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Talk:Breakthrough Starshot

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Felix Tritschler (talk | contribs) at 21:01, 28 December 2021. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

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Alas, the article is not good.

Sorry, but it being a phased array is critical to the idea. You need to get the spot size small enough that you can keep it on a small sail on a long journey.

Furthermore, the intro leads what it claims to be able to do, making it sound like fantastical claims, to be frank.88.159.64.181 (talk) 17:29, 19 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Size of phased array

I'll add a cn needed tag to the intro, as I'm not sure where the figures in the lead para. come from. This source "Breakthrough+Starshot." says "100-GW phased laser array 10 km on a side" Robert Walker (talk) 17:43, 3 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I've discovered, the earlier 2015 study is for a 1 km square array, sounds just like the lede of the article, so perhaps that's where the figure comes from? 15 minutes into this video [1] Robert Walker (talk) 04:21, 4 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Optical or radio communication?

The text (now hiden for being contradictory) states: "Each spacecraft would transmit data back to Earth using a compact on-board laser communications system using its solar sail as an antenna and the propulsion array as the receiver.[1][2]

First, if the communication will be laser, that means an optical system, so it cannot possibly use an "antenna" for that. Second, the propulsion array on the ground are lasers, but in order to receive an optical signal, the system needs an optical telescope. Please review the optical laser concept at Deep Space Optical Communications and Laser communication in space. So this entry needs review for the system to be used - optical or radio signals. Cheers, BatteryIncluded (talk) 20:03, 25 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Per the Breakthrough Starshot project homepage:
The program will require:
  • Capturing images of a planet, and other scientific data, and transmitting them back to Earth using a compact on-board laser communications system.
  • Using the same light beamer to receive data from nanocrafts over 4 years later.
P.S. Your citations are empty.
— Altman talk 22:21, 25 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Those citations had been copied from the article. Looks like they should have been [1] and [2]. 156.68.221.92 (talk) 13:13, 27 September 2021 (UTC)[reply]
  1. ^ a b "Breakthrough Starshot: Concept". 12 April 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  2. ^ a b "A new plan to send spacecraft to the stars: replace rockets with lasers". The Economist. 12 April 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.

flyby or enter orbit

Article says flyby a few times. Only mention of entering orbit is in Other potential destinations section. perhaps this section should be moved to light sail as it seems not specific to Breakthrough Starshot ? - Rod57 (talk) 18:16, 18 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Starshot is a fly-by probe. The "Other Potential Destinations" section referred to a 2017 paper by René Heller and co-authors, proposing that it may be possible to stop using a technique that they call "photogravitational assist". I'm not sure whether this result is widely accepted in the scientific community, but it was published in a reputable journal. I changed the subheading title and revised the text to try to make this more clear. 156.68.221.92 (talk) 13:22, 27 September 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Name convention

Prof. Nobuyuki Kaya's name was listed as Kaya Nobuyuki (in the Japanese name convention, family name first). Other articles on Wikipedia usually gives Japanese names in the English language order (given name then family name), so I changed this to the more standard Nobuyuki Kaya. If we want to keep the Japanese name order, go ahead and change it back. 156.68.221.92 (talk) 13:13, 27 September 2021 (UTC)[reply]

"Photon thrusters"??

"Four sub-gram scale photon thrusters, each minimally capable of performing at a 1W diode laser level, are planned." This is not mentioned in the referenced sources afaics - and isn't this a mix-up with the communication laser (to send back the images)? Four 1 Watt lasers don't produce any significant propulsion. --Felix Tritschler (talk) 21:01, 28 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

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