AIMStar

AIMStar was a proposed antimatter catalyzed nuclear pulse propulsion craft that uses clouds of antiprotons to initiate fission and fusion within fuel pellets. 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).[1]

References

  1. ^ Lewis, Raymond A; Meyer, Kirby; Smith, Gerald A; Howe, Steven D. "AIMStar: Antimatter Initiated Microfusion For Pre-cursor Interstellar Missions". http://www.engr.psu.edu/antimatter/Papers/AIMStar_99.pdf. 

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