Directed energy interstellar propulsion of wafersats

Brashears, Travis; Lubin, P. M.; Hughes, Gary B.; McDonough, Kyle; Arias, D. Sebastian; Lang, A; Motta, Caio; Meinhold, P. R.; Batliner, Payton; Griswold, Janelle; Zhang, Qicheng; Alnawakhtha, Yusuf; Prater, Kenyon; Madajian, Jonathan; Sturman, Olivia; Gergieva, Jana; Gilkes, Aidan; Silverstein, Bret

doi:10.1117/12.2189005

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 9 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In this case a 1.5 ton craft could do the job. The launch requirements of such a craft would be furthermore compatible with the specifications [27] of the directed energy launch system envisioned by the Breakthrough Starshot project [11] for Centauri flybys, which could hence see dual use. The extended cruising time of the order 10 4 years implies however that slow cruising trajectories are only an option for mission, such as for life-carrying Genesis crafts [12], not expected to yield near-term results in terms of a tangible scientific return.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Above results show however also that it is possible to transfer the kinetic energy of slow cruising probes to the interstellar medium even when it is rarefied as within the local bubble. The craft parameters, v 0 " c{300 and m tot " 1.5 tons, would fit furthermore the specifications of currently envisioned directed energy launch systems [27]. Slow cruising interstellar probes would need of the order of 10 4 years to return data, which is clearly not a viable option for a science mission.…”

Section: R "mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Universal scaling relation for magnetic sails: momentum braking in the limit of dilute interstellar media

Gros

2017

J. Phys. Commun.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The recent progress in laser propulsion research has advanced substantially the prospects to realize interstellar spaceflight within a few decades. Here we examine passive deceleration via momentum braking from ionized interstellar media. The very large area to mass relations needed as a consequence of the low interstellar densities, of the order of 0.1 particlescm 3 , or lower, are potentially realizable with magnetic sails generated by superconducting coils. Integrating the equations of motion for interstellar protons hitting a Biot Savart loop we evaluate the effective reflection area A(v) in terms of the velocity v of the craft. We find that the numerical data is fitted over two orders of magnitude by the scaling relationc , whereis the bare sail area, I the current and b = v c. The critical current I c is1.55 10 6 A. The resulting universal deceleration profile can be evaluated analytically and mission parameters optimized for a minimal craft mass. For the case of a sample high speed transit to Proxima Centauri we find that magnetic momentum braking would involve daunting mass requirements of the order of 10 3 tons. A low speed mission to the Trappist-1 system could be realized on the other side already with a 1.5 ton spacecraft, which would be furthermore compatible with the specifications of currently envisioned directed energy launch systems. The extended cruising times of the order of 10 4 years imply however that a mission to the Trappist-1 system would be viable only for mission concepts for which time constrains are not relevant.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: R "mentioning

confidence: 99%

Universal scaling relation for magnetic sails: momentum braking in the limit of dilute interstellar media

Gros

2017

J. Phys. Commun.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…We do not have a current path to annihilation engines. We do have a path forward with directed energy [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9].…”

Section: Why Directed Energy Propulsion Is Neededmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Economics of Interstellar Flight

Lubin¹,

Cohen²

2021

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Large scale directed energy offers the possibility of radical transformation in a variety of areas, including the ability to achieve relativistic flight that will enable the first interstellar missions, as well as rapid interplanetary transit. In addition, the same technology will allow for long-range beamed power for ion, ablation, and thermal engines, as well as long-range recharging of distant spacecraft, long-range and ultra high bandwidth laser communications, and many additional applications that include remote composition analysis, manipulation of asteroids, and full planetary defense. Directed energy relies on photonics which, like electronics, is an exponentially expanding growth area driven by diverse economic interests that allows transformational advances in space exploration and capability. We have made enormous technological progress in the last few years to enable this long-term vision. In addition to the technological challenges, we must face the economic challenges to bring the vision to reality. The path ahead requires a fundamental change in the system designs to allow for the radical cost reductions required. To afford the full-scale realization of this vision we will need to bring to fore integrated photonics and mass production as a path forward. Fortunately, integrated photonics is a technology driven by vast consumer need for high speed data delivery. We outline the fundamental physics that drive the economics and derive an analytic cost model that allows us to logically plan the path ahead.

show abstract

“…These systems typically have powers of 1-100 watts with sub-meter apertures. Larger scale directed energy systems have been proposed as a method of achieving relativistic flight (Bible et al, 2013;Hughes et al, 2014;Brashears et al, 2015;Lubin, 2016) to allow the first interstellar missions and rapid interplanetary transit. These DE systems are being actively pursued as a part of our NASA Starlight program, where a large aperture (1-10 kilometer diameter) phased array with multi GW power levels (Lubin, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Directed energy interception of satellites

She

Hettel

Lubin

2019

Advances in Space Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

High power Earth and orbital-based directed energy (DE) systems pose a potential hazard to Earth orbiting spacecraft. The use of very high power, large aperture DE systems to propel spacecraft is being pursued as the only known, feasible method to achieve relativistic flight in our NASA Starlight and Breakthrough Starshot programs.In addition, other beamed power mission scenarios, such as orbital debris removal and our NASA program using DE for powering high performance ion engine missions,

show abstract

Directed energy interstellar propulsion of wafersats

Cited by 5 publications

References 9 publications

Universal scaling relation for magnetic sails: momentum braking in the limit of dilute interstellar media

Universal scaling relation for magnetic sails: momentum braking in the limit of dilute interstellar media

The Economics of Interstellar Flight

Directed energy interception of satellites

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About