Interstellar Generation Ship Propulsion Technology by 2050

11-06-2024 • Next Big Future - Brian Wang

The Plasma Magnet is a wind drag device invented almost twenty years ago by Dr. John Slough from the University of Washington. A rocket that uses a propellant to create momentum. A plasma magnet (newer /Wind Rider design) uses the pressure of the solar wind to gather momentum. This type of propulsion actually exists in nature. A dandelion coasts upon the wind to its ultimate destination.

The plasma magnet drive with dynamic soaring is a system that could be plausibly scaled for human crewed missions up to 2-3% of light speed without needing gigawatt power systems. It seems one of the systems with the fewest technological challenges. There are many other proposals to get to this speed.

1 Comments in Response to Interstellar Generation Ship Propulsion Technology by 2050

Comment by PureTrust

Entered on: 11/6/2024 5:34:33 PM

What are the reasons for not doing the 'To the stars by atom bomb: The incredible tale of the top secret Orion Project' - https://newatlas.com/orion-project-atom-bomb-spaceship/49454/ ? If Musk assembled it in space, there would be no radiation that would harm earth, because the 'solar wind' would drive it away from earth. If there are any valid reasons for not using the atom bomb system, they would be valid for any system. At 2% or 3% of the speed of light (or 10% to 12% that atom bombs could get us to), there is no way that we could protect ourselves from a tiny meteor speck, which would travel right through the ship walls, and possibly explode with a micro-atomic explosion. Forget it.

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