Magnetic spacecraft attract and repel in lab tests

Read more:
http://space.newscientist.com/article/dn13846

Mock spacecraft equipped with electromagnets attract and repel each other in laboratory tests (Courtesy of the MIT Space Systems Lab)

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• space
• magnets
• formation
• flying
• new
• scientist
• newscientist

[peterkleinlich]

it's "Labratory geek squads" like these wasting government money to propel science, you moron! you wouldn't be listening to mp3s if it weren't for geeks and nerds "wasting" government money.

this technology will at some point deliver new knowledge, something you obviously don't have much of...

[Zoiros85]

Gravity and sun radiation will break it? No.. Gravity will make it stick in orbit. Radiation (EM) will give it power. However, yes, sun flares could reek havoc on it, but I maybe the magnetic field could be adjusted to protect it as our earths magnetic field does with us.

[Selur91]

@kenhes More like a shield for the solar radiation, without the ozone it's extremely dangerous

[kenhes]

So would this be used to dock and autoalign one ship to another?

[So1othurn]

are they trying to replicate when flying saucers are doing the same thing?

[kaderoder]

Air hockey has become too complicated for me.

[TripleX2go]

Even if we can defies gravity,what about outer space? We'll think about that when we get there.

[flyboyy77]

What ever it is there doing makes me want to go take a dump cause that was a load of shit

[rubbertireishot]

XD I would be glad to help build the technology to smack you through the internet too.