Il 22/06/2020 22:22, Porcospino ha scritto:
On 2020-06-22, Whisper wrote:
Voyager is a terrible example because you're assuming that that peak of
possible propulsion technology was reached in the 1970s (which is a
ridiculous assumption). There have been papers detailing the engineering
requirements for decades-long trips to the nearest stars for a while
now, for example using laser-pushed light sails.

They are unfeasible from the point of view of present human society's
energy availability (but that should keep growing unless we go extinct
very soon or we abandon all our spacefaring ambitions) but there should
be no engineering showstopper, much less a physics breakthrough
required.

http://www.niac.usra.edu/files/studi...rt/4Landis.pdf

This study details a fly-by of Alpha Centauri lasting 44 years, but
there are plenty similar ones with shorter travel times depending on the
assumed sail diameter and energy output of the lasers.
And this is just one propulsion system among others that have been
studied.

Something newer?
The document was written in 1999 and after 20 years we haven't had no
progress at all about propulsion systems.
We use the same rockets, only smaller, of mission Apollo.
Maybe I have to wait 10000 years to take my laser-pushed light sail and
go on some exoplanet on vacation...

Luigi Caselli