Project Icarus is a theoretical design study aimed at designing a credible nuclear fusion-based interstellar spacecraft that will stand as a blueprint for a possible unmanned mission. The project is currently being run under the guidance of the Tau Zero Foundation (TZF) and the British Interplanetary Society (BIS), and was motivated by Project Daedalus, a similar study that was conducted between 1973 and 1978 by the BIS.[1]
The project is planned to take five years and began on September 30, 2009[2]. An international team of twenty scientists and engineers has been assembled.
The primary propulsion system for the Icarus design will be mainly-fusion based which would have the capability to accelerate the spacecraft to an estimated 10% to 20% of the speed of light.
Many of the original assumptions of the Daedalus systems will be completely re-examined and Project Icarus will likely be a redesign with only some common elements with Daedalus.