4 ms·
I did a rough guesstimate, and in order to get a space ship the size of the Space Shuttle to Alpha Centauri in under 100 years and stop it, you need probably ab
by juiceandjuice 15y ago
I did a rough guesstimate, and in order to get a space ship the size of the Space Shuttle to Alpha Centauri in under 100 years and stop it, you need probably about 20x10^18 J of energy, assuming roughly 1% efficiency of mass to kinetic energy propulsion and with minimal effects due to relativity. I don't think this number is off by more than two orders of magnitude, but it's probably still much too conservative.
That's a lot of energy, about 10 times more than all nuclear explosions ever. Close to half your mass would be fuel at 1% efficiency.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- rbanffy 15y agoI assume NASA is saying they want a launch in less than 100 years, not getting there in 100 years. Getting there in less than a 100 years is woefully unrealistic. Anyway, we would gain so much just by having better propulsion capabilities, I am in, even if we don't launch an interstellar probe in 100 years. I'll be happy with a soccer-field-sized optical telescope in space.