starship-design: RE: Perihelion Maneuver

["L. Parker" <lparker@cacaphony.net>]

On Tuesday, December 09, 1997 9:38 AM, Isaac Kuo [SMTP:kuo@bit.csc.lsu.edu] 
wrote:

> While very promising, I don't like to trust the results of any one
> research group no matter how prestigious.
>
> I personally expect positive results, but would not count on any
> projected numbers until a full scale thruster was built and tested.

The main reason I like it is it isn't exotic, unknown technology. It is a 
lot more likely that we can go from a test bed (current status) to 
production technology in ten years than some of the weird ideas we 
typically discuss. There are several other possibilities out there (such as 
dense plasma thrusters), some with higher ISPs, but lower overall thrust. 
If they can be scaled up to provide more thrust, then they may be possible 
as well.

Overall, I am skeptical of our ability to make the fifty year timeline but 
maybe seventy five or one hundred years. Unless of course someone comes up 
with a breakthrough...

Lee

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