Team STAR| Breakthrough
Breakthrough
Journey Among The Stars
Summary
Through our project, we wanted to provide a model of a simple application where anyone interested in rockets and space travel can learn more about how we got there and what the future holds for this technology while having a fun interactive experience. We used coding and modeling to show the progression of rocket engines over time, starting with modern chemical engines (such as the Falcon 9) up to the point of FTL travel and theoretical warp drives.Our objectives for this project were to create:A simple application capable of 3D interaction A source of knowledge of modern propulsion technologyA visual and interactive experience Provide examples of space Rockets and engines
How We Addressed This Challenge
We developed a Java Application that displays 3D models of several forms of propulsion technology. We also created a way to compare each of these technologies against one another based off of how far they travel in an hour. The goal of this program is to provide a visual aid and information to help educate others about potential future technologies. This is important since it can help people to have a visual understanding of these technologies. This project works by creating a 3D environment where the user can explore the 3D rocket/engine Blender models, using a mixture of the Java Swing class, and the jMonkeyEngine. In this space the user will be able to grab the rockets and examine them. Using blender we created a series of models that project a realistic (to an extent) 3D outlook as to what many of the theoretical technologies could look like in the near future. We strived for a 3D aspect instead of a 2D drawing or simple imagery because we really wanted to enhance the interactive experience that is provided to the users viewing our application. We believe that not enough people are interested in the Aerospace industry, and believe this is because not enough people truly receive the opportunity to learn through interaction. We hope to help plant the seed of inspiration for our generation, and future generations to come; Which hopefully will aid in the coming interstellar exploration.
How We Developed This Project
Our team chose Breakthrough because we were interested in the subject of future methods of space exploration. We wanted to create a way to envision both how these propulsion systems would look in a 3D view, and how far they would travel through space. To develop this project, we decided to learn Blender and create 3D models for a Java application. We then used the jMonkeyEngine SDK to develop the Java application. First, we modeled multiple historic spacecraft and the engines that went in each one. In some cases, we had to delve into the realm of science-fiction since such engines may not exist yet. Meanwhile, we had our coders create a program that would show off all of the models we had designed, which would be chosen based on the user’s discretion. We also had members texture the models in Blender so the exports of the blend files are compatible with the Java program. Lastly, we had a few people research all of the different engines that we would put in our slideshow presentation. Our greatest challenge was this texture issue since our team learned Blender and the code used for 3D Java models days before the project, and to research all of the different engines that we would put in our slideshow presentation.
How We Used Space Agency Data in This Project
We used space agency data in our project by going through the NASA database and searching for the different types of space engines we were using in our project. We used the data found to contribute to our collection of relevant data for the space engines to discover which was most capable of FTL travel. We used the data in order to show the different strengths and weaknesses of all of the different engines in order to show the feasibility of FTL travel for each one. We researched the speeds and efficiencies of each engine, and model examples of the theoretical rockets respectively.
Data & Resources
http://www.interactivemesh.org/models/jfx3dimporter.html
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search?q=chemica%20rocket
https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/files/SpaceX_NASA_CRS-6_PressKit-2.pdf
file:///C:/Users/thebo/OneDrive/Desktop/NASA%20APP/NASA%20PDF%202.pdf (EagleWorks Laboratories Warp Field Physics)
(Fast and Moderated Low-power Lightweight reactors for Nuclear Rocket Propulsion)
(Wiki), SpaceX Falcon 9, Warp propulsions, Nuclear propulsions, Thermo, Fusion, Fission, solar sails, pulsing, and continuous engines