How to Build a Spaceship

A space ship is a vehicle designed for use in outer space. Astronauts and scientist use space ships in order to learn more about the universe. Building a space ship is a complicated process that can take many years. These steps can assist you.

Gain the experience

 * 1) Educate yourself. Building a space ship is going to require an advanced understanding of various skills in science and math. Degrees in engineering, biological or physical sciences or mathematics will be needed.
 * 2) Receive training. On the job training is needed to understand all the elements that go into creating such a complicated vehicle. Look for internships and career placement with NASA, ESA, RosCosmos and your national space agencies or other opportunities that relate to your degree.
 * 3) Get a job. Once you have the necessary qualifications look for a job that allow you the opportunity to build a space ship. NASA and ESA are the leaders in building space ships but a few privately owned companies (such as SpaceX) are building space ships too.

Design and build

 * 1) Assemble a team. One individual can't build a space ship. It takes a team of highly skilled engineers and professionals who each contribute their advanced knowledge to the project.
 * 2) Define the mission. Determine the outcome of going into space. Start planning the type of space ship you need to build in order to achieve the goal.
 * 3) Determine a payload. The payload is what your space ship carries. You should determine this depending on your goal.
 * 4) Design your space ship. To design your space ship with all the necessary support systems you should design it to be self-sufficient for the length of its journey in outer space.
 * 5) Analyze and test your space ship. Study the designs of the ship, its weight and shape. Design the space ship using computers and begin to test its performance in all areas.
 * 6) Build a model. Create a small scale model. Make changes until the space ship's individual parts meet all performance requirements. Create a full size model to test for any design flaws.
 * 7) Make a prototype. The prototype tests the space ship's ability to accomplish its goal. Various tests are run to simulate conditions of space travel over many hours. Once all test are passed your space ship is ready for production.

Tips

 * A space ship can cost billions of dollars to design and build. But a few people can afford the expense on their own.
 * Consider obtaining advanced degrees that may allow you to bypass most on the job training.
 * Ways to save money and safely cut cost should be discussed in every stage of the design process.

Warnings

 * NASA and other such organizations are exclusive and constantly turn down applicants. The competition to join the ranks is reserved for the most qualified but you can always choose another company such as SpaceX, The Planetary Society or your national space agency.

Resources
SpaceX' Website

The Planetary Society's Website

NASA's Website

ESA's Website

eHow.co.uk

How to Build a Spaceship by Luca Mihailescu is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.