22nd June 2014

NASA starship concept

The IXS Enterprise is a NASA concept for a starship capable of faster-than-light travel. The ship has two thick outer rings that generate a warp field – contracting space ahead, while expanding space behind it. Although such a vessel may be centuries or millennia away from becoming a reality, the idea is being taking seriously by the space agency. Researchers in the Advanced Propulsion Lab at NASA's Johnson Space Center are currently running the White–Juday warp-field interferometer experiment. This aims to detect a microscopic instance of space-time warping, with the ultimate goal of producing an Alcubierre bubble, if possible. The team is led by Dr. Harold White, who collaborated with artist Mark Rademaker on these conceptual designs.

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