RINCIPIUM PThe Newsletter of the Institute for Interstellar Studies ™ Introduction by Adrian Mann News from the Institute Tennessee Valley Interstellar Workshop Advances: DE-STAR The Starship Art of Jon Lomberg Book review R IN O T F E R E S T T U E T I L T L S A N R I S ™ TUDIES Scientia ad sidera www.I4IS.org Knowledge to the Stars Introduction by Adrian Mann “I affirm that next to the soul, the most the golden age of aircraft design. I wonder beautiful object in the galaxy is the what Geoffrey deHavilland, Reginald spaceship!” So said Alejandro Jodorowsky Mitchell or Barnes Wallis would have in his foreword to Chris Foss’ book 21st designed? I suspect it might not have been Century Foss . And who could argue with too dissimilar. As the old adage goes “If it that sentiment? looks right, it is right.” Witness the work of Jon Lomberg in this So here we stand, at the birth of the issue. He creates radical, ground-breaking concepts and ideas that will surely one day concepts of great beauty that inspire and carry humanity to the stars. Ships that force us to rconsider notions of what is burn antimatter for fuel, harness the possible, or how things can be. Which is processes at the hearts of stars, or travel right and proper, of course. on exa-watt lightbeams, hurling collosal masses at fantastic velocities, on journeys It seems many of us can recount the of decades or centuries, out into a vast, same sort of childhood experiences – an dangerous and dark unknown. Take a early interest in astronomy or science moment, stand back and consider what an fiction, a teacher that inspired or outrageous, audacious undertaking that is. encouraged, and a tireless curiousity and a desire to know more. Almost all the What on Earth – or beyond it - would people I know in the ‘Interstellar that look like? I read a lot of papers on the Community’ have taken the science or physics of interstellar travel and, though I engineering route. I was presented with a struggle with the mathematics, those dilemma when it came to my further graphs and charts are telling us things education – choose either maths and about how the Universe works and what physics, or art. Naturally, I decided to will be needed to travel through it. The pursue all three – much to the answers are truly awe-inspiring. consternation of teachers, other pupils So the starship must be beautiful! and parents who couldn’t imagine what on How could we voyage to the stars in Earth I was thinking. To be honest, I had rusting hulks, or a thing that looks like a no idea either – but also couldn’t see why collision between an oil refinery and an science and art couldn’t get along. aircraft carrier, with old boilers and And yet, it now makes sense. Though the heating ducts riveted to it? No – the design of spacecraft is constrained by the starship will be a thing of beauty and iron hand of physics and mathematics, elegance, because it must be. The there’s no reason why the form that uniquely demanding set of principles will follows the function can’t be beautiful. inevitably conspire to make it so. Take some examples from aviation – Finally, I have a personal vision of some the Supermarine Spitfire, the deHavilland far distant future – imagine, on the Comet, Concorde – all governed by the observation deck of one of the first principles of flight and yet some of the interstellar cruise ships, somewhere in the most beautiful objects created. So why darkness between the stars, some of the not spacecraft? passengers are listening to a talk on the Personally, I don’t think the truly history of interstellar travel, and how they beautiful spacecraft has yet been built. got to be where they are now. Perhaps One could hardly describe the Space right at the start of the presentation, the Shuttle, or a communications satellite, as work we’re doing today will be ‘beautiful’. Perhaps better to describe mentioned – we can only hope our far them as solutions to problems - distant descendants will look kindly on our engineering, thermal, materials and even endeavours. political problems, but hardly objects of great aesthetic value. There are designs as Adrian Mann yet unbuilt which aspire to beauty. Director, I4IS Reaction Engines’ SKYLON spaceplane, for instance, though designed at the very limits of the possible, has that sense of purpose and elegance that harks back to Principium | Issue 4 | March/April 2013 Page 2 News from the Institute I4IS’ First Starship Symposium be peer reviewed and considered for Music to fly to the stars by publication, this I4IS conference invites I4IS will be holding its first ever one- the submission of further innovative and I4IS’ honorary Interstellar Musician, the day symposium, entitled The Philosophy thought-provoking papers to explore the exceptionally multi-talented Alex Storer, of the Starship, on 29 May 2013 at the philosophy of the starship. All submissions a.k.a. The Light Dreams, has released British Interplanetary Society in London. should be sent to Future Worlds , his brand new album of Speakers already confirmed include I4IS’ interstellarinstitute@gmail , electronic space music in the style of Jean Kelvin F Long, Keith Cooper and Stephen while you can find more details at Michel Jarre, Tangerine Dream and Ashworth, as well as Bob Parkinson who http://www.i4is.org/info_events.html . Vangelis. Inspired partly by I4IS, and worked on Project Daedalus and Frederik For those simply wishing to attend, tickets featuring an introduction in the Ceyssens of Icarus Interstellar and KU are £55 for non-members of the British accompanying PDF booklet written by the Leuven in Belgium. Interplanetary Society, £45 for members space artist David Hardy, the album and £25 for students. To book tickets pay a features twelve tracks with themes Even though the first interstellar visit to http://www.bis- ranging from leaving Earth, star-flight mission may be a century or more away, space.com/products-page/symposia/the-ph and the colonisation of new worlds, to planning for an interstellar future starts ilosophy-of-the-starship/ . climate change, endangered life in the now. What sorts of vessels shall we send oceans and the ultimate destruction of into deep space, and what will they be The speaker list currently stands as Earth as our Sun ages and grows into a tasked with? How will they be constructed, follows, with more speakers to come: red giant. Alex took influences from financed and governed? What are the • The Invention of the Starship, science fiction such as Arthur C Clarke’s risks or benefits inherent in going to the by Kelvin F Long The City and the Stars , Poul Anderson’s Tau stars? What evolutionary future possibly Zero and Karen Thompson Walker’s The awaits those star-faring humans going on • Von Neumann Probes: Close to Age of Miracles , or space art from the likes a one-way colonisation trip? Indeed, who Reality? by Keith Cooper of David Hardy and Chris Moore, and amongst us should go, and why? Given • The Philosophical Heritage of the melded them into his own future tapestry. that a starship will be more than just Starship, by Stephen Ashworth Indeed, as an accomplished artist himself, technology but also an artifact of the the album’s cover is one of his own culture that builds it, what do we truly • The Starship as a Philosophical Vehicle, paintings, entitled The World Outside . mean when we talk about starships? by Bob Parkinson Organised in conjunction with the • Future Geopolitical Scenarios, Journal of the British Interplanetary Their Dominant Philosophy and the Society ( http://www.jbis.org.uk/ ), in which Impact Thereof on Deep Space, papers presented at the symposium will by Frederik Ceyssens. Future Worlds is available as a digital download priced £7.99 and, if you purchase it from Alex’s bandcamp page (http://thelightdreams.bandcamp.com/alb um/future-worlds ) then it comes with two bonus tracks, ‘First Steps’ and ‘Origins’. Alternatively, you can purchase the standard 12-track album from a variety of Amazon stores around the world, as well as iTunes and Spotify. Alex has kindly promised to donate a percentage of each sale to I4IS. So if you want a fantastic musical experience, what are you waiting for? While you’re at it, don’t forget to check out Alex’s back catalogue of albums plus I4IS Consultant Gerry Webb speaking at a previous British Interplanetary Society his artwork on his website, ‘Worldship’ symposium. www.thelightdream.net . Principium | Issue 4 | March/April 2013 Page 3 News from the Institute Learning about artificial At Edinburgh, Tate has been running a The course ran for five weeks in MOOC in artificial intelligence planning January 2013 with a total of ten hours of intelligence the interstellar way alongside his colleague Gerhard Wickler. material and the next course is scheduled Professor Austin Tate, Director of the The intention of the course is to provide a to begin on 13 January 2014. foundation in the topic, which concerns Artificial Intelligence Applications To learn more, visit itself with the execution of strategies and Institute at the University of Edinburgh https://www.coursera.org/course/aiplan . and a Senior Researcher with I4IS, has action plans by artificial intelligence – for infused a Massive Open Online Course example a robotic space probe acting out (MOOC) on artificial intelligence with a procedures on a deep space mission. Another Edinburgh MOOC potentially dose of interstellar applications. Students have the opportunity to learn relevant to those interested in interstellar the basic algorithms used in robots to studies is a course given by Professor MOOCs have, in the last few years, deliberate over which courses of action to Charles Cockell on Astrobiology and the become a popular way to make freely take, with one week on the syllabus Search for Extraterrestrial Life.