Interstellar Manned Space Travel

Sci-fi novels, movies, and TV shows have provided ideas on how interstellar space travel might be accomplished, allowing humans to travel far beyond the Milky Way galaxy. Many of these ideas are being explored by scientists today. In this enlightening book, readers learn about how human interstellar travel might be accomplished and how STEM skills are being used to solve the problems involved. Human interstellar space travel raises a variety of ethical questions as well, such as who goes on this one-way trip, traveling far from home for years or even generations? This resource provides a human and technical overview of a captivating, yet contentious, topic.

Some theoreticians contemplate and formulate the physics of tachyons, which are hypothetical particles, that would always travel faster than light but which could never slow down to the speed of light just as they anticipate sublight speed massive particles never being able to achieve light speed. So my theoretical work on the physics and kinematics of light-speed massive systems sets me apart from general trends in the theoretical field of relativistic astronautics. This book is a continuation of how and why we may be able to, at some future time, travel at the speed of light.

A detailed introduction is presented to the problems of interstellar space travel. The general topics discussed include: basics of travel in space, advanced propulsion methods; relativity and interstellar travel; relativistic drives and problems; starships as systems; missions; astrogation, observation, and communication; technological requirements and hazards; biological requirements; personal, social, and political considerations; interstellar life and civilizations; long-term prospects.

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. Discusses the technical challenges that must be overcome to mount interstellar missions Features various aspects of interstellar travel by the world’s recognized leading experts in the field Provides referenceable data and analysis for both new and experienced researchers in the interstellar and deep-space exploration fields

A collection of papers presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science symposium held in Boston Feb. 15, 2002, this content considers the formidable technical issues and the social and "human" issues that will impact or be impacted by mankind's excursions to other star systems.

Louis Friedman, Executive Director of the Planetary Society, presents the first comprehensive look at the science and history behind solar sailing and other designs for space travel. Serious science readers and space buffs alike will be fascinated by designs for the square sail, disk sail, and the heliogyro (which features flexible sails many kilometers long). Friedman compares solar sailing to other proposed propulsion sytems such as ion drives and laser propulsion, and takes an insider's look at the million-dollar JPL project of the late '70s, which was the first attempt at a working model. Illustrated.

This book develops a credible scenario for interstellar exploration and colonization. In so doing, it examines: • the present situation and prospects for interstellar exploration technologies; • where to go: the search for habitable planets; • the motivations for space travel and colonization; • the financial mechanisms required to fund such enterprises. The final section of the book analyzes the uncertainties surrounding the presented scenario. The purpose of building a scenario is not only to pinpoint future events but also to highlight the uncertainties that may propel the future in different directions. Interstellar travel and colonization requires a civilization in which human beings see themselves as inhabitants of a single planet and in which global governance of these processes is conducted on a cooperative basis. The key question is, then, whether our present civilization is ready for such an endeavor, reflecting the fact that the critical uncertainties are political and cultural in nature. It is written in such a way as to allow the non-professional reader to become part of the debate on the future of space programs.