Want to Build a Space Ship? Here is what you'll need.

In 1946 in writer Willey Lay was the first to give a detailed account of the technologies required to complete a manned mission to the moon or other planets in our solar system. In an illustration by Frank Tinsley accompanying the article, I found a spark that has burned within me since. The different technologies used in the craft were available even back then.

A propulsion system based off of beefed up V-2 rocket motors. Airlocks from submarines, and pressure controls from the Boeing Stratocruiser. Even the technology for spacesuits had been developed in the 1930’s by adventurer’s such as Auguste Piccard and Alexander Dahl flying ballons into earth’s stratosphere.

The main components you will need building a spaceship include:
Propulsion
Lifesupport
Astronavigation

While the major players in Space travel all use rockets to escape earth’s gravity. The method used by Richard Branson and Paul Allen’s Virgin Galactic uses a mothership to carry it to high altitude then releases it to rocket it way into space. Until the days of anti-gravity or space elevators(next week would be nice), some form of rocket propulsion is going to be the best way to get off Earth and out exploring the Solar System.

Life support systems are only important on Spacecraft with life on them. But when needed they are quite necessary additions to the ship. Life support systems include atmosphere and temperature controls, which are used in high altitude balloons and submarines. Depending on the length of the missions other systems must be constructed.

Missions of more than a few hours will require bathroom facilities like on the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station that suck away body waste. Missions of more than a few days need sleeping arrangements basically sleeping bags that are attached to something. Since bones decay without the stress of gravity on them machines will need to be built that will exercise all of the body. Exercise bikes and resistance bands, whatever can be found to keep the bones stressed enough to keep from deteriorating.

Craft that leave orbit will need radiation protection as solar winds may occasionally drive unhealthy levels of radiation towards the craft. These can be built using similar methods used in the construction of fallout shelters. Figure out the radiation danger of the part of space you will be flying through and use basic material thickness guides to build a cell somewhere in the ship that can protect your crew during a solar storm. It may also be necessary to protect your ships computers from radiation in the solar winds. Not just the corrosive effects of radiation but also any electromagnetic damage that may occur. Military planes used during the cold war often had special flight computers made using vacuum tubes for similar reasons.

The astronavigation systems used on Lay’s hypothetical manned spaceship used an earth based radio network to find where his craft was. He would radio earth and they would focus their telescopes on his signal until they had found his exact position. Today astronavigation is more similar to navigation here on earth, where the positions of stars in the sky is used to find your position. A method that would have been impossible until the invention of the IC chip.