Guest: Kelvin Long;  Topics:  Interstellar flight, the Institute for Interstellar Studies, advanced propulsion and more.  Please direct all comments and questions regarding specific Space Show programs & guest(s) to the Space Show blog which is part of archived program on our website, www.thespaceshow.com.   Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. In addition, please remember that your Amazon purchases can help support The Space Show/OGLF. See www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm.    

We welcomed Kelvin Long back to the show for this two segment 91 minute discussion focused on interstellar flight, including interstellar human spaceflight. In starting our discussion,  Mr. Long told us about the his UK company,  the Initiative For Interstellar Studies.  Our guest also talked about and described his US sister organization, the Institute for Interstellar Studies.  We also talked about  his organization buying a new historical HQ building in the UK.  This topic came up many times during our discussion so note the new opportunities that will develop with interstellar research and educational outreach as a result of having this new building with an eventual lab research unit developed out in the basement.   

Some of the topics discussed included the challenge of dealing with a very high mass for human interstellar spaceflight.  Faster than light (FTL) came up though Kelvin said  he had reasons for thinking it may not be plausible and practical.. Being able to travel at a fraction of the speed of light as in Starshot is far more plausible but not for humans.  Breakthrough Starshot was discussed along with the pending technology.  The subject of interstellar starship models came up based on vehicles from well-known science fiction movies.  Interstellar dust was another topic, especially if it collided with the interstellar wafers per the Starshot project.  One way around the dust problem was to send huge quantities of the wafers out there so that at least a few survive.   

Artificial intelligence and the role it might play in interstellar spaceflight and development was a big topic of discussion.  Our guest talked about a likely future that blurred the lines with AI and humans.  Don’t miss this discussion.  He also mentioned some of his projects which can be found here:  https://i4is.org/what-we-do/technical/#more-468.  Additional topics included the ISS and the Moon. 

In the second segment, we talked about his June New York conference, “Foundations Of Interstellar Studies, June 13-15, 2017.  Check it out here:  www.citytech.cuny.edu/physicsworkshop.  Kelvin spent time talking about the papers, this workshop, and when the papers would be made available through the British Interplanetary Society.  We will follow this and let you know the workshop papers have been published.  Kelvin talked about his blog (see https://i4is.org/blog).  His newsletter was mentioned as well, the

Principium (https://i4is.org/publications/principium). 

Kim called from Mexico, we talked about interns and educational outreach programs for interstellar research, then we switched to talking about SETI and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.  Kelvin had much to say on this topic.  Before the program ended, Ben sent in a question asking our guest about time travel. This too was an interesting discussion you do not want to miss.   For closing comments, Kelvin outlined an aggressive research and outreach program focused on the use of their new HQ building and projects his team has in mind.  We will definitely be hearing more about these programs in the near future.

Please post your comments/questions for Dr. Kelvin Long on TSS blog. You can reach our guest through me or his websites including his personal site, www.kelvinflong.com.