Stephen Blaha

Multi-stage Space Guns, Micro-pulse Nuclear Rockets, and Faster-than-light Quark-gluon Ion Drive Starships Stephen Blaha

This book proposes a long-term space program for solar system exploration and travel to the stars in an aggressive, cost-effective way. It develops a new multi-stage space gun to shoot large payloads cheaply into space up to 150+ kilometers. It proposes new types of nuclear rockets for cost-effective exploration in the solar system, and eventually for use on starships - "short range" nuclear rockets for the Solar System, and "long shelf life" nuclear rockets for starships. Also, it describes long shelf life nuclear reactors of new design that have hitherto not been developed. Most importantly, the book develops detailed, faster-than-light starship designs (qualitatively in the text - no math, and mathematically in appendices). The key to faster-than-light starships is a faster-than light ion thrust generated by quark-gluon plasmas. This book describes how quark-gluon plasmas can be created in high energy ion collisions and how they might be used for starship propulsion. Several possible starship designs are discussed in detail as well as a mechanism for artificial gravity for disc shaped and cigar shaped starships.