Cost considerations for interstellar missions

Abstract

This paper examines the technical and economic feasibility of interstellar exploration. Three candidate interstellar propulsion systems are evaluated with respect to technical viability and compared on an estimated cost basis. Two of the systems, the laser-propelled lightsail (LPL) and the particle-beam propelled magsail (PBPM), appear to be technically feasible and capable supporting one-way probes to nearby star systems within the lifetime of the principal investigators, if enough energy is available. The third propulsion system, the antimatter rocket, requires additional proof of concept demonstrations before its feasibility can be evaluated. Computer simulations of the acceleration and deceleration interactions of LPL and PBPM were completed and spacecraft configurations optimized for minimum energy usage are noted. The optimum LPL transfers about ten percent of the laser beam energy into kinetic energy of the spacecraft while the optimum PBPM transfers about thirty percent. Since particle beam generators are roughly twice as energy efficient as large lasers, the PBPM propulsion system requires roughly one-sixth the busbar electrical energy a LPL system would require to launch an identical payload. The total beam energy requirement for an interstellar probe mission is roughly 10 20 joules, which would require the complete fissioning of one thousand tons of Uranium assuming thirty-five percent powerplant efficiency. This is roughly equivalent to a recurring cost per flight of 3.0 Billion dollars in reactor grade enriched uranium using today's prices. Therefore, interstellar flight is an expensive proposition, but not unaffordable, if the nonrecurring costs of building the powerplant can be minimized.