Commercial spaceflight is awesome.
I just learned about the Polaris Dawn mission for fourth quarter 2022.
They plan to use 'lazer' communication from high altitude, for the first time.
chosen astronauts are - Isaackman, Poteet, Gillis, and Menon.
What an honor that would be.
See -[URL="https://polarisprogram.com/dawn/"] https://polarisprogram.com/dawn/[/URL]

Regards,

Matthew

[QUOTE=MattcAnderson;600487]<snip>
I just learned about the Polaris Dawn mission for fourth quarter 2022.
<snip>[/QUOTE]In [url=https://www.mersenneforum.org/showpost.php?p=600079&postcount=1153]this post[/url], three posts back from yours in this thread, no doubt...

[url]https://news.mit.edu/2022/polymer-lightweight-material-2d-0202[/url]

Would this be useful for space travel?

[QUOTE=ixfd64;600693][url]https://news.mit.edu/2022/polymer-lightweight-material-2d-0202[/url]

Would this be useful for space travel?[/QUOTE]I would expect it to be useful in almost all fields - and can see no reason why space travel should be an exception.

[QUOTE=ixfd64;600693][url]https://news.mit.edu/2022/polymer-lightweight-material-2d-0202[/url]

Would this be useful for space travel?[/QUOTE]Possibly. If goodly amounts of metal in a spacecraft could be replaced by the new material, that would significantly reduce the mass that needed to be lifted.

[QUOTE=ixfd64;600693]Would this be useful for space travel?[/QUOTE]Space travel is a broad category. What part of it would you suggest it for?

[QUOTE=Uncwilly;600697]Space travel is a broad category. What part of it would you suggest it for?[/QUOTE]

I'm thinking it would be useful to build rockets with this material. It would either:
[LIST=1][*]Require less fuel to launch a payload into space[*]Allow a larger payload to be launched into space for the same amount of fuel[*]Allow the rocket to reach a somewhat higher delta-[I]v[/I] for the same payload and amount of fuel due to a higher mass ratio[/LIST]

When the shuttle program ended, so did access to the Hubble. It has been up there since 1990. 32 years on something that complex is remarkable. I suppose when it dies, no effort will be made to revive it. They have James Webb now.

I'm even more impressed with the [I]Voyager[/I] probes. It's hard to believe 1970s spacecraft can work so reliably after almost 45 years.

[QUOTE=ixfd64;600698]I'm thinking it would be useful to build rockets with this material. It would either:[/QUOTE]
How does it work at cryogenic temps? Is it lighter than carbon fiber? Rocket Lab's Electron rocket uses carbon fiber. SpaceX went with stainless steel (vs) for Starship for strength at various temps (both cryogenic and heated). The external tank for the space shuttle, the center tank for SLS, and the Falcon 9 use a very lightweight version of Aluminum-Lithium alloy ([URL="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2195_aluminium_alloy"]2195[/URL]). It is much stronger per unit mass than steel.

For non-cryogenic fuels, they tend to be very corrosive (this is why Soyuz has a limited life on orbit.)

[QUOTE=Uncwilly;600706]How does it work at cryogenic temps?[/QUOTE]

I tried to do some research on whether this material is susceptible to extreme temperatures, but all my Google searches have turned up nothing so far.