Space Flight, Astronautics and Light Barrier
摘要
Amazing achievements and accomplishments of space science and technologies in the past half-century, have profoundly affected all disciplines of natural science and engineering. By the end of 20 th Century, man or man-made spacecrafts landed, or approached and surveyed all planets of solar system and their moons except Pluto. Biologists believe that life may emerge and evolve wherever liquid water exists. No liquid water is ever found yet on all planets and their moons in Solar System except for our Earth. Our mother planet turned out to be the only life-supporting oasis within 4 light years of the Milky Way. It is suggested in this article that time has come for science and engineering communities to study and prepare interstellar flight of manned or unmanned spacecrafts beyond Solar System. Four issues are to be addressed as prerequisite for such flight, namely, detailed survey of nearby space beyond Solar System, design of nuclear fusion rocket engine, long-sustainable on-board life-supporting system and breakthrough of the light barrier.