Project Daedalus by RobertJ

Bryce • Space • posted on Feb 27, 2008

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Description

Project Daedalus was a study from the British planetary society in 1973 to design a plausible interstellar unmanned spacecraft. The design had to use current or near-future technology and reach its destination within a human lifespan (50-60 years), however the probe was to be unmanned. The target then choosen was Barnards star at 6 lightyears because it was then believed that it had at least one large planet, until this day this planet has not been found while we know at least 300 other so called exo-planets. The closest star we know today that has planets is Epsilon Eridani, at 10.5 lightyears away a sure target for future exploration. The original plan called for an orbital assembly of the spaceship, but at an whopping 55000 tons this is quite an starship, for example you would need almost 2000 Spaceshuttle launches to lift al the materials and fuel from earth, to make matters worse, the main component of the fuel would be Helium-3, something of wich we have very little on Earth. The moon has more and there is even more to be found in the atmosphere of Jupiter. Building Daedalus The two stages will be build in orbit around the moon, an small amount of helium-3 will be used to launch the first and the second stage towards Jupiter where an extensive mining-operation in the atmosphere of Jupiter will provide for the necessary 50.000 tons of helium-3 for the trip towards Epsilon Eridani.

Comments (25)

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sim3344

3:49AM | Wed, 27 February 2008

Great work!!!!

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RodsArt

4:52AM | Wed, 27 February 2008

Outstanding Comp....would make a great Poster!

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telber

5:00AM | Wed, 27 February 2008

absolutely brilliant

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artposer

5:30AM | Wed, 27 February 2008

Awesome job love it 10+

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lwperkins Online Now!

9:02AM | Wed, 27 February 2008

I love the look of these--even without the science behind them, they are quite beautiful! You have included so much realistic detail!

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Geophree

10:30AM | Wed, 27 February 2008

A marvelous rendering!

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egehlin

11:43AM | Wed, 27 February 2008

WOW!!! Beautifully modelled--definitly a favorite!!! Bravo!!!

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sackrat

12:15PM | Wed, 27 February 2008

Absolutely stunning !

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gateman45

1:29PM | Wed, 27 February 2008

wonderful modeling...love the slight differences between the two ships

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Rodma_Hu

1:56PM | Wed, 27 February 2008

Great looking sci-fi scene...models, palette and composition.

wingnut55

2:12PM | Wed, 27 February 2008

i agree.

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serendigity59@gmail.com

3:23PM | Wed, 27 February 2008

Excellent modelling.

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Ozylot

6:16PM | Wed, 27 February 2008

Amazing!

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vncnt9663

11:14PM | Wed, 27 February 2008

I love everything about this work. Even the history lesson. Who says Bryce is dead.

technogeek

11:40PM | Sat, 01 March 2008

Forget shuttle launches. It'd be easier to mine the materials from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter including the Helium-3. Then do the construction and launch from the Jovian satellite system.

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rj001

1:48AM | Sun, 02 March 2008

great classic space image

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gmvgmvgmv

5:34AM | Mon, 03 March 2008

Wonderful image - really interesting spacecraft along with a realistic planetary surface and starfield. The aspect ratio of the scene is also very effective.

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