It’s important to make clear, though, that in the original queue of missions aimed at finding life elsewhere, a mission like Kepler was a survey mission to establish the statistical frequency of whether these planets are rare or common. The mechanical strength of deuterium is very low – it’s like warm butter – so it need to be enclosed, not “netted” or wrapped in “mesh”. This program and MINERVA should keep folks very busy studying brighter systems (and at a fraction of the cost of even an Explorer class mission).

It will be of particular interest to those with a keen interest in exploring the universe at large, also those who like their science fiction hard and realistic, and want to understand how we as a species can expand into the galaxy. A few tons of food and O2 per crew member/year might be an easier way to go than full recycling, if food can be made shelf stable for a century or more.At 30%, relativistic effects between people on Earth and on the spacecraft, such as time dilation would become more noticeable, such as the shipboard time being less than the Earth observed time. Early versions were said to have 8 engines and later 24 nuclear rocket engines, which would be powered by the fusing of deuterium into helium-3. Kepler has, so far, detected more than 2,700 candidate exoplanets orbiting distant stars, including many Earth-size planets that are within their star’s habitable zone, where water could exist in liquid form. The Echolance would require an immense amount of energy to reach relativistic speeds, possibly necessitating the mining of entire planets for resources.

The Enzmann could function as an interstellar ark, supporting a crew of 200 but with space for expansion. Sources conflict about the projected speed, perhaps 30% of the speed of light, c, but 9% may be more likely. The Enzmann starship, during the long coasting part of its journey, would be spun-up around its longitudinal axis to provide artificial gravity for the people on board. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others.

As the spaceship zips through the cosmos, passengers can sit back, relax, and marvel at the stunning intergalactic views.

This book concludes by noting that the construction and launch of Echolance fleets can be accomplished without major technological breakthroughs, at surprisingly affordable cost, in a relatively short time, and with beneficial consequences for humans who remain on the Earth, as well as for those who open up the cornucopia of interstellar space. Enzmann’s innovative design for a relativistic interstellar ship is nothing short of revolutionary, combining cutting-edge scientific concepts with a hefty dose of wishful thinking. But IIRC, the 2,xxx planet “candidates” cannot be confirmed by Kepler…it can’t distinguish those from an in-line eclipsing binary. It lived the length of its prime mission, and was extremely successful during that time at achieving this goal.In any case, he was a rocket man, and it was perhaps inevitable that it would be Project Orion that drew his attention. Immortality in Space: Enzmann’s Echolance, or how to live forever, give or take a few billion years (science video). Stine points out that a Saturn V without the Apollo escape tower would lie sideways inside this cylinder, which contains nearly a half-million cubic feet of living space.