[AR] steampunk spacecraft sophistication (was ... legs.)
- From: David Weinshenker <daze39@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: arocket@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 21 Jan 2016 09:04:12 -0800
On 01/21/2016 08:45 AM, George Herbert wrote:
the wonder and scientific value of Pluto pictures is unrelated
to the sophistication of the spacecraft that took them.
If a communications-constrained civilization did that with a
clockwork spacecraft launched to and returned from Pluto, using
camera filter wheels and glass photographic plates to capture the
images and physically retrieving the spacecraft upon return to
develop and reveal them, ...
Hmmm... that's an interesting thought: how rare are habitable
planets on which the invention of electronics and liquid rocketry
were virtually simultaneous (in the historical scheme of things)?
(The first commercially-marketed radio tubes came out in 1920;
Goddard's first rocket motor run was in 1923).
would that be any less valuable from those perspectives?
Would that be in any sense sophisticated compared
to even basic modern electronics and radio?
Given a suitable definition of "sophisticated" (you did say
"in any sense"), my answer to your last question would be
"ooh yeah!" :)
I would say that achieving the mechanical precision required
to accomplish a Pluto image mission with the sort of technology
you describe (it's clearly physically possible in principle!)
would reflect a degree of sophistication probably at least
comparable to that which is required to reliably manufacture
high-density electronic IC's, for example!
-dave w
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