Interstellar Travel

Propulsion, Life Support, Communications, and the Long Journey

1st Edition - May 23, 2024
Editors: Les Johnson, Kenneth Roy
Language: English
Paperback ISBN:
9 7 8 - 0 - 3 2 3 - 9 1 2 8 0 - 8
eBook ISBN:
9 7 8 - 0 - 3 2 3 - 9 1 2 8 1 - 5

Interstellar Travel: Propulsion, Life Support, Communications, and the Long Journey addresses the technical challenges that must be overcome to make such journeys possible.… Read more

Purchase options

Limited Offer

Save 50% on book bundles

Immediately download your ebook while waiting for your print delivery. No promo code needed.

Institutional subscription on ScienceDirect

Request a sales quote

Interstellar Travel: Propulsion, Life Support, Communications, and the Long Journey addresses the technical challenges that must be overcome to make such journeys possible. Leading experts in the fields of space propulsion, power, communication, navigation, crew selection, safety and health provide detailed information about state-of-the-art technologies and approaches for each challenge, along with possible methods based on real science and engineering. This book offers in-depth, up-to-date and realistic technical and scientific considerations in the pursuit of interstellar travel and will be an essential reference for scientists, engineers, researchers and academics working on, or interested in, space development and space technologies. With a renewed interest in space exploration and development evidenced by the rise of the commercial space sector and various governments now planning to send humans back to the moon and to Mars, there is also growing interest in taking the next steps beyond the solar system and to the ultimate destination – planets circling other stars. With the rapid growth in the number of known exoplanets, people are now asking how we might make journeys to visit them.

Cover image
Title page
Table of Contents
Copyright
Contributors
Introduction
Chapter 1 Propulsion options
Abstract
Acknowledgments
1 Introduction
2 Chemical rockets
3 Getting an assist from gravity
4 Nuclear fission propulsion systems
5 Nuclear fusion propulsion
6 Antimatter propulsion
7 Propulsion without propellant
8 Concluding remarks
References
Chapter 2 Electrical power options for interstellar spacecraft
Abstract
1 Introduction
2 Power sources—Current and near-term
3 Power sources—Far-term
4 Speculative concepts
5 Concluding remarks
References
Chapter 3 Crew health—Psychological, biological, and medical issues and the need for a systems approach
Abstract
1 Introduction
2 The main health and performance hazards of spaceflight
3 The main health and performance concerns
4 Mitigation possibilities
5 The bigger picture
References
Chapter 4 Interstellar life support
Abstract
1 Introduction
2 The big picture: Humans with a life support system is the payload
3 Life support major elements
4 Major elements—Definitions, descriptions, and examples
5 Introduction to long-duration life support
6 Summary of state of the art of long-duration life support
7 Holes in the picture
8 Speculations on the future evolution of life support
9 Conclusion
References
Chapter 5 Timing relationships and resulting communications challenges in relativistic travel
Abstract
Acknowledgments
1 Travelers’ clocks in relativistic travel
2 Spacecraft trajectories
3 Relativistic effects on spacecraft trajectories
4 Communication with a spacecraft
5 Analysis
6 Canonical mission trajectory
7 Conclusions
Appendix A Nomenclature
Appendix B Analytical results for indefinite acceleration
References
Chapter 6 Prospects for human hibernation
Abstract
1 Introduction
2 Overview
3 Maintaining the human body
4 Approaches to human stasis
5 Achieving limited-duration stasis
6 Recent research and advancements
7 Long-duration stasis for interstellar travel
8 Summary
References
Chapter 7 Ship governance and culture
Abstract
1 Introduction and key assumptions
2 Output goals: Safety, efficiency, and freedom
3 Basic governance models
4 The role of innovation and its rewards
5 Ultimate conclusions
References
Chapter 8 Spare parts and additive manufacturing
Abstract
1 Introduction
2 Sparing philosophy and mission architecture decisions
3 Technology needs for interstellar and deep space missions
References
Chapter 9 Optimal crew size at both departure and arrival
Abstract
1 Introduction
2 Population size on interstellar vessels
3 Alternative approaches for interstellar transportation of humans
4 Population size at the target destination
5 Summary and conclusions
References
Chapter 10 Artificial intelligence: Useful crewman, terrible master, benign leader, or the actual payload, and do we get to choose?
Abstract
1 Introduction
2 Interstellar travel modes
3 AI roles in interstellar travel
4 AGI system architecture
5 AUDREY—A potential architectural blueprint for building AGI for interstellar travel
6 AGI for interstellar travel
7 Summary
Disclaimer
References
Chapter 11 Maintaining communication with Earth during an interstellar flyby mission
Abstract
Acknowledgments
1 Mission architectures
2 Vast interstellar distances
3 Choice of wavelength
4 Layered architecture
5 Signal photon efficiency
6 Background radiation
7 Transmit/receive aperture size and pointing accuracy
8 Transmit power and aperture/collector sizes
9 Outages
10 Downlink operation time
11 Modulation code: PPM
12 Achieving reliability
13 Conclusions
Appendix A Nomenclature
Appendix B Photon efficiency bounds and bandwidth
References
Appendix General relativistic faster-than-light propulsion for interstellar flight
1 Introduction
2 General relativistic FTL propulsion—These are the “space warps”
3 The two classes of FTL space warps: Traversable wormholes and warp drives
4 The curvature invariants for Lorentzian traversable wormholes and warp drives
5 The allowable sources of matter for constructing FTL spacetimes
6 The energetics of FTL propulsion
7 Construction of traversable wormholes and warp drives
8 The problems of navigation, guidance, control, and stability in FTL propulsion concepts
9 Conclusion
Acknowledgments
References
Further reading
Index

Les Johnson

Les Johnson is a physicist and NASA technologist at the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center where he is the Principal Investigator for flight demonstration of advanced space technology systems including solar sails, power systems, and most recently, space based solar power. He was the co-investigator on the Japanese-led T-Rex space tether experiment that flew in August 2010, the Principal Investigator for the NASA ProSEDS space experiment, received NASA’s Exceptional Achievement Medal three times, and holds 3 space technology patents. His book, Solar Sails, a Novel Approach to Interplanetary Travel was favorably reviewed in the journal Nature (10 April 2008). Graphene: The Superstrong, Superthin, and Superversatile Material That Will Revolutionize the World also appeared in Nature (25 January 2018) and was excerpted in American Scientist (May-June 2018). Les is a member of the International Academy of Astronautics, the British Interplanetary Society, the National Space Society, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, and MENSA – and is the Program Chair of the Interstellar Research Group.

Affiliations and expertise

Physicist and NASA Technologist, NASA Science and Tech Office,George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, The Interstellar Research Group, Oak Ridge, USA

Kenneth Roy

Kenneth Roy is a newly retired professional engineer. His professional career involved working for various Department of Energy (DOE) contractors in the fields of Fire Protection and Nuclear Safety. As a long-time research interest, Kenneth has been working with the idea of terraforming. He invented the “Shell Worlds” concept as a way to terraform planets and large moons well outside a star’s Goldilocks’ zone and under stars that have a radically different spectrum from our Sun. This was published in the January 2009 Journal of the British Interplanetary Society (JBIS). Kenneth has published multiple papers on terraforming and space colonization that have appeared in leading journals and has written chapters that have appeared in several space related books. Kenneth is a founding member of the non-profit corporation Interstellar Research Group (formerly the Tennessee Valley Interstellar Workshop) and remains active in the organization.

Affiliations and expertise

Formerly Founding member and Engineer, Tennessee Valley, The Interstellar Research Group, Oak Ridge, USA

Life sciences

Physical sciences & Engineering

Social sciences & Humanities

Health