Starbound: Interstellar Travel and the Limits of the Possible

by Ed Regis

Overview

This book is for anyone enthralled by the romantic dream of a voyage 'to the stars.' From our current viewpoint in the twenty-first century, crewed interstellar travel will be an exceptionally difficult undertaking. It will require building a spacecraft on a scale never before attempted, at vast cost, relying on unproven technologies. Yet somehow, through works of science fiction, TV and movies, the idea of human interstellar travel being easy or even inevitable has entered our popular consciousness. In this book, Ed Regis critically examines whether humankind is bound for distant stars, or if instead we are bound to our own star, for the indefinite future. How do we overcome the main challenge that even the nearest stars are unimaginably far away? He explores the proposed technologies and the many practical aspects of undertaking an interstellar journey, finishing with his reflections on whether such a journey should be planned for.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781009457590
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	01/30/2025
Pages:	300
Product dimensions:	5.67(w) x 8.74(h) x 0.79(d)

About the Author

Ed Regis holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from New York University and is the author of ten previous books about science and technology. He has also written for Scientific American, Wired, Nature, Harper's, Omni, Discover, and Air & Space Smithsonian. He lives with his wife, Pam, in the Maryland mountains.

Table of Contents

Preface; 1. Origins of the Dream; 2. The 100 Year Starship; 3. Three Icons of Star Travel; 4. Project Orion; 5. Where To?; 6. The World Ship; 7. Hail Mary Propulsion Systems, Inc.; 8. The Fate of the Crew; 9. The Moral Status of the Trip; 10. Let Us Hibernate; 11. Why Go?; 12. The Odds; Tables and Figures; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

‘Ed Regis’s Starbound offers a rich analysis of the rationales used by advocates to support future interstellar travel as well as the scientific, technological, and biological challenges to be met in the endeavor. In so doing Regis injects into the vision of becoming a multiplanetary species an important dose of reality missing from most discussions of such human migration.’ Roger D. Launius, former NASA chief historian

‘A deeply researched, fascinating, and sobering look at the possibility of interstellar travel.’ Kelly Weinersmith, co-author of A City on Mars

‘Throughout its information-packed, engagingly written pages, [Regis] applies a rigorous eye to both the broad-brush concepts of human interstellar travel and the fine detail of countless specific proposals … It’s Regis’s engagement with potential failures that really brings the point home … Although the analysis is serious, the tone is leavened with anecdotes and occasional incredulity at some proposed schemes … If his overwhelming message is that star travel is a lot harder than its proponents argue, Regis also raises important questions about why we should even attempt it … His conclusions may be sobering for interstellar dreamers, but this revelatory book carries lessons about our broader susceptibility to scientific and technological boosterism that we might all do well to digest. [five stars]’ Giles Sparrow, BBC Sky at Night Magazine

From the Publisher