An asteroid starship proposal: a reference plan for a manned interstellar mission

Abstract

The instant asteroid starship is a reference plan for a manned interstellar mission, developed in the wake of the 100YSS program sponsored by DARPA and NASA. This plan consists of a full conceptual design that considers most of the requirements for a manned interstellar mission, including systems and subsystems, strategies, and motivation. For resource utilization, safety considerations, and immediate start of activities, a captured asteroid is engineered as a space settlement. In this article, basic aspects of this plan are summarized; the development is part of a larger effort, sponsored by the group Star Voyager, which should culminate in a reference starship design