Breaking News
Everything I Warned You About Just Happened... All in One Week
Your Grief, My Grief, Our Grief in the Loss of a Loved One
Vance: Federal Government Has Identified $230 Billion In Fraud Since March
Saudi Arabia's $5 Oil Detour Is Expensive... But Worth It
Top Tech News
What could possibly go wrong? Scientists use AI to design new viruses
Dual-motor suitcase drive underpins 3,000-hp hypercar
DoorDash Wins Federal Approval To Fly Its Own Delivery Drones
Shade-Resistant Solar Cells Retain 97% Efficiency After 2,000 Hours of Testing
20 Ancient Engineering SECRETS
Stonehenge Was Reanalyzed by AI -- And the Findings Are Hard to Explain
After Years Of Delays, Aptera Is Finally Preparing To Build Customer Cars
'When you kill it, it doesn't die': the jellyfish that has cracked the secret of immorta
Archer Aviation debuts Halo autonomous VTOL, Thunder's commercial twin
US Telecoms Slide On Starlink Mobile Threat; Bernstein Sees It As A "Jab, But No Knockout Yet**
Bidding open for interstellar laser sail feasability work
The $100 million Breakthrough Starshot program has issued a request for proposals.
Timeline
The next 5 years to determine the feasibility of both laser and sail. (Starshot's sail committee, a photon engine committee and a systems engineering committee.)
Tthe goal from years 6 to 11 is to build a low-power prototype for space testing.
A full scale laser system is to be built over the next 20 years
Launch of a starchip interstellar mission in about 30 years.
The RFP statement of key issues involved in identifying candidate materials and designs:
Design of a reflector consistent with the mission requirement of achieving 0.2c for ~1g payload and LightSail area of over 1 m2
Design of passive, adaptive or active features that enable or enhance stability, damage resistance, thermal robustness, and durability under deformation
Assessment of candidate materials (including thin-films, micro/nanopatterned structures, 2D materials) for thermal/mechanical stability
Development of measurement techniques and protocols for LightSail material properties (absorption, reflectivity, temperature, stress state, etc.)
Identification of materials for which scale-up and manufacture at the over 1 m2 scale is feasible
Materials that facilitate the integration of the LightSail with the Starchip
Development of the next generation Starchip scale spacecraft with a path towards incorporation into the Nanocraft