Interstellar Precursor Missions Using Microsail Beams

摘要

The SailBeam concept involves accelerating many small (<1 meter) dielectric "microsails" to high velocity using the momentum of a laser beam. For interstellar precursor missions, the beam of microsails can be used as a source of either momentum or energy for a large mission vehicle. In this paper, SailBeam-driven missions are analyzed to estimate potential performance and system requirements as a function of mission velocity and duration. SailBeam appears to be promising for missions above the upper velocity limit for other technologies, and may be usable for rendezvous or even round-trip missions