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James Benford
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2019-02-15 17:38:03.355343
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!”!Starship Sails Propelled by Cost -Optimized Directed Energy James Benford Microwave Sciences 1041 Los Arabis Lane, Lafayette, CA 94549 USA jbenford@earthlink.net Microwave and laser -propelled sails are a new class of spacecraft using photon acceleration. It is the only method of interstellar flight that has no physics issues . Laboratory demonstrations of basic features of beam -driven propulsion, flight, stability (Ôbeam -ridingÕ) , and induced spin, have been completed in the last decade, primarily in the m icrowave. It offers much lower cost probes after a substantial investment in the launcher. Engineering issues are being addressed by other applications: fusion (microwave, millimeter and laser sources) and astronomy (large aperture antennas). There are many candidate sail materials: carbon nanotubes and microtrusses, beryllium, graphene, etc. F or acceleration of a sail , what is the cost -optimum high power system? Here the cost is used to constrain design parameters to estimate system power, aperture and elements of capital and operating cost. From general relations for cost -optimal transmitter apertur e and power , system cost scales with kinetic energy and inversely with sail diameter and frequency. So optimal sails will be larger, lower in mass and dr iven by higher frequency beams. Estimated costs include economies of scale. We present several starship point concepts. Systems based on microwave, millimeter wave and laser technologies are of equal cost at todayÕs costs. The frequency advantage of la sers is cancelled by the high cost of both the laser and the radiating optic. Cost of interstellar sailships is very high, driven by current costs for radiation source, antennas and especially electrical power. The high speeds necessary for fast interste llar missions make the operating cost exceed the capital cost. Such sailcraft will not be flown until the cost of electrical power in space is reduced orders of magnitude below current levels. Keywords: Starship, Interstellar Precursor, Directed Energy, Sail, Starwisp , Microwave, Laser, Propulsion Laser and microwave propelled sails are a new class of spacecraft that uses photon acceleration. These sailships are the only method of interstellar flight that has no physics issues . Indeed, laboratory demon strations of basic features of beam -driven propulsion have been completed in the last decade (primarily in the microwave). It offers much lower cost probes after a substantial investment in the launcher. But how practical are its scale and economics? Th is cost question
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