[Contest] The Next Generation of Space Travel

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Re: [CONTEST] The Next Generation of Space Travel

Post by ImmortalShark » Tue Jul 19, 2011 8:08 am

That's some very nice SNOT terrain work!

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Re: [CONTEST] The Next Generation of Space Travel

Post by vynsane » Fri Jul 22, 2011 9:48 pm

I've got a concept in mind now, just letting it ferment a bit more before I start clicking bricks together. Just didn't seem to have the time on my 'staycation' this week as I had planned (being determined to finish out LPotC at 100% didn't help matters).
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Re: [CONTEST] The Next Generation of Space Travel

Post by legodad » Sat Jul 23, 2011 4:54 pm

I challenged my 9 yr old son to create something for the contest. He ended up build a ship, mobile launch pad, and base which he has been playing with for the past two week. I asked him about what makes your ships part of the future of space.. according to him, this ship uses compressed air with dust under high heat pressure as fuel. Now isnt he environmentally conscious.
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Re: [CONTEST] The Next Generation of Space Travel

Post by Jake » Sat Jul 23, 2011 8:05 pm

Hi i have uploaded all photos to the flickr pool, wondering if there will be a problem if there is please tell me. Alright this is my entry. Ignore the alien head of yoda it is a homage to area 51/ sector 18. After the NASA program was sacked funding for actual astronauts was hard to come by so they began to just work on getting enough speed to limit down the time that it usually takes to get to the moon. Well without further ado-

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A link to see more- http://www.flickr.com/photos/64880953@N03/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Re: [CONTEST] The Next Generation of Space Travel

Post by gabriellee11 » Mon Jul 25, 2011 5:38 am

I have uploaded my pictures to toysnbricks flickr pool (if I didn't do it right please let me know). The part count is 433 pieces.

This is my vision of a next generation space shuttle. I hope you like it. Minifigures are witnessing for the first time the launch of the new space shuttle (kind of like when people went to see the Atlantis space shuttle for last time). In the back, there is kind of a "space shuttle traffic controller" (check toysnbricks flickr for more picture).

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Witnesses...each one with different face...
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For more pictures check the Toysnbricks Flickr Group Pool

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Re: [CONTEST] The Next Generation of Space Travel

Post by Knobby Plastic » Mon Jul 25, 2011 7:16 am

Glad to see that there are some more entries. :)
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Re: [CONTEST] The Next Generation of Space Travel

Post by Brick Monster » Mon Jul 25, 2011 10:48 am

Here's my entry for the Toys n' Bricks contest. A futuristic space shuttle/rocket/ship.

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The piece count is 91.

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Re: [CONTEST] The Next Generation of Space Travel

Post by Pilotdude » Mon Jul 25, 2011 12:09 pm

Im working on an entry, should be ready thursday or friday...
Thanks for reading.
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Re: [CONTEST] The Next Generation of Space Travel

Post by legitimatealex » Mon Jul 25, 2011 10:05 pm

My entry into the contest is based around that of a space elevator. The key concept of a space elevator is to replace the rocket based atmosphere exit with a mechanical one. This is achieved by linking the earth with a geosynchronous orbiting satellite or station that acts as a counterweight and supports the elevator running straight up through the air. Goods are brought up to the orbiting station via magnet trains that exist in many places around the world already. Instead of going from point a to point b horizontally, they would travel vertically, delivering goods and manpower to the station above.

The benefits for constructing a space elevator would be immense for space exploration and travel. No longer worried with reentry and exit of the atmosphere, space vehicles could be smaller and lightly built. Space vehicles could be built at the top of the space elevator and never actually have to be in an atmosphere at all.

The first imagined concept of a space elevator was that of a tower imagined by Russian scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky. He proposed a huge orbiting 'celestial castle' orbiting earth, reachable by means of a cable.

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This is a complete shot of my imagined space elevator. Please note that the bottom of my construction is not actually the bottom of the space elevator. Rather in order to make this in any sort of scale I had to cut out the bottom because this tower would be 22,000 miles above the Earth. Doing that to scale would require bricks well beyond my means, not to mention height.

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Magnet train coming to dock with orbital station. Magnet trains would be the primary means of transportation between the orbiting station and the earth itself.

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A shuttle docking with a station platform for supplies.

My entry came out to somewhere in the ballpark of 235 pieces. The orbiting station of my space elevator is my idea of a 'celestial castle.' More pictures are in the Toysnbricks Flickr Group or on my Flickr page.

For more information about Space Elevator theory and facts, Wikipedia has an excellent page on it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_elevator
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Re: [CONTEST] The Next Generation of Space Travel

Post by Jake » Tue Jul 26, 2011 2:21 am

Hi completely forgot about the piece count mine is the small design of the Cupid which as described as above is about the research into speed rather than on actually getting to space. My piece count is about 375 give or take a few, rushed counting and all. :lol: :roll:

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Re: [CONTEST] The Next Generation of Space Travel

Post by hatcher » Tue Jul 26, 2011 5:12 am

DOH! Alex stole my idea! Now I'll have to make something else!. :) Its all good. I really hope they make a space elevator some day. Nice model by the way.
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Re: [CONTEST] The Next Generation of Space Travel

Post by Knobby Plastic » Tue Jul 26, 2011 5:13 am

legitimatealex wrote:My entry into the contest is based around that of a space elevator. The key concept of a space elevator is to replace the rocket based atmosphere exit with a mechanical one. This is achieved by linking the earth with a geosynchronous orbiting satellite or station that acts as a counterweight and supports the elevator running straight up through the air.
An excellent idea for the contest, but I must point out that if a space elevator was constructed, it is highly unlikely for it to be enclosed, either fully or partially. It would probably merely be a cable kept taught by a counterweight. Of course, for building purposes this would have been impracticable as their wouldn't have been much to build.
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Re: [CONTEST] The Next Generation of Space Travel

Post by legitimatealex » Tue Jul 26, 2011 1:47 pm

Knobby Plastic wrote:
legitimatealex wrote:My entry into the contest is based around that of a space elevator. The key concept of a space elevator is to replace the rocket based atmosphere exit with a mechanical one. This is achieved by linking the earth with a geosynchronous orbiting satellite or station that acts as a counterweight and supports the elevator running straight up through the air.
An excellent idea for the contest, but I must point out that if a space elevator was constructed, it is highly unlikely for it to be enclosed, either fully or partially. It would probably merely be a cable kept taught by a counterweight. Of course, for building purposes this would have been impracticable as their wouldn't have been much to build.
You hit the nail on the head. I looked at multiple peoples' designs on a space elevator, including all the different types. As far being enclosed, the feel I was going for was more of a banded woven effect. If you look at the center of my design the actual 'tower' portion of it is all circular with bands around it. I meant those to be multiple cables banded together. You are right, in actuality this structure would have to be very flexible to adapt to weather conditions and the motion of the earth, not forgetting to mention the fact that the base of the elevator would most likely be a floating seaport in the middle of an ocean.

As far as the magnet train rails running along side the cables, once again there's really no good way to present that with something as solid as LEGO. My only defense for my representation of it though is that the my construct is so close to the counterweight that the cables would most definitely be tautest here, and that the rails and the tower would be straight.

EDIT: Also sorry Hatcher, I sort of came out of the shadows here. Haven't been anywhere near my LEGO for about two months now :? but I'm back :D I've been in love with the idea of a space elevator since I was 10 and I read an article released by NASA about it. I actually built multiple models of a space elevator when I was a kid (much much worse looking and less well researched) and my brother and I would try to outdo each other. As soon as I logged back on after so long and saw this contest I knew it was the perfect idea. As far as I can tell from my research, it is completely possible to construct a space elevator using materials that are available now. The only prohibiting factor is the cost. From what I have researched, we could have built one of these on the moon with the materials available in the 1970's, it has only been since the 1990's that we have had the proper materials to build such a construct on Earth.

I truly hope someone does build one one day. It would be a modern wonder of the world.
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Re: [CONTEST] The Next Generation of Space Travel

Post by Knobby Plastic » Tue Jul 26, 2011 7:53 pm

@Legitmatealex Your build is fine, my only problem with it is that it has more of a Steampunk feel to it than modern IMO.
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Re: [CONTEST] The Next Generation of Space Travel

Post by Legobrandon » Wed Jul 27, 2011 12:13 am

I challenged myself to enter this contest by only using pieces from the LEGO Master Builder Academy Kit One #20200. If I counted correctly, this model contains exactly 100 pieces. You can view additional images by visiting my Flickr photo stream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/legobrando ... 291488472/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


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Re: [CONTEST] The Next Generation of Space Travel

Post by Rook » Wed Jul 27, 2011 8:42 am

NASA

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NASA's New Shuttle Design: R-Pod Design and the failure of it's new propulsion system! :P
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Re: [CONTEST] The Next Generation of Space Travel

Post by legitimatealex » Wed Jul 27, 2011 1:54 pm

I'm not quite sure how my creation can be interpreted as steampunk. I tried using traditional LEGO space or NASA colors (white red black). The literature I read on space elevators as well as the conceptual pictures I viewed made it clear what was necessary and what was not. The elevator would have to be flexible, which I kept it as through the use of rounded pieces. Bringing them together are bands that, from what I have read, most people believe would be required to keep the structure from drifting away from each other and keeping it structurally sound.

The only part of the structure I think I really took an artistic license with was the actual station at the top which is what sadly I could research the least about. I thought obviously there would have to be somewhere the magnet trains could 'dock' or unload.There would have to be places for ships to dock as well. The station was supposed to look like a castle because I was paying homage :) to the earliest person to think about a space elevator. As far as I can tell, you could put anything you want up at the end of the tower since gravity isn't a real concern as long as it remains in geosynchronous orbit around the Earth.
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Re: [CONTEST] The Next Generation of Space Travel

Post by Mantisking » Wed Jul 27, 2011 8:40 pm

legitimatealex wrote:I'm not quite sure how my creation can be interpreted as steampunk.
I don't get it either.

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Re: [CONTEST] The Next Generation of Space Travel

Post by Pilotdude » Wed Jul 27, 2011 10:02 pm

I think the colors are fine, the only place where i believe that you used any creative license is in the ship landing. Because you do not have a counter weight, you used the top of the elvator, the centripital (spelling?) force excerted on the station would give it the effect of upside-down gavity, but in my opinion if and when you are being creative with lego bricks you cannot use creative lisense then what fun is it?

This is, in my opinion, one of the best, if not the best entry thus far. It is quite a spectacular disign and i believe the reason you are getting so much critisism on seamingly every little detail is because people are jealous (just my opinion, I know I am). This is quite a spactacular model, there is really very little i would change about it, great job.
Thanks for reading.
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Re: [CONTEST] The Next Generation of Space Travel

Post by vynsane » Thu Jul 28, 2011 6:00 am

Pilotdude wrote:Because you do not have a counter weight, you used the top of the elvator, the centripital (spelling?) force excerted on the station would give it the effect of upside-down gavity
Nah, it's in orbit - there would still be 0 gravity whatever the orientation of the celestial castle.
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