Re:The Theory of Interstellar Trade
by Robotbeat on Wednesday July 18, 2018 @12:12AM
(#17555534)
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).
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