Jason Rhian

August 1st, 2017

Artists impression of Breakthrough Starshot spacecraft on its way to Alpha Centauri. Image Credit: Breakthrough Initiatives

In the NewSpace era, one hears all manner of predictions and brash claims, but few come to fruition. Most of these efforts see Chapter 11 before they ever take to the skies. One program, dubbed Breakthrough Starshot, is looking to send mankinds space exploration efforts far beyond the Solar System by using the worlds smallest spacecraft.

On June 23, 2017, these spacecraft, called Sprites, which were funded through a 2011 Kickstarter campaign, were launched atop a PSLV-XL rocket. Well, actually, they piggybackedon OHB System AGs Max Valierand Ventasatellites.

These spacecraft redefine the meaning of the word small, encompassing3.5-by-3.5 centimeters and weighing in at a whopping four grams. The company described the craft as the worlds smallest fully functional space probes.

Eventually, every mission that NASA does may carry these sorts of nanocraft to perform various measurements, Starshots Zac Manchester said via a company-issued release. If youre looking for evidence of life on Mars or anywhere else, for instance, you can afford to use hundreds or thousands of these things it doesnt matter that a lot of them might not work perfectly. Its a revolutionary capability that will open up all sorts of opportunities for exploration.

A prototype Breakthrough Starshot Sprite spacecraft. (Click to enlarge) Photo Credit: Zac Manchester / Breakthrough Initiatives

The company has caught the attention of Scientific American and other established organizations.

Despite its diminutive size, these Sprites have what they need to get the job done each containssolar panels, computers, sensors, and radios that will allow them to carry out their various functions.

With engineers looking for ever smaller classifications to describe spacecraft by (cube, small, and nano being just some of the names that have been used to help classify these satellites), the company has dubbed Sprites as the next step in terms of spacecraft miniaturization. Built atCornell University and incorporated into theMax Valierand Ventasatellites (built by the Bremen-basedOHB System AG), the Sprite is Manchesters pride and joy.

These Sprites remain affixed to the satellites and could, one day, be used to explore further than mankind has been able to explore so far. By all accounts, these Sprites are performing as advertised, communicating back to stations located in California and New York. While having satellites piggyback their way to orbit is nothing new, this flight is meant to validate the spacecraft communications systems.

These systems would (most likely) be first used in three-dimensional antennas in deep space to monitor space weatherthat could threaten Earthly power-grids and orbiting spacecraft. So how would these Sprites enable interstellar space exploration?

Larger interplanetary probes would deploy swarms of Sprites around planets, moons, and asteroids. These would seek out promising locales that could contain desirable minerals or locations that could support life.

Breakthrough Starshot is just one of the efforts under Breakthrough Initiatives (which also includes Breakthrough Listen) and was announced byYuri Milner and Stephen Hawking on April 12, 2016 (the same day of the month that Yuri Gagarin began his fateful voyage and the crew of STS-1 launched from Kennedy Space Centers Launch Complex 39A).

The project is an engineering program designed to prove the concept of spacecraft which would be propelled by light and accelerated to about20 percent of light speed and reach Proxima Centauri 4.2 light-years away in just over 20 years after their launch. The craft would targetthe exoplanet Proxima b and other planets in our nearest star system, Alpha Centauri. If everything goes as planned, the craft would capture images as well as measurements of those distant worlds.

Breakthrough Starshot, the $100 million initiative aiming to send robotic missions to nearby stars by the mid-21st century, has achieved what might prove to be a Sputnik moment in successfully lofting its first spacecraft the smallest ever launched and operated in orbit, Manchester said.

Video courtesy of Breakthrough

Tagged: Alpha Centauri Breakthrough Starshot PSLV-XL The Range Zac Manchester

Jason Rhian spent several years honing his skills with internships at NASA, the National Space Society and other organizations. He has provided content for outlets such as: Aviation Week & Space Technology, Space.com, The Mars Society and Universe Today.

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Could Breakthrough Starshot be humanity's first interstellar mission ... - SpaceFlight Insider