Look at what has happened to aviation since the Wright brothers made their first powered flight. Look at how it has changed the world.
Imagine what will happen over the next 100 years once spaceflight becomes affordable to everyone. Imagine how that will change the world.
Will we return to the Moon and go to Mars?
Will we mine the asteroids and build space colonies?
Without a doubt.
Will there be starships?
I think so. Unmanned probes on one-way missions at first, and maybe crewed ships sometime after that assuming the EmDrive really does work.
If the EmDrive does work, imagine a space colony equipped with a nuclear electric EmDrive that is capable of accelerating to 20% of light speed. Such a ship could make the trip to Alpha Centauri in 20 to 25 years.
It will be awhile before that happens. First, we will need to build the affordable to everyone combination launch system followed by developing the infrastructure for building space colonies. That will take some time. But once that happens, star travel won’t be far behind.
Between now and then, we will have to make do with watching videos like these. Obviously not the same as the real thing, but it sure is fun to think about what the future might be like as we watch them.
Index of Articles
- Opening the High Frontier
- Skyhook, a Journey to Orbit and Beyond
- In the Beginning . . .
- Why do Rockets Cost so Much?
- Combination Launch Systems
- It’s All About Speed!
- Visions of the Future
- The Call of an Unlimited Future
- Combination Launch Systems, part 2
- Outward Bound: Beyond Low Earth Orbit
- and someday . . . Starships!
- Mars: how to get there
- Outpost Space Stations
- Dreams of Space
- The Moon or Mars?
- Skyhooks and Space Elevators