[cba123]

(um, ... maybe)

[Telepathic Intruder]

One part of me says that interstellar travel will never be possible. The distances are just too huge. Another part is less realistic but more optimistic. Having lived through the computer revolution and witnessed how fast a technology can advance given a profit incentive (I thought my 16 megahertz computer was state of the art until about 3 months later when it was suddenly 1/3 the speed of contemporary ones), I wonder if the same thing can happen with space travel.

[Berlin_Freeper]

Space Truckin’
https://youtu.be/hHOrpFeXUao

[cpdiii]

Total Crap Science.

After just two minutes of being driven by the laser, the spacecraft will be traveling at one-fifth the speed of light—a thousand times faster than any macroscopic object has ever achieved.

Just plug in the numbers for those understand weight, velocity and energy.

This is total crap science not worthy of discussion.

[FreeperCell]

“the spacecraft will be traveling at one-fifth the speed of light”.

Stopping may become an issue.

[freedomjusticeruleoflaw]

Contemporary interstellar travel is impossible. Any information gathered by telemetry will be for future generations... Who won’t give a shite.

[SIDENET]

“Traveling through hyperspace ain’t like dusting crops, kid.”

[Hostage]

> "The team behind Breakthrough Starshot is as impressive as the technology. The board of directors includes Milner, Hawking, and Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg. The executive director is S. Pete Worden, former director of NASA Ames Research Center. A number of prominent scientists, including Nobel and Breakthrough Laureates, are serving as advisors to the project, and Milner has promised $100 million of his own funds to begin work."

Milner? Don't know much about Milner but he appears to be the money guy.
Hawking? He's dead, Jim.
Suckerberg? Impressive? Are you kidding?
Worden? Was he one of those that made NASA's mission to be an outreach to Muslims?

[buckalfa]

Moties ?

[PCPOET7]

I wish I was 40 years younger. the incredible thing coming in the future. imagine being alive when the first video from a space craft traveling to another star system is received on planet earth. imagine a tourist trip to the moon. unfortunately I am sure I wont be around for any of this but the little boy in me wants to be there.

[Migraine]

The speed referred to here would be fast enough to go from earth to the moon in 6.7 seconds.

Yeah. Sure. Hyperdrive. Warp speed. It’s OK to dream; but it isn’t OK to posit your dream as science.

[Paladin2]

Where is my flying car?

[I want the USA back]

Total nonsense. Reaching 1/5 the speed of light in two minutes implies G forces far greater than any human can take and not become a mass of jelly.
There is no way around this fact.
The headline says “travel.” Words have meanings. That means that a human goes in the spaceship. It is unfair to imply that in the headline, and then deny it in the article.

[Zathras]

Ah...no

[Manly Warrior]

Last I heard was that F still equals M x A. Shooting photons (tiny M if any at all) at some fairly large craft (M) still equals some minute A, or have photons recently became really massive? Didn’t think so.

[painter]

Bump for later

[bmwcyle]

I was thinking never.

[VaeVictis]

Given the title, I think we may need a study on organic life surviving high speeds for sustained periods of time... I would think reaching 1/5 the speed of light in 2 minutes would be fatal.

Yet, this sounds like an unmanned vehicle. So maybe that will work out. It will be pretty cool if it does.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg.

Then I guess conservatives will never get to see the pictures.