On Travel Close to Lightspeed

by | Feb 13, 2006 | Breakthrough Propulsion | 2 comments

In a paper to be delivered tomorrow at the Space Technology & Applications International Forum (STAIF) in Albuquerque, Franklin Felber of Starmark Inc. (San Diego) will present research on the gravitational field of a mass moving close to the speed of light. Without seeing Felber’s work, Centauri Dreams is reluctant to comment on his assertion in an article on the Physorg.com site that “…a mission to accelerate a massive payload to a ‘good fraction of light speed’ will be launched before the end of this century…”, other than to say that STAIF is a venue where fascinating ideas routinely emerge, not all of which stand up to scrutiny.

The paper is titled “Exact Relativistic ‘Antigravity’ Propulsion,” and it is followed by another intriguing title, “The Alcubierre Warp Drive in Higher Dimensional Spacetime,” by Eric Davis and H.G. White. Also worthy of attention is James Woodward’s “Mach’s Principle, Flux Capacitors, and Propulsion.” More on all three as information becomes available. You can find the entire STAIF schedule here.

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2 Comments

  1. Joseph on February 13, 2006 at 20:34

    Yes I’ve seen reference to Dr. Felber’s paper earlier. It will be very interesting if his theories are varifiable. The first assumptions made seem a bit impractical for a space propulsion system but the infered concepts on how gravity can be modified will have far reaching implications.

  2. Eric James on February 13, 2006 at 22:06

    Judging strictly from the Physorg.com article, this seems to be a bit too “pie in the sky” for my taste. How might you possibly catch a ride on a sufficiently large mass moving at 57.7% of [I]c[/I] to get anywhere you want to go is beyond me.

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In Centauri Dreams, Paul Gilster looks at peer-reviewed research on deep space exploration, with an eye toward interstellar possibilities. For many years this site coordinated its efforts with the Tau Zero Foundation. It now serves as an independent forum for deep space news and ideas. In the logo above, the leftmost star is Alpha Centauri, a triple system closer than any other star, and a primary target for early interstellar probes. To its right is Beta Centauri (not a part of the Alpha Centauri system), with Beta, Gamma, Delta and Epsilon Crucis, stars in the Southern Cross, visible at the far right (image courtesy of Marco Lorenzi).

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