Quote:
about decelerating - can't you do a lot of that just by going in to orbit around something big when you arrive (and switching off the thrust ofc)?
But what do I know?
Presumably you'd have to have another means of local manouevering anyway?
And maybe you sometimes wouldn't even aim at the star you were heading for.
|
My plan for decelerating is to reverse the oreintation of the ion engines. Having a power beam at the destination star system can't be implemented until we reach the stellar system. My hope is that we can steer a particle beam such that particles, mostly hydrogen, will be distributed along the path to be taken by the interstellar vehicle thus enabling it to gather propellant as it goes. Remember the main motive force for the vehicle is the set of ion engines, not the sail effect.
Aiming the beam which the vehicle follows will be a challenge. We have to aim where the star will be when we get there, so we want to be able to accurately predict how long the trip will take. As for maneuvering the vehicle at the destination, a lot of detail has to be worked out. A portion of the photovoltaic panels in the power receiver must be designed to be easily removed and set up (or a prefabricated set must be included as payload) to provide power locally. A fission based auxiliary power supply may be required.