Ramjets propel spacecraft by compressing hydrogen gas collected from the interstellar medium, with energy supplied by a laser beam transmitted from a distant source.

To reach Earth’s closest star system, Alpha Centauri, scientists are building a laser-powered spacecraft. To pull off ...

But for their purposes, Davoyan and his team examine a pellet-beam system that would propel a ~900-kilogram (1 U.S. ton) payload to a distance of 500 AU in less than 20 years.

The vicinity of the beam is monitored by radar, particularly objects that are capable of intercepting it within the duration of an ascent trajectory (3-6 minutes). If something is about to enter the ...

Getting a spacecraft to another star is a monumental challenge. ... Citation: Relativistic electron beam could propel probe to Alpha Centauri, study suggests (2025 ...

A team of physicists has outlined a possible way of sending probes deep into interstellar space within a reasonable timescale, using relativistic electron beams. Space is that annoying combination ...

But that’s still 6,774 times farther than Voyager 1, our most remote spacecraft, has managed to travel in 29 years, ... from multi-generation arks to beam-propelled star-sails. The latter, ...

Research may boost next-generation space rockets Hidden 'shapes' within EP plasma beams Date: January 3, 2025 Source: University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science ...

Ramjets propel spacecraft by compressing hydrogen gas collected from the interstellar medium, with energy supplied by a laser beam transmitted from a distant source.