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Comment by cesaref | Hacker News Reader

Doesn't sound like they're planning to stop when they get there.

No. The craft is obviously disposable, on a one-way trip.

I wonder if it will even slow down, is there any braking manoeuvre possible, or will it shoot through the target solar system at 0.2c ?

What would be nice, would be if a signal - data, information about the target solar system could be sent back during the fly-by. But I see no sign of that.

I've seen pictures of a barren desert landscape today, taken recently on Mars. It's marvellous, and I don't need the rover to come back for that.

But without even information coming back, what's the point?

From the original starshot project we know that information is exactly the aim. Though at the moment we are not yet on the level of technology to compactify enough the transmition equipment.

There is no manuever which can help with 0.2c velocity drop. Individual gravitational assist manuever usian a planet of the solar system can add/remove hundreds of meters/second (depends on the planet mass and how close to its center we can pass). Plus the vehicle flyies-by the object used for such assist. Since Alpha Centauri is literally the closest star system, there is nothing on the way to be used for such an assist (preferably a star).

There's a bit of precedence for this with NASA missions:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstellar_probe

If you're very lucky, a local planet will catch you in an orbit.

Or the local "Space Coast Guard" will board the vessel.

A local planet will not catch an object going 0.2c, and there isn't a way to slow it down significantly.

> A local planet will not catch an object going 0.2c

Maybe not gravitationally, but there's always the chance the planet will get in the way.

Ugh. Are we prepared for relativistic reprisals?

How about the star itself?

Think Oumuamua. You're lucky to just arrive in the targeted solar system. There's no fuel for course correction let alone a deceleration burn to attempt orbit insertion around a rock. Would they even be able to supply enough fuel to insert into a solar orbit at a Neptune/Pluto like distance?

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