Paul Gilster

Frank Tipler jolted the astrophysics community in 1980 when he introduced self-replicating interstellar probes into discussion of the Fermi Paradox. The mathematical model of self-replication came from John von Neumann, and was codified in 1966 (after von Neumann’s death) by Arthur Burks in Theory of Self-Reproducing Automata (1966). SF fans will also know of Fred Saberhagen’s berserker novels and short stories (the first appeared in 1963).

The second part of Jim Benford’s examination of Breakthrough Starshot concludes our look at the numerous issues advanced by Phase I of the project. Largely discounted in recent press coverage, the Starshot effort in fact completed a successful Phase I and left behind numerous papers that illuminate the path forward for interstellar flight. This is solid work on everything from laser arrays to metamaterials and the engineering of data return at light-year distances. Read on.

The fortunes of Breakthrough Starshot have been the subject of so much discussion not only in comments in these pages but in backchannel emails that it is with relief that I turn to Jim Benford’s analysis of a project that has done significant work on interstellar travel and is still very much alive. Jim led the sail team for several of his eight years with Breakthrough Starshot and was with the project from the beginning.