Breakthrough Starshot

[Pyropyro]

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/13/s...tarshot-yuri-milner-stephen-hawking.html?_r=0

Anybody heard about the Breakthrough Starshot announcement? Looks like they're heading for Alpha Centauri within a few decades.

Even if the launch will not succeed, I think the miniaturization research on things such as power sources, communication devices and computers would be beneficial especially for portable electronic devices.

Any thoughts?

 

[QuickTwist]

This is cool.

Dr. Hawking added, “Today we commit to the next great leap in the cosmos, because we are human and our nature is to fly.”

 

[redbaron]

Hopefully it goes ahead.

 

[Ex-User (9086)]

Good to hear they are thinking of doing it.

Theoretically they have a window of 20000 years before aCentauri system starts receding from the Sun. Currently it's 4.3 ly and will approach solar system up to 3.2 light years so it makes sense to use this opportunity to study the 3 nearest stars. Two of those stars are very similar to our own and the third is a red dwarf so it's of special notice for science as are alpha's hypothetical planets (if any).

 

[Cognisant]

How do they plan on keeping the sail aligned?

How is anything that small going to transmit a signal back strong enough to be detected?

How is miniaturized anything going to survive the trip?
Low earth orbit is within our planet's magnetosphere so microsats can sort of survive there but deep space is a different matter entirely.

I'm all for sending probes interstellar but this seems really half-assed.

 

[Pyropyro]

How do they plan on keeping the sail aligned?

How is anything that small going to transmit a signal back strong enough to be detected?

How is miniaturized anything going to survive the trip?
Low earth orbit is within our planet's magnetosphere so microsats can sort of survive there but deep space is a different matter entirely.

I'm all for sending probes interstellar but this seems really half-assed.

Indeed miniaturization would be their biggest hurdle. At least on the alignment part we have uber-small light-powered gyroscopes being developed.

Anyways, I agree with you, this satellite can't be created yet based on our current tech.

 

[Cognisant]

Personally I'd go with a rail-gun on the moon, because nobody wants to be caught out as the guy who didn't fund the massive magnet gun of doom on the moon.

 

[Pyropyro]

Personally I'd go with a rail-gun on the moon, because nobody wants to be caught out as the guy who didn't fund the massive magnet gun of doom on the moon.

Darn it Cog, why are you not making a Kickstarter out of this!