The Nuclear Rocket that Could Reach 20% the Speed of Light

In 2009, the same society together with the Tau Zero Foundation announced Project Icarus, a similar spacecraft that could achieve 15% the speed of light.

That year, a physicist called Friedwardt Winterberg announced a fusion spacecraft that could be used as a capacitor to produce proton beams that would ignite deuterium micro-bombs. However, this technology would have to be constructed in space and the cost would be too expensive. For this reason, Winterberg proposes that the nuclear fuel could be ignited by Marx generators.

In this line, Chief Scientist of Icarus Interstellar Adam Crowl has suggested that a two stage-configuration of the Winterberg rocket could achieve 20% the speed of light. The starship would weigh 120,000 tons, and the amount of deuterium needed would be 12,000,000 tons. It would only take around 20 years to reach the closest potentially habitable exoplanet, Proxima b.

Source: www.youtube.com...

Considering that the first nuclear fusion rocket could be ready for launch by 2028, how plausible do you think this nuclear rocket design is?

12 million tons of fuel? It's feasible if they can figure out how to manufacture that fuel in space, ooooorrrrr cheaply and in bulk easily enough on the surface.

Efficiency and reuse is going to be a priority for major space projects of the future. We only have a limited amount of material we can get out of the Earth gravity well.

a reply to: alfa015

Put it this way the VASIMR plasma engine technologies will allow us to cruise around our own star system, somewhat at our leisure.

As to interstellar travel utilizing Nuclear Rockets, well at 20% light speed, if it's shown to be possible, such a mission could hypothetically reach Alpha Centauri in around 20 years, thats is of course without slowing down.

We really don't need to start reaching the nearest exoplanet. Maybe the guy is having pipe dreams. Can you immagine the size of the ship it would take to carry that much fuel.

a reply to: alfa015

Only 12 million tons of fuel.....lol

I'm always curious how they plan on getting a spaceship all that way without hitting something.
20% the speed of light is over 2 million mph.
Hitting a marble sized rock at that speed would result in a nuclear-ish explosion.

a reply to: rickymouse

she swallowed the spider to catch the fly........

a reply to: Bluntone22

that was always a question I had. Once you move so fast in space, do rocks no longer place themselves in your path?

You can forget inter-stellar travel until we discover fuel less travel. Having to take your own fuel with you bumps up the weight tremendously.
Let me give you a silly example, but we have to go this way.
I've got a solid bowling ball and I take it up in a helicopter to 1000 feet. I let go of the ball and you'll say it will drop to Earth. Well, I'll say the Earth was pulling it towards itself at a velocity of 122 MPH (but you'll say that's free fall).
People pooh pooh gravity as a weak power, weak it aint. Gravity keeps gazillion ton planets from flying away from the sun and it's everywhere in the Universe. Free fuel if you knew how to manipulate it, so there would be no need to take any fuel with you but just "harvest" it as you need it.

The original project Orion from the 1950s still looks good

en.wikipedia.org...(nuclear_propulsion)

In order to get over the constraints and achieve such speeds without any fuel supply/weight it would be necessary to extract or farm/process the energy from the environment the spacecraft is traversing. So the question/challenge for scientists is how that can be achieved/materialized and what would that energy be?

a reply to: alfa015

If you can imagine it, someones already making it.

First exoplanet mission must be already in the planning phases. It could have already left orbit. They will get engine ugprades someday. Or so they were promised...

originally posted by: Bluntone22
a reply to: alfa015

Only 12 million tons of fuel.....lol

I'm always curious how they plan on getting a spaceship all that way without hitting something.
20% the speed of light is over 2 million mph.
Hitting a marble sized rock at that speed would result in a nuclear-ish explosion.

"Shields up"!!???

originally posted by: RP2SticksOfDynamite

In order to get over the constraints and achieve such speeds without any fuel supply/weight it would be necessary to extract or farm/process the energy from the environment the spacecraft is traversing. So the question/challenge for scientists is how that can be achieved/materialized and what would that energy be?

Maybe the hull can be wrapped in Samsung Wireless Fast Chargers!!

originally posted by: EternalShadow

originally posted by: RP2SticksOfDynamite

In order to get over the constraints and achieve such speeds without any fuel supply/weight it would be necessary to extract or farm/process the energy from the environment the spacecraft is traversing. So the question/challenge for scientists is how that can be achieved/materialized and what would that energy be?

Maybe the hull can be wrapped in Samsung Wireless Fast Chargers!!

The outside of the craft could actually be the collection/extraction and energy processing plant but the key question is what energy can be extracted from space - is there something that we have not yet discovered or have but have kept it secret. Surely many tests and much research has or is being done to see what energy can be extracted from space (dark matter, other etc). So can anyone suggest what that energy might be?

any flat 2D human to fly this ship?

collect fuel as you fly!!!
so its hiting you at 90% the speed of light
and you think it will not do damage to the collector?
you would need most of that power to collect it!

originally posted by: Archivalist
12 million tons of fuel? It's feasible if they can figure out how to manufacture that fuel in space, ooooorrrrr cheaply and in bulk easily enough on the surface.

Efficiency and reuse is going to be a priority for major space projects of the future. We only have a limited amount of material we can get out of the Earth gravity well.

That's why the space elevator should be a priority. Tons of money should be going into R&D. So we can build one someday soon.

There will be no manned missions to other solar systems for a long time unless there is a technological breakthrough in space travel.

Within our system that is a different story. Focused stationary laser beams could be what propels the ships. There would need to be one at the other end to slow down the ship as well. So you need infrastructure. Closer to the sun the power could be supplied by solar collectors but further out that would be more difficult. A breakthrough in fusion reactor tech would change a lot of things up. It would give the power needed on-demand on the ship.

Without a fusion reactor or something close, some larger ships could have small nuclear reactors. It would have to be a large ship because the surfaces would need to have radiators for cooling. Heat doesn't dissipate well in space. Other than that you could imagine laser highways going to and from planets and the belt.

The thing many people do not think about though is there will need to be a strong military defence force in place to stop any jihadist or simple nut job from firing off telephone pole size rounds at earth or its space infrastructure.

originally posted by: RP2SticksOfDynamite

originally posted by: EternalShadow

originally posted by: RP2SticksOfDynamite

In order to get over the constraints and achieve such speeds without any fuel supply/weight it would be necessary to extract or farm/process the energy from the environment the spacecraft is traversing. So the question/challenge for scientists is how that can be achieved/materialized and what would that energy be?

Maybe the hull can be wrapped in Samsung Wireless Fast Chargers!!

The outside of the craft could actually be the collection/extraction and energy processing plant but the key question is what energy can be extracted from space - is there something that we have not yet discovered or have but have kept it secret. Surely many tests and much research has or is being done to see what energy can be extracted from space (dark matter, other etc). So can anyone suggest what that energy might be?

Could gamma rays be converted into useful energy somehow?

Why would you need that much fuel ?
Once out of Earth's orbit , and away from the Moon, one would not need any more once top speed was obtained.
An object in motion.....and all that.

@ 20% the speed of light, hitting a dust partial could be disastrous.