Principium is the community magazine of the Initiative for Interstellar Studies. It features educational articles, accessible technical articles and news from the interstellar community and the wider world of space exploration. It presents an inspiring vision of the future humankind - if we work hard to achieve it.
Principium is a quarterly free publication of the Initiative for Interstellar Studies. You can download copies of all issues below. We hope you enjoy reading our magazine.
John I Davies, Editor, Principium
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Issue 23 | November 2018
- Implications of the Gaia Mission for Future Interstellar Travel
- News Feature - What is Oumuamua?
- Book Review: The Planet Factory - Elizabeth Tasker
- Engineering New Worlds: Goals, Motives and Results
- Interstellar News
- News Features:
- 69th International Astronautical Congress 2018 - The Interstellar Papers
- Starship Engineering - First Five Day i4is Summer School
- Holographic Photon Sails - A Merger of Science and Art
- The Andromeda Probe Model
- TVIW 2018
Issue 22 | August 2018
Contents
- To the Stars in a Century: Z-Pinch fusion & Firefly Icarus
- IAC 2018 Bremen - interstellar & i4is
- Breakthrough Propulsion Physics
- Book Review: Exoplanètes
- Interstellar News
- News Features
- Moon, Mars & beyond - an RI debate
- Catching A Little Bit of Heaven
- i4is HQ Symposium & Lecture
- Wormholes & Time Machines
- How far have we come?
Issue 21 | May 2018
Contents
- “Slow down!”: How to park an interstellar rocket
- The Orbits of Seveneves (2) - the orbits explained
- Imagining Interstellar - Art by Efflam Mercier
- 69th International Astronautical Congress 2018 - Papers by the i4is Team
- BOOK REVIEWS:
- Going Interstellar - Build Starships Now!
- Rendezvous with Rama, a retrospective
- NEWS FEATURES -
- Breakthrough Discuss 2018: i4is debate novel propulsion technologies
- PROCSIMA - Diffractionless Beamed Propulsion for Breakthrough Interstellar Missions
- BIS report on nanosats from the UK
- Interstellar News & Project Lyra Update
Issue 20 | February 2018
Contents
- Project Lyra : mission to ʻOumuamua
- Preparing for the next Interstellar Object
- Interstellar News
- The Orbits of Seveneves
- Tsiolkovsky - Interstellar Pioneer
- NEWS FEATURES
- Work on the interstellar asteroid and i4is Project Lyra
- Pete Worden, Breakthrough Initiatives, at i4is HQ
- Sir Arthur C Clarke Centenary
- Models and art at the Mill
Issue 19 | November 2017
Contents
- ‘The Interstellar Space’ Opening of i4is HQ, 8 October 2017
- News Feature - Glowworm Update
- TV Programme Review - The Search for a New Earth - With Professor Stephen Hawking, BBC2, first screened 11 Sep 2017, UK
- Interstellar Inspiration for School Students: The i4is Interstellar Challenge. How To to get started on your own Interstellar Challenge.
- Transplutonium is not “Planet X” : Reminiscing and reality-based ruminations on the high cost of nucleosynthesis of propellants for interstellar travel.
- Engineering New Worlds: Creating the Future - Parts 4 and 5
- Art for Interstellar : Bringing art, technology and science together in New York
Issue 18 | August 2017
Contents
- Aridopolis : A Sustainable Earth / Mars Desert Settlement
- Interstellar News
- Engineering New Worlds: Creating the Future - Part 3
- Foundations of Interstellar Studies Workshop
- Statement of Solidarity for The Interstellar Vision
- Opening of the i4is HQ
Issue 17 | May 2017
Contents
- Advanced Ion Propulsion Systems for Interstellar Precursor Probes
- Interstellar News
- News Feature: TRAPPIST-1
- Is the Alcubierre Drive the answer to Interstellar Travel?
- Album Review: Infinity of Space
- Book Review: Starlight, Starbright: Are Stars Conscious?
- Engineering New Worlds: Creating the Future
- Poster Feature: Space Resource Law
Issue 16 | February 2017
Contents
- Project Starshot
- Interstellar News
- Letter to the Editor : Stephen Ashworth
- ISU Masters Degree Projects - the i4is contribution
- Film Reviews: Arrival and Passengers
- Book Review: Star Ark : A Living Self-sustaining Spaceship
- Interstellar Challenge for London Schools 2016
- Image Feature: Artificial Intelligence Probes for Interstellar Exploration and Colonization
Issue 15 | November 2016
Contents
- Guest introduction by Nick Kanas, The Psychology and Sociology of Interstellar Travel
- News from the Initiative
- i4is/ISU 2016: Space Environment & Spacecraft Systems Engineering
- Daedalus: Model and Art
- The Andromeda Study
- Book Review: Gypsy: Carter Scholz
- The art and imagination of David A Hardy
Issue 14 | August 2016
Contents
- Guest introduction by Paul Gilster
- News from the initiative
- Cosmos: A Personal Voyage
- The BIS Daedalus Model - the last lap
- The Starship Engineer Course 2015
- Interstellar Studies at the ISU 2016
Issue 13 | May 2016
Contents
- Guest introduction by Kieran Twaites
- News from the initiative
- The 1,000 Year Starship
- Sending Ourselves to the stars? - 2
- Photo Feature: BIS Daedalus Starship Model
- Project Icarus: Introduction
Issue 12 | February 2016
Contents
- Guest Introduction
- News from the initiative
- Sending Ourselves to the Stars
- Starship Engineer
- Prototyping Starships
- Dragonfly: The Way Forward
- Film Review: Star Wars - The Force Awakens
Issue 11 | November 2015
Contents
- Stop Press: Starship Engineer Course
- Guest Introduction: Photometric SETI
- News: Project Dragonfly, i4is at SDSO, Axiom, Starship Congress
- Project Dragonfly Competition
- Interstellar Implications of the New Horizons Probe
- Starship Congress 2015
- TWIW 2014: i4is SF design Workshop
- TWIW 2014: Field Report
- What we did at Eastercon
- Film Review: The Martian
Issue 10 | August 2015
Contents
- News, Dragonfly, Pluto and Dysprosium
- Wormholes Come to London (2)
- Wormholes - Stargates to the Cosmic Neighbourhood
- i4is Goes Stratospheric
- Icarus Interstellar: Project Voyager
- What we did at the WorldCon (2)
- How do we Survive on a Distant World?
- What's in Principium 11
Issue 9 | May 2015
Contents
- Project Dragonfly
- Kickstarter
- Introduction
- Beyond the Boundary - An i4is Book
- Educational Academy
- Technical Research Committee
- i4is and ISU
- Wormholes Come to London
- Film & Book Review "Interstellar"
- Merchandise
- News from the i4is
- What we did at the WorldCon
- What's in Principium 10
Issue 8 | June/July 2014
Contents
- Introduction by Kelvin F. Long
- News from the Initiative
- Advances
- Community News
- Son of Daedalus
- Building Daedalus
- Book Review
Issue 7 | November/December 2013
Contents
- Introduction by Sarah Margree
- News from the initiative
- Voyager 1 Leaves the Heliosphere
- The New Horizons Message Initiative
- Project Icarus Workshop
- The Alpha Centauri Prize
- Starship Cities
- Enzmann Starships
Issue 6 | August 2013
Contents
- Introduction by Keith Cooper
- A Year I the Life of i4is
- Why an initiative now?
- The i4is Academy
- Gravity and the Apple
- The Origins of Future Worlds
- The Philosophy of the Starship
- Project Dragonfly
Issue 5 | June/July 2013
Contents
- Introduction by Keith Cooper
- News from the initiative
- Community
- Advances
- The Art of Music
- Jon Lomberg's Starship Adventures
- Retrospective: SETI
Issue 4 | March/April 2013
Contents
- Introduction by Adrian Mann
- News from the initiative
- Tennessee Valley Interstellar Workshop
- Advances - DE-STAR
- The Starship Art of Jon Lomberg
- Book Review
Issue 3 | February 2013
Contents
- Introduction by Gregory Matloff
- Advances - Asteroid Propecting
- Advances - Skylon
- 'Listening Post'
- A Learning Experience
- Retrospective: Bussard Ramjet
- Reviews
Issue 2 | January 2013
Contents
- Letter from Rob Swinney
- News from the initiative
- 'Advances'
- Meet the Neighbours
- Retrospective: Voyager
- Reviews
Issue 1 | December 2012
Contents
- Letter from the Director
- News from the initiative
- 'Advances'
- CubeSats
- Retrospective: Daedalus
- Book Reviews
Editor: John Davies
Previously Principium was edited by Keith Cooper. Today, the editor is John Davies.
John is a lifelong engineer and a Londoner of over 30 years standing with northern English origins and strong Scottish connections. He has been fascinated by space travel ever since he read the Dan Dare stories in the Eagle in the 50s.
He recalls contradicting his father who, despite being an engineer himself, thought that "rockets can't fly in space because there is nothing for them to push against". Once Sputnik One went up his dad became a bit of a space enthusiast too.
John was the first person in his family to go to university, studying Electronics at Liverpool University. He joined Hawker Siddeley Dynamics Space Projects Division in 1968 and worked on the latter stages of the most substantial launch vehicle ever built in UK, Bluestreak. He also worked on satellite projects including a design study for a large space telescope which acquired the name Hubble about 12 years later.
He was fascinated by digital technology and moved to Edinburgh University where he wrote some very early communications software. He took a year off to study Computer Science more formally at Manchester University, taking his M.Sc. back to Edinburgh before moving on to London University doing similar work.
He re-joined the commercial sector as a consultant and in technical sales support and was involved in the early stages of SMS messaging and in packet radio long before we all started using it, as GPRS, for our smartphones.
He has been involved in three start-up companies, one of which survives! His last full-time job was running the IT volunteering programme for the Information Technologists livery company of the City of London.
He's now retired but busier than ever with STEMnet work in London schools, the Initiative for Interstellar Studies, and helping the elderly residents of Hackney to get into computing and the Internet.
He's a long-established member of both the British Interplanetary Society and the British Computer Society. He was one of the leads for our World Science Fiction Convention 2014 participation.
