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Millis: Approaches to Interstellar Flight
Centauri Dreams ^ | 02/24/10

Posted on 02/24/2010 6:12:38 PM PST by KevinDavis

How do you go about pushing the frontiers of propulsion science? Tau Zero Foundation founder Marc Millis discussed the question in a just published interview with h+ Magazine. One aspect of the question is to recognize where we are today. Millis is on record as saying that it may be two to four centuries before we’re ready to launch an Alpha Centauri mission. Why the delay? The problem is not so much high-tech savvy as it is available energy, and Millis evaluates it by comparing the energy we use for rocketry today vs. the entire Earth’s consumption of energy.

(Excerpt) Read more at centauri-dreams.org ...


TOPICS: Astronomy; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: space; stringtheory; xplanets

1 posted on 02/24/2010 6:12:38 PM PST by KevinDavis
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To: stainlessbanner; blogOps; Mr Fuji; ThomasSawyer; kronos77; DesScorp; Tuketu; BattleHymn; ...


For other space news go to: http://www.spacetoday.net
For a list of Private Space Companies: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_private_spaceflight_companies


2 posted on 02/24/2010 6:13:21 PM PST by KevinDavis (Ad Astra Per Aspera!!!)
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To: KevinDavis

We have to go fringe, zero-point energy coupled with reaction less propulsion turns all of the energy equations inside out- and makes it all possible.


3 posted on 02/24/2010 6:23:26 PM PST by Brett66 (Where government advances, and it advances relentlessly , freedom is imperiled -Janice Rogers Brown)
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To: KevinDavis

Its always about the energy, fuel and supplies you can carry. You could propel a standard rocket to incredible speeds if you could carry the fuel to do it. Unfortunately I think current technology would require a fuel load in the trillions of tons range, if not more.


4 posted on 02/24/2010 6:24:35 PM PST by cripplecreek (Remember the River Raisin!)
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To: Brett66

It definitely has to be something well outside the range of current thinking.

Also it doesn’t need to be an overnight trip for the first probes. Something that could get there within a human lifetime would be an excellent start. For that matter sending launch and forget craft that would check in every 20 years or so might be valuable info gathering tools for interstellar space.


5 posted on 02/24/2010 6:33:55 PM PST by cripplecreek (Remember the River Raisin!)
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To: AdmSmith; bvw; callisto; ckilmer; dandelion; ganeshpuri89; gobucks; KevinDavis; Las Vegas Dave; ...
Thanks KevinDavis.

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6 posted on 02/24/2010 7:16:45 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Freedom is Priceless.)
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To: annie laurie; garbageseeker; Knitting A Conundrum; Viking2002; Ernest_at_the_Beach; Mmogamer; ...
Thanks KevinDavis.
 
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7 posted on 02/24/2010 7:17:08 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Freedom is Priceless.)
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