Related papers: Optimal mass and speed for interstellar flyby with…
The design of a downlink communication system for returning scientific data from an interstellar flyby probe is reviewed in this tutorial white paper. It its assumed that the probe is ballistic, and data is downloaded during a period…
A downlink for the return of scientific data from space probes at interstellar distances is studied. The context is probes moving at relativistic speed using a terrestrial directed-energy beam for propulsion, necessitating very-low mass…
Low-mass probes propelled by directed energy from earth are an early option for exploration of nearby star systems. A challenging aspect of such technology is returning scientific observational data to earth. We compare two configurations…
Large scale directed energy offers the possibility of radical transformation in a variety of areas, including the ability to achieve relativistic flight that will enable the first interstellar missions, as well as rapid interplanetary…
Experience in exploring our own solar system has shown that direct investigation of planetary bodies using space probes invariably yields scientific knowledge not otherwise obtainable. In the case of exoplanets, such direct investigation…
Achieving relativistic flight to enable extrasolar exploration is one of the dreams of humanity and the long term goal of our NASA Starlight program. We derive a fully relativistic solution for the motion of a spacecraft propelled by…
A technique by which a spacecraft can interact with flows of ionized gas in space (the solar wind or interstellar medium) to be accelerated to velocities greater than the wind velocity is explored. Inspired by the dynamic soaring maneuvers…
We have explored the optimal frequency of interstellar photon communications and benchmarked other particles as information carriers in previous papers of this series. We now compare the latency and bandwidth of sending probes with…
Recent technological advances could make interstellar travel possible, using ultra-lightweight sails pushed by lasers or solar photon pressure, at speeds of a few percent the speed of light. Obtaining remote observational data from such…
Airborne wind energy systems aim to generate renewable energy by means of the aerodynamic lift produced by a wing tethered to the ground and controlled to fly crosswind paths. The problem of maximizing the average power developed by the…
A propulsion concept in which a spacecraft interacts with high-velocity pellets and the interstellar medium is proposed. The pellets are slower than the spacecraft and are accelerated backwards as they are overtaken, imparting a forward…
This study evaluates a technique for determining the mass of a potentially hazardous asteroid from a high-speed flyby in the context of a rapid reconnaissance planetary defense scenario. We consider a host spacecraft that dispenses a small…
Radio communication over interstellar distances is studied, accounting for noise, dispersion, scattering and motion. Large transmitted powers suggest maximizing power efficiency (ratio of information rate to average signal power) as opposed…
Communication over a broadband fading channel powered by an energy harvesting transmitter is studied. Assuming non-causal knowledge of energy/data arrivals and channel gains, optimal transmission schemes are identified by taking into…
Data intensive applications often involve the analysis of large datasets that require large amounts of compute and storage resources. While dedicated compute and/or storage farms offer good task/data throughput, they suffer low resource…
The application of directed energy to spacecraft mission design is explored using rapid transit to Mars as the design objective. An Earth-based laser array of unprecedented size (10~m diameter) and power (100~MW) is assumed to be enabled by…
Multirotor unmanned aerial vehicle is a prevailing type of aircraft with wide real-world applications. Energy efficiency is a critical aspect of its performance, determining the range and duration of the missions that can be performed. In…
Several distributed algorithms are presented for the exploration of unknown indoor regions by a swarm of flying, energy constrained agents. The agents, which are identical, autonomous, anonymous and oblivious, uniformly cover the region and…
Rapidly generating an optimal chasing motion of a drone to follow a dynamic target among obstacles is challenging due to numerical issues rising from multiple conflicting objectives and non-convex constraints. This study proposes to resolve…
Previous work in studying interstellar exploration by one or several probes has focused primarily either on engineering models for a spacecraft targeting a single star system, or large-scale simulations to ascertain the time required for a…