Evaluation of Propulsion Options for Interstellar Missions
This paper describes an evaluation of various propulsion options for robotic interstellar rendezvous missions to stars ranging from 4.5 Light Years (L.Y.) with a 10-Year trip time, to 40 L.Y. with a 100-Year trip time.
Selection note: Curated for a comparative evaluation of propulsion options across robotic stellar rendezvous missions from 4.5 to 40 light-years and trip times from 10 to 100 years.
Evidence boundary: Only NTRS metadata and an abstract are open here; candidate assumptions, mass models, braking, and feasibility were not validated. It is historical comparison context, not claim evidence.
Stable record
ntrs-20210005473
Topic
propulsion
Type
Other
Publisher
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Authors
Leifer, S. D.; Frisbee, R. H.
Year
1998
Editorial state
metadata curated editorial draft
Reviewer
GShips Project editorial synthesis
Official link checked
2026-07-25
Source-supplied abstract
This paper describes an evaluation of various propulsion options for robotic interstellar rendezvous missions to stars ranging from 4.5 Light Years (L.Y.) with a 10-Year trip time, to 40 L.Y. with a 100-Year trip time.
Abstract text has not been adopted as a GShips conclusion.
What would change this record?
A newer or corrected version, a retraction, a verified duplicate, a material topic mismatch, a changed access state, or claim-level review would trigger a dated editorial update.
Only NTRS metadata and an abstract are open here; candidate assumptions, mass models, braking, and feasibility were not validated. It is historical comparison context, not claim evidence.
Source-supplied titles, abstracts, authors, and dates may require correction against the canonical full text.
What would change this page?
A newer or corrected version, retraction, verified duplicate, material topic mismatch, changed access state, or claim-level assessment would change this record.
People, review, and conflicts
Prepared by
GShips Project
Editorial status
metadata-curated-editorial-draft
Editorial reviewer
GShips Project editorial synthesis
Last editorial review
No editorial-review date recorded
Independent review
pending
Independent reviewer
No independent reviewer assigned
Last independent review
No independent-review date exists
Last content edit
Not recorded separately
Official source or link verified
2026-07-25
Declared conflicts
The maintainer intends to explore a commercial venture based on some GShips work. No entity, outside funding, customer, sponsor, or indexed-organization relationship currently exists.