On Tuesday, astrophysicist Stephen Hawking and Russian billionaire Yuri Milner announced a plan to send interstellar probes to the Alpha Centauri star system. The audacious project would use a giant laser on Earth to accelerate scores of postage-stamp-size spacecraft to nearly the speed of light. They would cross the void in just 20 years — virtually no time on the scale of interstellar travel.
The plan for "Breakthrough Starshot" laid out at the press conference looks both ambitious and exciting. But if it's really going to work, there are several down-to-earth problems these would-be star trekkers will have overcome.
Do You Have A Permit For That Planetary Laser?
Starshot's tiny probes are supposed to be given a big push by a mammoth 100 gigawatt laser back on Earth.
A laser that powerful could also fry anything its path, including orbiting satellites. "If somebody says, 'Hey look, I'm concerned about you hitting a potential satellite,'" says Pete Worden, the project's leader. "We won't fire when it's in the way."
Worden admits the people of Earth are unlikely to take the Starshot project at its word. "We anticipate that there would be international agreements in control of this," he says. The team will work with all countries to get the necessary permits in order.
Build the laser array on the moon, along with a lunar far side observatory. To read more, click here.