Relativistic rocketry and the requirements for instellar flight

Abstract

The kinematic requirements for interstellar travel are examined, and the theoretical performance of nuclear and photon rockets is evaluated. The first part of the paper contains a detailed discussion of relativistic rocketry, including the problems of time-dilatation in an accelerating system, and the twin paradox. In the latter part of the paper, formulas and charts are presented which permit a quantitative evaluation of the requirements and possibilities for interstellar flight. It is concluded that, while nuclear rockets are marginal in performance even for flight to the nearest stars, the photon rocket, employing matter-antimatter annihilation reactions, would permit voyages to stars several hundred light years away in the lifetime of the astronaut. Although such flights are theoretically possible, the engineering problems which must be solved before such flights become a reality are of such a magnitude that it is impossible to predict when interstellar travel will be achieved.