AIMStar(spacecraft)

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AIMStar was a proposed antimatter catalyzed nuclear pulse propulsion craft that uses clouds of antiprotons to initiate fission and fusion within fuel pellets.[1] A magnetic nozzle derives motive force from the resulting explosions. The design was studied during the 1990s by Penn State University. The craft was designed to reach a distance of on the order of 10,000 AU from the Sun, with a travel time of 50 years, and a coasting velocity of approximately 960 km/s after the boost phase (roughly 1/300th of the speed of light).

[edit] References

  1. ^ Lewis, Raymond A; Meyer, Kirby; Smith, Gerald A; Howe, Steven D. AIMStar: Antimatter Initiated Microfusion For Pre-cursor Interstellar Missions.