@S1-A.ARPA,@MIT-MC.ARPA:DIETZ@RUTGERS.ARPA (06/22/85)
From: DIETZ@RUTGERS.ARPA I missed the beginning of the Interstellar probe discussion. Did Forward's Starwisp idea get mentioned? Starwisp is a VERY lightweight cloud of thin metal wires. Arranged at the intersections of the wires are tiny electronic devices. The wisp is powered by microwaves from a source in the solar system. It is accelerated by microwave radiation pressure at about 100 gees(!); acceleration is limited (as in all radiation pressure systems) by heating of the sail. It coasts, inactive, to the target system at a good fraction of c. When it reaches the target system a microwave beam from the solar system (greatly spread out) illuminates it; information is transmitted back to Earth by phase conjugating the microwave power signal. The engineering challenges here are severe, but relatively little power is needed (gigawatts for a gram-scale wisp). -------