Corey S PowellMar 15

The wild "Starshot" project was conceived to design a probe that could reach Proxima Centauri in about 20 years.

Although project has gone dormant, it has yielded a lot of new ideas (many not widely shared, alas) about how to build a viable interstellar probe.

https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2026/03/10/starshot-is-a-success-part-ii/ #space #science #technology

Show threadCharlie StrossMar 15
@coreyspowell Wouldn't it make more sense to try for a proof-of-concept mission to, say, Pluto, that could get results in single-digit years or even faster? (Might even do some useful science when it gets there, for example by giving us a laser spectrophotometry reflector target occulted by Pluto's atmosphere as it heads towards Aphelion.)
Show threadIsaac Ji KuoMar 15

@cstross @coreyspowell There are numerous ideas for mission concepts using laser sails or high performance solar sails.

One problem is that laser sail propulsion is particularly inefficient at "low" speeds. And by "low", I mean under 30,000km/s. (Several orders of magnitude faster than anything we've launched so far.)

Another big problem is that the laser itself is a humongous expense, so it's good to have alternative uses for it.

Show threadxroMar 15

@isaackuo
@cstross @coreyspowell

Alternate Use Cases being .. "military"?

Where would they even put the laser? A high plateau? Is there a laser frequency mininmally affected by our atmosphere? Or in Orbit?

Show threadCharlie Stross
@xro @isaackuo @coreyspowell Solar orbit is pretty much essential for deep space missions.
Mar 15 at 4:21pmWeb
Show threadWellsiteGeoMar 15
@cstross @xro @isaackuo @coreyspowell
I think you could do it in a Lunar-matching orbit at higher (10°~) inclination to reduce time in the Earth's shadow to the negligible. Not as good, station-keeping wise, as Lagrange point, but fewer eclipses.