DEEP-IN

Directed Energy Interstellar Precursors

Since the beginning of spaceflight, humans have accomplished wonderful feats of exploration and showcased their drive to understand the universe. Yet, in those 60 years, only one spacecraft, Voyager 1 (launched in 1977) has left the solar system. As remarkable as this is, humans will never reach even the nearest stars with out current propulsion technology. Instead, radically new strategies involving the technology already available must be used.

We propose a roadmap to a program that will lead to sending relativistic probes to the nearest stars.

To do so requires a fundamental change in our thinking of both propulsion and our definition of what a spacecraft is. In addition to larger spacecrafts capable of human transportation, we consider “wafer sats”, wafer-scale systems weighing no more than a gram. The wafer sats would include integrated optical communications, optical systems, and sensors. These crafts, combined with directed energy propulsion, could be capable of speeds greater than ¼ c..

This program has applications for planetary defense, SETI and Kepler missions.

Example of Spacecraft Propelled by Laser

Consider a 1 g payload attached to a 0.7 m diameter sail much like the one pictured below.

Artistic rendition of a laser propelled sail

The laser array propelling the craft has a power of 272 kW and is 20 m diameter. The laser and craft both start in low Earth orbit. The array remains in low Earth orbit while the craft is slowly propelled away, spiraling outward from the Earth. The following simulation shows the trajectory of the craft over the first week of propulsion while still in Earth orbit. The craft will ultimately leave the Earth orbit completely over the course of the next month.

Orbital Simulation of Laser Propelling a Spacecraft

NASA NIAC Fall Symposium – Seattle – October 2015

SPIE Optics and Photonics – San Diego – August 2015

Contributed Paper: Orbital simulations of laser-propelled spacecraft Zhang et al.

Contributed Paper: Directed Energy Interstellar Propulsion of WaferSats Brashears et al.

Research Mentorship Program – UCSB – Summer 2015

Sturman et al. “Interstellar Flight and Recycling Light: a Bilateral Study”: Paper, Poster

Li et al. “Optimization for Laser-Propelled Spacecraft at All Launching Times”: Paper, Poster

NASA NIAC June 2015 announcement – UCSB Current Article

Directed Energy for Relativistic Propulsion and Interstellar Communications – Journal of the British Interplanetary Society (JBIS) – Lubin et al 2015 DE-STAR-JBIS – v13

A Roadmap to Interstellar Flight – Lubin 2015 – A Roadmap to Interstellar Flight

Keck Institute for Space Studies (KISS) 2014 Workshop on “Science and Enabling Technologies to Explore the Interstellar Medium” – final report – Final KISS ISM Report

Another rendition of laser driven spacecraft

The richness of the interstellar medium from the sun to the nearest stars

Stars and exoplanets within 25 light years of the Sun