Re:The Theory of Interstellar Trade
by adrianN on Tuesday July 17, 2018 @02:29AM
(#17547735)
We could probably build an interstellar probe if we redirected the world's defense spending into the project for a decade or so. Nuclear pulse propulsion looked viable fifty years ago and the projects were only stopped because of the test ban treaty. A ship powered by nukes can reach single digit percentages of the speed of light. That's enough to reach the nearest stars in one or two generations.
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I was thinking of a crewed vehicle. And yeah, redirecting defense spending should do it.
For a mere probe, especially a microprobe, Breakthrough Starshot is probably the best approach and it is potentially 10% to 30% c and cheap per probe. Wouldn't necessarily cost that much, either, although the engineering is pretty... aggressive. If the engineering issues could be solved, might be able to do it for the same cost as ISS ($100 billion).
Animation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRFXV4Z6x8s