Re:Starlight (Interstellar Probe)
by usefulcat on Wednesday October 12, 2022 @01:52PM
(#33180532)
Let's say they make a sail that is large enough and light enough to allow the craft to accelerate to very high speeds (say, 0.1 - 0.2c?). It's quite a long way to Alpha Centauri, and even though interstellar space is very empty, it's not completely empty. As the sail hits the odd spec of dust here and there at those speeds it seems like it will be shredded. Maybe it's ok as long as it lasts long enough for it to be accelerated to a 'fast enough' speed?
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The original idea I recall for this was to send hundreds of these probes with the hope that a few might make it (because this launch method and the probes would be relatively cheap once you built out the laser system).
But also, interstellar vacuum is very, very empty. Encountering a speck of dust even in that distance with that size of a probe is a pretty negligible risk if I recall correctly.