The technology of the next few decades could possibly allow us to explore with robotic probes
the closest stars outside our Solar System and maybe even observe some of the recently
discovered planets circling these stars. This book looks at the reasons for exploring our
stellar neighbors and at the technologies we are developing to build space probes that can
traverse the enormous distances between the stars. In order to reach the nearest stars we must
first develop a propulsion technology that would take our robotic probes there in a reasonable
time. Such propulsion technology has radically different requirements from conventional
chemical rockets because of the enormous distances that must be crossed. Surprisingly many
propulsion schemes for interstellar travel have been suggested and await only practical
engineering solutions and the political will to make them a reality. This is a result of the
tremendous advances in astrophysics that have been made in recent decades and the perseverance
and imagination of tenacious theoretical physicists. This book explores these different
propulsion schemes - all based on current physics - and the challenges they present to
physicists engineers and space exploration entrepreneurs. This book will be helpful to anyone
who really wants to understand the principles behind and likely future course of interstellar
travel and who wants to recognizes the distinctions between pure fantasy (such as Star Trek's
'warp drive') and methods that are grounded in real physics and offer practical technological
solutions for exploring the stars in the decades to come.
