starship-design: Re: SpaceShip Ideas

[KellySt@aol.com]

In a message dated 7/10/99 1:50:59 PM, chris@vela.astro.ucla.edu writes:

>Dear Kelly,       
>
>        You have some fascinating proposal for interstellar spacecraft
>on the LIT webpage.  Might I suggest one idea which you may have 
>considered already for its feasibility?
>
>        It seems the difficulty is not in leaving the Sol system since
>propulsion could be provided externally (eg. pellets, lasers) but
>in Decelerating.  My risky proposal is the following:
>
>Before arriving, half of ship splits off and goes ahead.  This half
>then, using very precise thrusting, loops around the destination
>star (or one of its planets) and flies back in the opposite direction.

Your going too fast to use the gravity of a normal star to turn you around.

>Not a trivial maneuver by any means, but given the successes of the
>Voyager, etc. missions, not inconceivable.  This "Front" part of the
>ship is actually equipped with pellet gun which fires pellets
>(which comprise most of its mass) back to the main ship.  Moment
>transfer of the pellets (accomplished very carefully) slows down the main
>ship.   If everything could be done "gently" these massive pellets
>could actually composed of material which you would bring along
>on the journey anyway, (food & water supplies) so they don't add mass.

Catching pellats this way could help a lot, but since they'ld being coming 
straigh at you at 3/4ths of light speed that would be nearly impossible.


>
>        Obviously the faster you go the more difficult this idea
>becomes.  However I believe I heard (but have not calculated)
>that at much above 0.1 c, background radiation starts to get 
>blueshifted into dangerous xrays, etc. So you might want a slow
>voyage anyway...

A slow ship takes too long to be practical, it would need to be far larger 
and heavier.

>
>-chris
>

Thanks for the suggests though.  Not quiet right yet, but new ideas are 
always worth considering.

Kelly