Project Daedalus - Three Decades On

British Interplanetary Society (BIS) members undertook a theoretical study of a flyby of interstellar probe to Barnard’s star 5.9 light years away.

Carried out between 1973-1978, it was called Project Daedalus and even today remains one of the most complete studies of an interstellar vehicle ever performed.

The 54,000 ton two-stage vehicle was powered by inertial confinement fusion using electron beams to compress the D/He3 fusion capsules to ignition. It would obtain an eventual cruise velocity of 36,000 km/s or 12 percent of light speed reaching its destination in approximately 50 years.

In the 30 years since this landmark study many scientific advances have been made in areas such as extra solar planet detection, communications, computing, fuels for spaceflight, impact shielding, onboard repair, propulsion and nanotechnology. Crucially, physics advances in both inertial and magnetic fusion technology are also progressing quickly.

As part of the symposium, a new initiative is also being announced ‘Project Icarus: Son of Daedalus - Flying Closer to Another Star’. This is a Tau Zero Foundation initiative in collaboration with the BIS and will lead to the formation of a volunteer team to redesign the probe over two years with similar but modified terms of reference to Daedalus.
 
Confirmed Speakers

Using Daedalus for Local Transport
Bob Parkinson

Consideration of Nearby Star Systems for Future Interstellar Missions
Martyn Fogg

The Planetary Science and Astrobiology Case for Interstellar Spaceflight
Ian Crawford

Project Icarus: Son of Daedalus - Flying Closer to Another Star
Kelvin Long

Artificial Intelligence & Robotics
Alex Ellery

Interstellar Propulsion: Challenges and Developments 30 Years After Daedalus
Richard Obousy

Power & Computer Systems for Daedalus like Missions
Andreas Tziolas

Systems Architecture for launch and assembly of interstellar probes
Richard Osborne

Team Working in Distributed Environments
Rodney Buckland

To register for the symposium please click here or download a registration form here.