the centauri project
manned interstellar travel

By: Thomas M. Ciesla
continued page 2 of 5


THE INTERSTELLAR VESSEL

The interstellar vessel for the Centauri Project will consist of an asteroid of the stony carbonaceous chondrite class, with a nominal diameter of approximately two miles. Surrounding this asteroid will be a man-made shell; best defined as a '2-manifold in 3 space' [ref. 8], which folds in on itself at each end along the primary axis. (See figures 1 & 2). This shell, approximately 60 feet thick and containing three graduated pressure levels, encloses an atmosphere that allows the crew to live on the surface of the asteroid

Upon enclosure, the surface of the asteroid will be terraformed to contain a variety of Earth ecosystems: forests, farmlands, small lakes, etc. Highly automated food production techniques will be incorporated to control highly automated agriculture, fish farming, husbandry and hydroponics. An asteroid measuring slightly less than four kilometers across has a surface area of roughly 9,000 acres, satisfying Nasa's guidelines for area requirements of habitation, and food production. [Ref. 2,9]

Livability Requirements
The habitable surface of an asteroid serving as a microplanet creates an environment that will appear quite Earth-like. The importance of Earth-like living conditions becomes evident through positive effects of privacy, mobility and the reduction of the closed environment feeling. Provisions for long lines of sight, views of a horizon and large overhead clearances - all possible with this vessel style – offer enormous benefits to intellectual and emotional well being of crews on long duration missions. Combining these provisions with a variability factor in the environment will provide the stimulation necessary to suppress symptoms of solipsism. Solipsism is a state in which a person feels that everything is a dream and nothing is real. This state of mind often occurs in the Arctic winter when darkness lasts 24 hours a day. A person feels lonely and detached, eventually becoming apathetic and indifferent. Variability will be enhanced by proper asteroid selection which will provide varied topography allowing for views of natural objects such as hills and valleys on the terraformed surface.

The ability to invoke randomized environmental patterns is crucial to the goal of allowing this vessel to simulate a microplanet. To achieve randomized patterns, an ”unpredictability factor” is included in the systems programming. The program then controls day/night illumination cycles, temperature variations and even the creation of breezy conditions. Of the randomized systems discussed, the day/night cycle - serving as a zeitgeber is perhaps the most important. Zeitgebers are physical, temporal and social cues that help to establish rhythmicity in the sleep/wake cycle. Social cues such as daily meals, work/rest schedules and evening leisure time also reinforces the circadian rhythm, which enhances performance

The Shell
The shell of our vessel bears a resemblance in appearance and function to the shell of an egg. Attached to the asteroid at only two points - where the manifold folds in on itself - the shell rotates with the asteroid for spin stabilization around the primary axis. As an extension of the asteroid's terraformed surface, the shell provides livable spaces throughout selected zones of the tri-level structure. These three levels, having the potential of providing habitable space will serve as laboratory, communications and scientific research spaces, as well as distribution corridors for various environmental and recycling systems.

The involuted areas at each end of the shell provide specialized areas for propulsion systems on one end and spaceport facilities on the other. The inward folds of this shell which reach the surface of the asteroid will serve as main traffic and systems corridors between the surface and the shell. Elevator systems within the involutions and in the shell proper will provide access to habitable shell zones as well as the activities zones housed within the involutions. The spaceport (see Fig. 3) will provide the crew with the ability to launch a variety of shuttles, space probes and experimental packages, as well as accept incoming personnel and cargo vessels. As the leading edge of the vessel, a concentration of navigation and scientific decks will be located here.

Antimatter Propulsion and Power Systems
It is highly probable that first generation interstellar vessels will use multiple energy sources to fulfill the needs of a vessel of such magnitude. Antimatter engines for propulsion will be required during the boost phase for between one to two years of constant acceleration. During this boost phase and through the mission, power requirements for light, heat and life support systems will be large, given the vessels volume. The antimatter engines may not be the best source of energy for daily power demands. Multiple fusion reactors distributed within the shell and below the surface of the asteroid may be a practical configuration.

The viability of antimatter as a propulsion source has been under investigation by many [ref.'s 5,14,15]. When a particle and its antiparticle collide at a sufficiently low energy level, annihilation results in a high conversion of their mass into kinetic energy of other particles, photons and neutrinos. To harness and control this energy only kinetic energy and photons may be utilized. Therefore a matter - antimatter annihilation propulsion system is a device that would use these to produce thrust.

Since stable, long-lived particle-antiparticles should be considered for propulsion, only electron-positron and nucleon-antinucleon annihilation reactions have potential for space propulsion. The advantage of the latter pair is the larger amount of energy released by these collisions. For this discussion, w will therefore assume that an antiproton-proton or antiproton-neutron annihilation will be used for the propulsions, stored perhaps as magnetically levitated ball of hydrogen with molecules of antihydrogen embedded in the crystal lattice of the ball. {Ref 12}

In general, matter-antimatter engines will utilize the mixing of antimatter (antihydrogen) and matter (hydrogen) together is an annihilation chamber to interact, annihilate and exhaust a high velocity energetic plasma. Figure 4 shows one such concept of a matter-antimatter engine design.

Page     1   2  3   4  5

 


Figure 2
Cross Section Thru Interstellar Vessel


Email   For More Information.