Breakthrough Starshot
Breakthrough Starshot is a research and engineering project by the
A flyby mission has been proposed to Proxima Centauri b, an Earth-sized exoplanet in the habitable zone of its host star, Proxima Centauri, in the Alpha Centauri system.[4] At a speed between 15% and 20% of the speed of light,[5][6][7][8] it would take between 20 and 30 years to complete the journey, and approximately 4 years for a return message from the starship to Earth.
The conceptual principles to enable this interstellar travel project were described in "A Roadmap to Interstellar Flight", by Philip Lubin of
General
The project was announced on 12 April 2016 in an event held in
Objectives
The Breakthrough Starshot program aims to demonstrate a proof-of-concept for ultra-fast, light-driven nano-spacecraft, and lay the foundations for a first launch to
Target planet
The European Southern Observatory (ESO) announced the detection of a planet orbiting the third star in the Alpha Centauri system, Proxima Centauri in August 2016.[15][16] The planet, called Proxima Centauri b, orbits within the habitable zone of its star. It could be a target for one of the Breakthrough Initiatives' projects.
In January 2017, Breakthrough Initiatives and the European Southern Observatory began collaborating to search for habitable planets in the nearby star system Alpha Centauri.[17][18] The agreement involves Breakthrough Initiatives providing funding for an upgrade to the VISIR (VLT Imager and Spectrometer for mid-Infrared) instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile. This upgrade will increase the likelihood of planet detection in the system.
Concept
The Starshot concept envisions launching a "
The Earth-sized planet Proxima Centauri b is within the Alpha Centauri system's
The fleet would have about 1000 spacecraft. Each one, called a StarChip, would be a
Technical challenges
StarChip
StarChip is the name used by
In July 2017, scientists announced that precursors to Spaceprobe, called Sprites, were successfully launched and flown through Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle by ISRO from Satish Dhawan Space Centre.[41] 105 Sprites were also flown to the ISS on the KickSat-2 mission that launched on 17 November 2018, from where they were deployed on 18 March 2019. They successfully transmitted data before reentering the atmosphere and burning up on 21 March.[42][43][44][45]
Components
Each Spaceprobe nanocraft is expected to carry miniaturized cameras, navigation gear, communication equipment, photon thrusters and a power supply. In addition, each nanocraft would be fitted with a meter-scale light sail, made of lightweight materials, with a gram-scale mass.[1][36][37][6][39][40][46][47]
Cameras
Five sub-gram scale
Processors
Four sub-gram scale processors are planned.[39][49]
Photon thrusters
Four sub-gram scale photon thrusters, each minimally capable of performing at a 1W diode laser level, are planned.[36][50][51]
Battery
A 150 mg atomic battery, powered by plutonium-238 or americium-241, is planned.[6][40][52]
Protective coating
A coating, possibly made of
Light sail
The light sail is envisioned to be no larger than 4 by 4 meters (13 by 13 feet),[1][54] possibly of composite graphene-based material.[1][37][6][40][47][55] The material would have to be very thin and be able to reflect the laser beam while absorbing only a small fraction of the incident energy, or it will vaporize the sail.[1][6][56] The light sail may also double as power source during cruise, because collisions with atoms of interstellar medium would deliver 60 watt/m2 of power.[52]
Laser data transmitter
A laser communicator, utilizing the light sail as the primary reflector, would be capable of data rates of 2.6-15 baud per watt of transmitted power at the distance to Alpha Centauri, assuming a 30 m diameter receiving telescope on Earth.[57]
Orbit
The Starshot project is for fly-by missions, which pass the target at high velocity. Heller et al.[58] proposed that a photo-gravitational assist could be used to slow such a probe and allow it to enter orbit (using photon pressure in maneuvers similar to aerobraking). This requires a sail that is both much lighter and much larger than the proposed Starshot sail. The table below lists possible target stars for photogravitational assist rendezvous.[58] The travel times are the calculated times for an optimized spacecraft to travel to the star and then enter orbit around the star.
Name | Travel time (yr) |
Distance ( ly ) |
Luminosity (L☉) |
---|---|---|---|
Proxima Centauri | 121 | 4.2 | 0.00005 |
α Centauri A |
101.25 | 4.36 | 1.52 |
α Centauri B |
147.58 | 4.36 | 0.50 |
Sirius A |
TBD | 8.58 | 24.20 |
Epsilon Eridani | 363.35 | 10.50 | 0.50 |
Procyon A |
154.06 | 11.44 | 6.94 |
Altair | 176.67 | 16.69 | 10.70 |
Vega | 167.39 | 25.02 | 50.05 |
Fomalhaut A | 221.33 | 25.13 | 16.67 |
Denebola | 325.56 | 35.78 | 14.66 |
Castor A | 341.35 | 50.98 | 49.85 |
- Successive assists at α Cen A and B could allow travel times to 75 yr to both stars.
- The light sail has a nominal mass-to-surface ratio (σnom) of 8.6×10−4 gram m−2 for a nominal graphene-class sail.
- Area of the light sail, about 105 m2 = (316 m)2
- Velocity up to 37,300 km s−1 (12.5% c)
Other applications
The German physicist Claudius Gros has proposed that the technology of the Breakthrough Starshot initiative may be used in a second step to establish a biosphere of unicellular microbes on otherwise only transiently habitable exoplanets.[59][60] A Genesis probe would travel at lower speeds, at a speed 4.6% of the speed of light, which would take at least 90 years to get to Alpha Centauri A. The sail could be configured so that the stellar pressure from Alpha Centauri A brakes and deflects the probe toward Alpha Centauri B, where it would arrive after a few days. The sail would then be slowed again to 0.4% of the speed of light and catapulted towards Proxima Centauri. At that speed it will arrive there after another 46 years – about 140 years after its launch. It could hence be decelerated using a magnetic sail.[61]
See also
- Interstellar probe
- Project Dragonfly – Feasibility study of a small laser-propelled interstellar probe
- Project Daedalus – 1970s proposal for a large fusion powered unmanned interstellar probe
- Project Icarus – 2009 project to update design of Project Daedalus
- Project Longshot – Design for a 400 tonne nuclear pulse propelled uncrewed spacecraft to reach and orbit Alpha Centauri
- 2069 Alpha Centauri mission – NASA concept for uncrewed probe - possibly a light sail
- Starlight – UCSB study of fleet of small laser light sail interstellar probes
- Starwisp – 1985 proposal for microwave sail flyby of a nearby star
- Interstellar travel
- Starship – Spacecraft designed for interstellar travel
- 100 Year Starship – Grant project to work toward achieving interstellar travel
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