Re: <Two bits worth

[KellySt@aol.com]

Your Idea of an Ion decelerator is new, and may actually help.  But it would
need a couple mods. 

If you wanted it to travel much slower than the main ship.  It would need to
be launched years or decades ahead of the main ship.  Which would make it
impractical.  

If you were going to send them out at about the same speed anyway.  You might
as well launch them together, separte them at the start of decel phase, and
start it up.  The Decelerator would boost like a bat out of hell and slow the
main ship with its wake.  It MAY take less energy that way then just using
the decelerators power in a on-board deceleration rocket in the main ship,
but I'ld be surprized if it did.

The big problem with stoping is it takes so much power, that caring the fuel
to generate it would overwhelm the ship.  

Hummm.  There is one way your decelerator idea could really have an edge.
 Since the decelerator wouldn't need enough power to decelerate itself and
all of its fuel, just the light ship.  It may have a much better power to
weight ratio!  The ship wouldn't need to decelerate the deceleration fuel.  A
microwave decelerator would be very compatable with kevins Microwave sail
system.

Humm, You may have come up with a key technology for use.  Have to think
about this.

Of, course it also strands the people at the target star system.  So you'ld
need to build a secoundary system like Kevins return maser.

Hey Kev!  What do you think?

Kelly