Key to producing speedier spacecrafts could be taken from Star Wars

Star Wars could inspire future technologies for interstellar travel in the future.

Set “a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away,” the franchise now owned by Disney and created by George Lucas revolves around the conflict between good and evil forces, and spacecraft that they pilot at mind-blowing speeds.

Star Wars involves the concept of hyperspace, which pilots use to travel great distances between star systems at speeds faster than light. In order to make use of hyperspace, spacecraft are equipped with special engines called hyperdrives, allowing them to zoom across the galaxy in a matter of hours or days.

Problems with interstellar travel

Interstellar travel is the concept of journeying between stars or star systems in a galaxy, often covering distances far greater than those within our own solar system. Other than the Sun, the closest star to us is Proxima Centauri, which is about 4.24 light-years away.

Han Solo, Chewbacca and company make hyperspace travel look easy. In the real world, the technology to reach another star system does not exist. “For the moment, sending humans to the edge of interstellar space, let alone across the cosmic void to other stars, remains firmly in the realm of science fiction,” NASA said.

Chewbacca and Han Solo make it look easyLucasfilm/Disney

The cocktail of vast distances, speed limitations, duration of travel, energy and propulsion requirements and safety and life support systems makes interstellar travel a tremendous challenge with the technology we have right now.

Scientists are researching new propulsion technologies and ways to overcome these barriers as we speak. Emerging methods in propulsion could open up the possibility of intergalactic travel. Although the depiction of hyperspace breaks the laws of physics, it could serve as inspiration for future technologies.

Humans can’t travel anywhere close to the speed of light with current technology, and it would take thousands of years, and many new breakthroughs to make it happen. With current tech, it would take tens of thousands of years to reach it. If we could travel at the speed of light like in Star Wars, it would take 4.24 years to reach Proxima Centauri. A spacecraft travelling just one-tenth of the seed of light, nearly 300,000 kilometres per second, would cut the trip down to just 40 years.

The possible solutions

Emerging propulsion methods right now. Nuclear power is an option, but even that technology could take thousands of years to be utilised. Controlled fusion could help with this development, Science Newsreports.

The solution could lie in the huge sails as seen in Star Wars that catch stellar winds to sail through space like a ship moves along the sea. The nonprofit Planetary Society tested a similar concept with a small craft called LightSail 2, which orbited Earth for around three years after it launched in 2019. Its sails used pressure from sunlight.

Although propelling a large spacecraft carrying humans using solar sails would be difficult, because the thrust needed would not be strong enough, using sunlight would allow a spaceship to accelerate without needing fuel. As long the spacecraft was exposed to sunlight, it could continue gaining traction without being slowed by air friction as a result of an atmosphere.

But for now, it will be many years before humans are able to achieve interstellar travel.

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