starship-design: Fwd: NASA Looks Toward Visionary Interstellar Travel

[KellySt@aol.com]

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Forwarded message:
From:	NASANews@hq.nasa.gov
Sender:	owner-press-release@lists.hq.nasa.gov
Date: 97-12-03 19:04:12 EST

David M. DeFelice
Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, OH           Dec. 2, 1997
(Phone: 216/433-6186)

RELEASE  I97-11

NASA LOOKS TOWARD VISIONARY INTERSTELLAR TRAVEL

     Many people wonder when we will be able to travel to distant 
solar systems as easily as envisioned in science fiction.  
Discover NASA's perspective on the prospects that exist today for 
achieving such far-future visions via a new World Wide Web site 
called, "Warp Drive, When?"  Explore the site at:

        http://www.lerc.nasa.gov/WWW/PAO/warp.htm

     This web site explains the challenges of interstellar travel, 
the prospects and limitations of existing propulsion ideas, and 
the prospects emerging from science that may one day provide the 
breakthroughs needed to enable practical interstellar voyages.  
Analogies to familiar science fiction are used to simplify 
concepts such as "warp drive."

     For a look at what NASA is doing to achieve such 
breakthroughs, another web site is available about the new NASA 
Breakthrough Propulsion Physics program:

            http://www.lerc.nasa.gov/WWW/bpp/

     This modest program is taking a step-by-step approach toward 
discovering the ultimate breakthroughs needed to revolutionize 
space travel and enable human journeys to other star systems - 
credible progress toward incredible possibilities.  This program 
represents the combined efforts of individuals from various NASA 
centers, other government labs, 
universities and industry.

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