0:20.3	This episode is sponsored by CuriosityStream.
0:24.6	Right now, it requires multi-million dollar rockets launched from enormous facilities to take a person into space.
0:32.4	But what if you could fly there from your driveway. I was quite the sci-fi junkie when I was a kid, and I still am.
1:02.3	But like many folks who grew up watching the old space operas, I always envisioned future
1:07.4	spacecraft as something you might have in a shoddy hangar owned by a couple
1:12.2	of regular guys or a smuggler and a wookie.
1:15.7	That wasn't much different than an enthusiast's boat or yacht.
1:19.9	Growing up then, with the space shuttle launches and the SR-71 blackbird in the skies,
1:25.5	there was always regular discussion of a concept called a space
1:28.7	plane and I thought we'd take a look at that option today and if it could ever be a pathway
1:33.5	for cheap and easy travel, not just from ground to space, but from your own garage right
1:39.8	to another planet.
1:41.8	Now nothing like that is on the drawing board yet for actual deployment, and we'll discuss
1:47.1	what's needed for such an option and what it might mean for our civilization if we had
1:51.2	them, but we do have quite a few experimental spaceplane models that have been developed
1:56.5	over the years and they are quite viable.
2:00.4	Some of the original designs actually worked better now with new materials and more advanced
2:05.8	engineering.
	...

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