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The concept of self-replicating spacecraft, as envisioned by mathematician John von Neumann, has been described by futurists and has been discussed across a wide breadth of hard science fiction novels and stories. Self-replicating probes are sometimes referred to as von Neumann probes.
Freeman Dyson in 2005. Astrochicken is the name given to a thought experiment expounded by theoretical physicist Freeman Dyson.An Astrochicken is a small, one-kilogram spacecraft, a self-replicating automaton that could explore space more efficiently than a crewed craft could due to its innovative mix of technology.
The first quantitative engineering analysis of a self-replicating spacecraft was published in 1980 by Robert Freitas, [56] in which the non-replicating Project Daedalus design was modified to include all subsystems necessary for self-replication. The design's strategy was to use the probe to deliver a "seed" factory with a mass of about 443 ...
Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, Earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonization, planetary exploration, and transportation of humans and cargo. All spacecraft except single-stage-to-orbit vehicles cannot get into space on their own, and require a launch vehicle (carrier rocket).
Type Country Class Role Date Status No. Notes ASSET: USA: Rocket launch: Experimental: 1963: Prototype: Uncrewed reentry test vehicle. Boeing X-20 Dyna-Soar: USA
Spaceflight (or space flight) is an application of astronautics to fly objects, usually spacecraft, into or through outer space, either with or without humans on board. Most spaceflight is uncrewed and conducted mainly with spacecraft such as satellites in orbit around Earth , but also includes space probes for flights beyond Earth orbit.
NASA is a major customer with the Commercial Resupply Services and Commercial Crew Development programs, also launching scientific spacecraft. The vast majority of launch vehicles for its missions, from the Redstone missile to the Delta , Atlas , Titan and Saturn rocket families, have been expendable.
If intelligent life existed it would have produced enough self-replicating spacecraft, known as von Neumann probes, to cover the universe by now, [11] which runs counter to the knowledge that the Universe is filled with a very large number of planets, some of which likely hold the conditions hospitable for life.