The fuel to power the reactors would have to come from a helium-3 isotope, mined from the atmosphere of Jupiter or the Moon by a large hot air balloon yet another complication to add to an ever-growing list. Who would steer it? A sophisticated autopilot system would have to take the reigns, carrying passengers across the galaxies. But that was only a small part of the challenge.

Small thermonuclear bombs would be detonated inside cusp-shaped magnetic fields behind the spacecraft, propelling it forward at the highest possible efficiency.Ī velocity of more than 10,000 kilometers per second would have to be achieved to complete the mission requirements. The Project Daedalus team ended up choosing a nuclear pulse rocket that could overcome these limitations. The difficulties of reaching speeds fast enough, generating enough power, and not burning the spacecraft to a crisp were not easily overcome. The goal of the project was discover the feasibility of getting a person to travel to a variety of different target stars using technology of the near future, and getting them there within their lifespan.

Project Daedalus was the first to tackle the question of the possibility of interstellar travel. In 1973, the British Interplanetary Society - now, the oldest space advocacy organisation in the world - launched a five year study to design an unmanned spacecraft that was capable of interstellar flight.

Antimatter propulsion