#breakthough starshot

[jimiticus]

Is interstellar travel possible? For an unmanned probe, in the near future at least, its a big maybe!

This video starts by showing some of the current record holders for the fastest spacecraft. Apollo 10 holds the record for manned spaceflight, Voyager 1 for the fastest spacecraft to leave the solar system (wins by default) and the Helios probes hold the record for fastest spacecraft ever. That record will be beat in 2018 with the Solar Probe plus probe.

But they are not fast enough to get us to Proxima Centauri, part of the Alpha Centauri system, within a lifetime.

The video goes on to explore the main concepts for unmanned interstellar travel. Fusion propulsion is up first with Project Daedalus and Project Icarus. Next is solar sail technology ending with maybe the best candidate - Breakthough Starshot using laser propelled nanocraft.

[ovnihoje]

A viagem interestelar é realmente possível?

A viagem interestelar é realmente possível?

O astrofísico Paul Sutter foi co-autor do artigo abaixo, que fala das dificuldades da viagem interestelar, de acordo com o que a ciência hoje sabe.

Ilustração de uma sonda Breakthrough Starshot que chega ao planeta potencialmente semelhante à Terra, Proxima Centauri b. Uma representação dos raios laser é visível emanando dos cantos da vela luminosa da nave (Imagem: © Planetary Habitability…

[waldbrown]

A total mess from my first-ever presentation in astrophysics

Topic was a project to send a “light sail” propelled by earth-based laser, to the nearest star system (Proxima Centauri). The gram-sized object would theoretically reach relativistic speeds, traveling at 1/5 the speed of light, and would shorten our current means of reaching Proxima Centauri from about 45,000 years travel time to...twenty years.