Interstellar Travel Highlights in SpaceUp India
posted by Divya Shankar on January 8, 2013
SpaceUp – A Space Unconference SpaceUp Unconference is a step towards promoting space among common people. It is a place to encourage all space enthusiasts to realize their dream of living in space technology. This has been initiated everywhere in the world and almost every country and state is taking up this space activity to put together all like-minded individuals at one place to share their ideas. Likewise, Dhruva Space, A Private Space Company in India organized this first space unconference in the country- SpaceUp India.
SpaceUp India served as a platform for very highly interactive sessions on space related topics between the enthusiastic students, amateur astronomers and the space professionals. The students had a great opportunity to know the space programs happening in the country and the opportunities for them to participate in it. The amateur astronomers shared their activities of star gazing, deep space observations, astrophotography and their other programs taking place in the country. The professionals from various organizations described their ongoing projects in the space arena. There were lots of efforts to seek, share and gain the knowledge, opportunities and the ideas related to space.
To the most of the participants of SpaceUp India, “Interstellar Travel” was a very new space venture. As an Indian member of Icarus Interstellar, this opportunity was utilized to introduce Interstellar travel to my peers and pals. The science of interstellar studies which was founded in 1952 when Dr. Les Shepherd published a paper titled “Interstellar flight” to the present ongoing projects by various organizations in designing interstellar spacecrafts to realize interstellar travel was put forward. The difference between an Interstellar and an Interplanetary probe and the present interplanetary missions were depicted. The engineering required to realize an interstellar spacecraft was illustrated using Deadalus as an example. The Icarus Interstellar’s Mission and Vision, and its root, Project Icarus’s objective with the other sub-projects of Icarus Interstellar, Project Helius, Project Forward, Project Exotic, Project Bifrost, Project Hyperion and Project Persephone were introduced. The Project Icarus’s launch, ToR, designers, modules and project plan were briefed. Along with this, Project Longshot-II, The student’s project of Icarus Interstellar was explained. The objective of it and the work being carried out by the students in this project was described. This encouraged a lot more students present there to explore the opportunities and get involved in projects like this and realize their dream of working in the space sector. The ongoing research on this interstellar travel by many organizations including I4IS and 100Year Starship Symposium’s initiative was mentioned. Icarus Interstellar’s hand in hand collaboration with 100YSS and therein its effort in bringing together all the interstellar space research together to realize interstellar flight boosted up the excitement in the spectators. This was a warm welcome to this new space venture in the country.