Artificial intelligence probe design (Image: Adrian Mann) AI has frequently been proposed as a key enabler for interstellar exploration and colonization. However, no comprehensive study of the various AI-enabled concepts for interstellar probes has been conducted to date. This has now changed with a brand-new article by renowned science fiction writer Stephen Baxter and Andreas […]
Starship Blog
With the recent creation of the new i4is website, along with the newer blogs, we have included a selection of previous Starship Blog posts from our archive which we hope you will enjoy browsing. If you would like to write an article and have it appear on our web site, then get in touch with us.
The AttoSat Manifesto
The AttoSat Manifesto AttoSats in orbit (Image: Enora Mercier) Despite the advent of CubeSats, PocketQubes, and femto satellites, developing and launching a spacecraft still costs a fortune, the equivalent of buying a house. It also takes years to get from the initial concept to launch. This means that space exploration for education is still only […]
Interstellar Summer School 15th – 19th August 2018
How to design spacecraft and starships… Last chance to book on to our interstellar summer school, which will be held at the Initiative for Interstellar Studies HQ, The Bone Mill, New Street, Charfield, GL12 8ES from Wednesday 15th to Sunday 19th August 2018. For more information see the full advert below and for admission to […]
Public Presentation 29th June 2018: The Apkallu Initiative
The Apkallu Initiative: A Project to build a Minilithic Artefact to Preserve the Knowledge of Human Civilization into Deep Time In the Event of Global Cataclysm We are pleased to announce that Kelvin Long will give this month’s lecture presentation at the Initiative for Interstellar Studies HQ, The Bone Mill, New Street, Charfield, GL12 8ES 2018. […]
Project Lyra page online!
We are making rapid advances with Project Lyra, a mission to the interstellar asteroid ‘Oumuamua! Please visit our new Project Lyra website and have a look at the project, publications, and news coverage! More recently, concept artist Maciej Rebisz has created this wonderful image of Project Lyra laser sail spacecraft flying past ‘Oumuamua! How would […]
i4is announces Project Lyra: A mission to A/2017 U1, the interstellar asteroid!
i4is is happy to announce a new project: Project Lyra. Lyra is the star constellation from which the interstellar asteroid A/2017 U1 came from. According to current information, the object is smaller than 400m in diameter and is currently travelling at 44km/s with respect to the sun, much faster than any human-made object to date. What […]
ANNOUNCEMENT FROM I4IS: New HQ
Dear Friends, Many of us have dreamed of the stars since we were little children, inspired by the tremendous achievements of Project Apollo and others. This vision has pushed us onwards with passion towards the fulfilment of a dream, the likes of which thrills all of our hearts and souls to the core. We […]
Foundations of Interstellar Studies: Post Workshop Wash-Up
This final post is a summary on how the workshop worked out and what the actual intentions and thinking behind it were. Over the last half a dozen years there has been many excellent conferences in the interstellar community. But upon examining these it was found there were several elements that were not necessarily conducive […]
Foundations of Interstellar Studies: Solidarity for the Interstellar Vision
The co-chairman for the workshop, Professor Roman Kezerashvili, had set a challenge, for the participants to come up with some short wording as a statement about some of our discussions. Work started on this during the Wednesday evening after dinner with a short informal meeting over until the late hours between Robert Kennedy III, Robert Freeland, Kelvin […]
Foundations of Interstellar Studies: Posters
During the Workshop several posters were also displayed by various participants. These included: Mach Effects for In-Space Propulsion: An Interstellar Mission, Heidi Fearn et al., Space Studies Institute & California State University Fullerton. Continuous Electrode Inertial Electrostatic Confinement Fusion, Ray Sedwick et al., University of Maryland. A Bussard Ramjet with Twist and Flare, Peter N […]
Foundations of Interstellar Studies: Thursday 15 June 2017
This was the third and final day of the workshop, which took place at City University New York. This day was on the theme of ‘Breakthrough Propulsion’ and was chaired by Dr Harold ‘Sonny’ White of NASA Johnson Space Centre. After an introduction about the uncertainties in physics and cosmology that we are still to […]
Foundations of Interstellar Studies: Wednesday 14 June 2017
This was the second day of the workshop and was chaired by Professor Roman Kezerashvili, on the theme of ‘Sails and Beams’. Roman is himself the Chairman of the Physics Department at the City University New York, and also the co-chairman on the organizing committee, along with Kelvin F. Long. The theme was picked as […]