View Single Post
  #4  
Old December 23rd 03, 04:20 AM
Mike Rhino
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Antimatter propulsion

"Dr. O" dr.o@xxxxx wrote in message
...
**I'm posting this in this NG as this post was rejected by the moderator

in
sci.space.tech.**


http://www.space.com/businesstechnol..._031217-1.html

I'm personally not a fan of antimatter propulsion at this time as there's

no
safeguarding technology for when the launch or a component during flight
fails. The only way to encapsulate antimatter at this time is through
magnetic containment, which needs power and a complex control system. If
these fail during launch or at any time during the flight the result will

be
an explosion which dwarfs that of a hydrogen bomb.


It sounds like antimatter production would have to be done in space,
possibly on an asteroid, for safety reasons. We may have our first O'Neil
colony before we can do that.