If a spacecraft were to be heading to Proxima Centauri in, let's say, 40 some plus years, assuming it has enough fuel, would need to be traveling at 0.1c or 10% the speed of light or faster. The space craft would need to accelerate to that speed initially while in space and, in turn, can shut off the engines to cruise through space. When the space craft is at a certain point during its journey to its destination, it would need to turn the engines the direction the space craft is going towards and decelerate until it reaches its destination. It's much easier for it to be a space probe than if it were to be a manned space craft. However, the space probe would need to be able to know exactly where it needs to function as sending transmission would take 4.25 years one way and 8.5 years round trip via transmissions. If it were to be manned, the space craft would need a rocket to land on a celestial object or a planet to use as a viable habitat for human survival as they would start building a base there and exploring the exoplanets or celestial objects there. Cryo freezing with at least 2-5 crew members unfrozen at a time to make sure things do not go wrong for the long trip. That's my thoughts, of course. 😊
Actually, Gravitational Assist doesn't use a planet's gravity, to accelerate a spacecraft. The same gravity that attracts the craft towards the planet, pulls it back, as the craft departs. In reality, the craft gets it's acceleration by combining the orbital speed, of the planet, to that of the craft.
Another problem with the solar sail/laser propulsion system, is much the same as the nuclear pulse system. The lasers required to push the sails to 10% the speed of light would be so powerful, that they could easily be repurposed for military uses. The advantage over the nuclear pulse is, that they would not carry their fuel with them (and so it wouldn’t needed to be accelerated along with the payload.) Lastly, solar sails probably would only be useful for fly-by missions, as there would be no corresponding lasers at the destination to slow the craft down.
A needle shaped unmanned spacecraft built much like the early multi-staged rockets like apollo would minimise the chance of a collision by micrometeorites as well as be aerodynamic ( with minimal benefit in space but still ). A series of vessels that would 'eat' their fuel tanks flying to the closest star systems ? And how much effect would time dilation have on the returning signal carrying information about interstellar space and about the star systems being visited ?
Perhaps a video about our suns proto-planetary disc, therefore the infancy of our solar system. Unless I already missed that video, then please point me in the proper direction.
Humans are funny creatures. The biggest asset of earth is the human brain 🧠. Everyday humans create new things and speed is one of them. We are making faster cars, bikes, computers, aircraft, trains, ships, faster humans and the important of all is (supper sonic missiles ). I think this supersonic missile technology will eventually take us to the speed of light as more and more countries are making them and the competition as well as the size getting bigger and better and faster by the day. These missiles will soon achieve the speed of light.
