Initiative For Interstellar Studies on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
The Initiative for Interstellar Studies (i4is) is a UK-registered not-for-profit company, whose objectives are education and research into the challenges of Interstellar Travel. It pioneered small-scale laser sail interstellar probes (Project Dragonfly (space study), Project Dragonfly) and missions to interstellar objects (Project Lyra). Several of its #Prominent Figures, principals were involved in the 100 Year Starship winning team originated by NASA and DARPA.
The US activities of i4is are coordinated by the Institute for Interstellar Studies, a not-for-profit registered in Tennessee, USA.
i4is has initiated a project working on small interstellar spacecraft, propelled by a laser sail in 2013 under the name of Project Dragonfly (space study), Project Dragonfly. Four student teams worked on concepts for such a mission in 2014 and 2015 in the context of a design competition. The design of the team from the University of California, Santa Barbara, has subsequently been selected as the baseline system architecture for Breakthrough Starshot. A subsequent study, Project Andromeda, has provided input to Breakthrough Starshot prior to its announcement in 2016.
Project Lyra:
In November 2017, i4is launched Project Lyra and proposed a set of mission concepts for reaching the interstellar objects 1I/ʻOumuamua, 2I/Borisov, and yet to be discovered objects. The project has been featured in numerous media outlets.
World and generation ship, Generation Ships:
i4is has published on world ships, large interstellar generation ships and has presented its results at the European Space Agency, ESA Interstellar Workshop in 2019 as well as in European Space Agency, ESA's Acta Futura journal. In 2024, the Project Hyperion (interstellar), Project Hyperion design competition was launched.
Venus astrobiology mission:
Subsequent to the alleged discovery of phosphine in the Life on Venus#Phosphine, Venusian atmosphere in 2020, i4is published a study on a dedicated astrobiology mission, based on a fleet of balloons to probe the Venusian atmosphere.
Principium:
The i4is publishes a quarterly newsletter, Principium.
Advisory Council of the i4is
* Alan Bond (engineer), Alan Bond, Managing Director of Reaction Engines Limited, is a consultant to i4is. * Ian Crawford (astrobiologist), Ian Crawford, Professor of Planetary Science and Astrobiology at the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Birkbeck College, University of London is a member of th
Advisory Council of the i4is
* Gregory L. Matloff, professor New York City College of Technology is Chair of the Advisory Council of the i4is.
British Interplanetary Society website
Journal of the British Interplanetary Society
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181201174958/http://www.jbis.org.uk/ , date=2018-12-01
International Space University
20 minutes talk by Chris Welch about The Institute for Interstellar Studies
during SpaceUp Stuttgart 2012 (YouTube Video) Organizations established in 2012 Space advocacy organizations Space organizations Interstellar travel 2012 establishments in the United Kingdom
Notable projects and activities
Project Dragonfly (space study), Project Dragonfly:
i4is has initiated a project working on small interstellar spacecraft, propelled by a laser sail in 2013 under the name of Project Dragonfly (space study), Project Dragonfly. Four student teams worked on concepts for such a mission in 2014 and 2015 in the context of a design competition. The design of the team from the University of California, Santa Barbara, has subsequently been selected as the baseline system architecture for Breakthrough Starshot. A subsequent study, Project Andromeda, has provided input to Breakthrough Starshot prior to its announcement in 2016.
Project Lyra:
In November 2017, i4is launched Project Lyra and proposed a set of mission concepts for reaching the interstellar objects 1I/ʻOumuamua, 2I/Borisov, and yet to be discovered objects. The project has been featured in numerous media outlets.
World and generation ship, Generation Ships:
i4is has published on world ships, large interstellar generation ships and has presented its results at the European Space Agency, ESA Interstellar Workshop in 2019 as well as in European Space Agency, ESA's Acta Futura journal. In 2024, the Project Hyperion (interstellar), Project Hyperion design competition was launched.
Venus astrobiology mission:
Subsequent to the alleged discovery of phosphine in the Life on Venus#Phosphine, Venusian atmosphere in 2020, i4is published a study on a dedicated astrobiology mission, based on a fleet of balloons to probe the Venusian atmosphere.
Principium:
The i4is publishes a quarterly newsletter, Principium.
Prominent figures
The i4is has a number of internationally renowned academics and engineers who have oversight and involvement with its work - * Freeman Dyson Royal Society, FRS, theoretical physicist and mathematician, professor emeritus Institute for Advanced Study was a member of thAdvisory Council of the i4is
* Alan Bond (engineer), Alan Bond, Managing Director of Reaction Engines Limited, is a consultant to i4is. * Ian Crawford (astrobiologist), Ian Crawford, Professor of Planetary Science and Astrobiology at the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Birkbeck College, University of London is a member of th
Advisory Council of the i4is
* Gregory L. Matloff, professor New York City College of Technology is Chair of the Advisory Council of the i4is.
References
External links
British Interplanetary Society website
Journal of the British Interplanetary Society
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181201174958/http://www.jbis.org.uk/ , date=2018-12-01
International Space University
20 minutes talk by Chris Welch about The Institute for Interstellar Studies
during SpaceUp Stuttgart 2012 (YouTube Video) Organizations established in 2012 Space advocacy organizations Space organizations Interstellar travel 2012 establishments in the United Kingdom