Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Program
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The Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Project (BPP) was a research project funded by NASA from 1996-2002 to study various proposals for revolutionary methods of spacecraft propulsion that would require breakthroughs in physics before they could be realized [1] [2]. During its six years of operational funding, this program received a total investment of $1.2 million.
The Breakthrough Propulsion Physics project addressed a selection of “incremental and affordable” research questions towards the overall goal of propellantless propulsion, hyperfast travel, and breakthrough propulsion methods. By the end of the project, sixteen of these investigations were completed. The results found “about a third were found not to be viable, a quarter have clear opportunities for sequels, and the rest remain unresolved.”[3]
Alcubierre drive
The Alcubierre drive, also called the warp drive, is a proposal, originally due to the physicist Miguel Alcubierre, who proved mathematically that movement at speeds greater than the speed of light was possible without locally exceeding the speed of light. NASA has an experiment which consists of White–Juday warp-field interferometer utilizing a 633 nm HeNe laser beam which is split in two. One beam passes through an electromagnetic field which attempts to distort space enough to see a phase difference between the two beams when they are brought back together. NASA scientist Harold White indicates that a difference of only one part in ten million would be enough to prove the feasibility of the concept. To many people, this concept is reminiscent of the fictional "warp drive" from the science fiction series Star Trek.
Differential sail
The differential sail was another speculative proposal, which appealed to the zero-point energy field. As the Heisenberg uncertainty principle implies that there is no such thing as an exact amount of energy in an exact location, vacuum fluctuations are known to lead to discernible effects such as the Casimir effect. The differential sail was a speculation that it might be possible to induce differences in the pressure of vacuum fluctuations on either side of a sail-like structure—with the pressure being somehow reduced on the forward surface of the sail, but pushing as normal on the raft surface—and thus propel a vehicle forward. [2][4]
A quantum vacuum plasma thruster is an example of this type of propulsion source.
Tau Zero Foundation
After funding ended, program manager Marc G. Millis was supported by NASA to complete documentation of results. Frontiers of Propulsion Science was published by the AIAA in February 2009, providing a deeper explanation of several propulsion methods.
Following program cancellation in 2002, Millis and others founded the Tau Zero Foundation to continue pioneering the research.
See also
References
- ^ Millis, Mark G. (Dec 1, 2005). "Assessing Potential Propulsion Breakthroughs" (PDF). New Trends in Astrodynamics and Applications 2: An International Conference; 3-5 Jun. 2005; Princeton, NJ; United States. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
- ^ a b Davis, edited by Marc G. Millis, Eric W.; Gilster, Paul A. (chapter author) (2009). "Recent History of Breakthrough Propulsion Studies". Frontiers of propulsion science. Reston, Va.: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. ISBN 9781615830770.
{{cite book}}:|first1=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Millis, Mark G. (2004). "Prospects for Breakthrough Propulsion From Physics" (PDF). Retrieved 8 February 2018.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Popular Science May 2001. Retrieved 2012-01-25.
External links
- "Breakthroughs" commonly submitted to NASA These are ideas that do not work, often submitted to NASA anyway
- Tau Zero
- ShwayComs BPP Participant
- Project Greenglow and the battle with gravity BBC