100 Year Starship Explained

The 100 Year Starship project (100YSS) was a one-year joint U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) effort "to take the first step in the next era of space exploration—a journey between the stars".[1] The study explored development of a viable and sustainable model for persistent, long-term, private-sector investment into the myriad of disciplines needed to make interstellar space travel practicable and feasible.[2] The goal was to examine what it would take — organizationally, technically, sociologically and ethically — to develop the ability to send humans to another star within 100 years.[3] [4] [5] The study culminated in a $500,000 grant awarded to a consortium under the lead of the Dorothy Jemison Foundation for Excellence, which led to the creation of an independent organization inheriting the name 100 Year Starship from DARPA.[6] [7] Annual 100YSS symposia were organized from 2011 to 2015, and again in 2023.[8]

Origin

The 100 Year Starship study was conceived in the summer of 2010 by the director of the DARPA Tactical Technology Office, David Neyland, as an effort seeded by DARPA to develop a viable and sustainable model for persistent, long-term, private-sector investment into the myriad of disciplines needed to make long-distance space travel practicable and feasible.[9] The study was intended to foster a rebirth of a sense of wonder among students, academia, industry, researchers and the general population to consider “why not” and to encourage them to tackle whole new classes of research and development related to all the issues surrounding long duration, long distance spaceflight. DARPA suggested that such research might benefit the Department of Defense and NASA, as well as the private and commercial sector.[10] This was similar to how science fiction spurred generations of scientists and engineers to follow the career paths they did, as an avenue to capture the imagination of people who normally wouldn't think of doing research and development and tag them with something they would be excited about.[10] The inspiration for 100YSS was the Robert Heinlein 1956 science fiction novel, Time for the Stars, in which the Long Range Foundation created technologies that took generations to deliver, but eventually benefited the entire species.[11] Neyland assigned the Tactical Technology Office's Paul Eremenko to be the program manager and study coordinator for 100YSS.[12] Eremenko convinced NASA Ames Research Center director Pete Worden to collaborate with DARPA on the project. DARPA funded the effort with $1M and NASA Ames provided $100k of support funding.[13] DARPA intended to begin the yearlong 100YSS study on 1/11/11, with a gathering of visionaries for strategic planning, followed by a commercial request for proposals in the summer of 2011, then an international symposium in the fall of 2011 and finally an award of a research foundation grant in late 2011.[9] [13] However, Worden preempted DARPA and prematurely announced the nascent study prior to internal government coordination, at San Francisco's Long Conversation conference in October 2010.[14] This caused considerable issue within government circles and forced DARPA to immediately follow-up with an early press release from Eremenko.[15]

100YSS Strategic Planning Session

On January 10 & 11, 2011, DARPA gathered 30 scientists, entrepreneurs and science fiction writers in a two-day by-invitation-only brainstorming session in northern California, at Cavallo Point, near San Francisco, to chart the course for the 100 Year Starship study.[16] The agenda consisted of cycling through the “why, what, and how” to create an organization that could sustain research that could lead to the creation of a starship in roughly 100 years.

Non-affiliated attendees included:

DARPA attendees:

NASA attendees:[14]

A majority of participants agreed on three immediate-term issues associated with the creation of a new organization or foundation of this nature: intellectual property (IP), credibility, and leadership and governance.[17]

100YSS Request for Information and Solicitation

On May 3, 2011, DARPA released a Request for Information (RFI) seeking ideas for an organization, business model and approach appropriate for a self-sustaining investment vehicle in support of the 100 Year Starship Study.[18]

Attributes of interest in the RFI included:

Respondents to the RFI needed to describe an organization and approach for the establishment and operation of the 100 Year Starship research entity (or foundation):

DARPA received over 150 responses to the RFI.[19]

The RFI was followed on August 26, 2011 by formal solicitation for award of a grant.[20] To meet the needs of the August 26th solicitation DARPA planned to award in the late fall 2011 a single entity, organization or foundation a grant for initial startup, operating expenses and initial intellectual property.

100 Year Starship Symposia

On June 15, 2011, DARPA announced the 100 Year Starship Study Public Symposium, organized by DARPA's Tactical Technology Office director, David Neyland, with NASA Ames serving as execution agent.[21] DARPA planned to encourage dialog about “all the aspects of interstellar flight … hoping that ethicists, lawyers, science fiction writers, technologists and others, will participate.” DARPA contended that the “useful, unanticipated consequences of such research – benefits from improved propulsion to energy storage and life support – can ultimately benefit the Department of Defense and to NASA, as well as the private and commercial sector.”

DARPA and NASA solicited papers for the symposium on topics including:

Three days prior to the start of the Symposium, then director of DARPA, Dr. Regina E. Dugan, and her deputy, Dr Kaighan (Ken) Gabriel, discussed the plan and intent of the symposium with Neyland and requested he cancel the entire event. Neyland explained how visible and public it was, with world travelers already en route to attend. He suggested that cancelling would have a more negative impact than letting it happen. Dugan and Gabriel agreed to let the symposium proceed, but required removal of all DARPA and NASA logos and emblems, as well as curtailing participation by DARPA personnel. They also insisted that no public video, audio recordings or photography would be allowed, and no proceedings or papers would be officially published.

The symposium was held in Orlando, Florida, from September 30 to October 2, 2011. It included presentations on the technology, biology, physics, philosophy, sociology, and economics of interstellar flight.[22] More than 500 papers were submitted and more than 700 people attended. Select papers from the conference were published in the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society.[23]

Neyland, who orchestrated the one-year starship study, provided the welcome and introduction at the Symposium, but no other DARPA personnel spoke. No high-level NASA officials spoke at the symposium either, other than Pete Worden, director of the NASA Ames Research Center in California, whom Neyland described as a “co-conspirator” and who was often regarded as a maverick in the space agency.

In 2012, after the Jemison Foundation was named as the winner of the DARPA 100YSS grant, it organized the second symposium in Houston. Papers on many subjects related to interstellar flight and organizational foundations were presented. In 2013 and 2014 symposia were held in Houston,[24] and a fifth in November 2015.[25] The sixth symposium was held in Nairobi, Kenya from January 31-February 4, 2023.[26] [27]

100YSS Intellectual Property

By design, DARPA invested in the instruments of intellectual property to support the eventual selection of an organization to carry the 100YSS vision forward. DARPA established and copyrighted the 100YSS.org website and trademarked the original names, acronyms, logos and artwork. At the award of the 100YSS grant, 100YSS intellectual property rights and trademarks were passed in perpetuity to the new 100YSS organization.

Foundation

The 100 Year Starship study was the name of the one-year DARPA project to explore development of a viable and sustainable model for persistent, long-term, private-sector investment into the myriad of disciplines needed to make interstellar space travel practicable and feasible. The outcome of the study was the selection of an organization to carry the vision forward. The winning bid was the Dorothy Jemison Foundation for Excellence, partnering with Icarus Interstellar and the Foundation for Enterprise Development, led by the American physician and former NASA astronaut Mae Jemison.[28] [7] In 2012, the consortium was awarded a $500,000 grant for further work. The new organization was granted the 100YSS intellectual property from DARPA and maintained the organizational name 100 Year Starship.[29] It was planned that the Dorothy Jemison Foundation for Excellence would team up with Icarus Interstellar, where the latter would work on the technical challenges of 100YSS.[30]

After the Jemison Foundation was named as the winner of the grant, it organized the second symposium in Houston. Papers on many subjects related to interstellar flight and organizational foundations were presented. In 2013 and 2014 symposia were also held in Houston,[31] and a fifth was held in Austria in November 2015.[25]

Canopus Awards

In 2015, the 100 Year Starship project hosted its first Canopus Awards for excellence in interstellar writing.[32] The winners were announced October 30, 2015, at the symposium:[33]

A second Canopus Award competition was run in 2017.[34] [35] The winners were:

A third Canopus Award competition has been announced for 2023.[36] A new category, "Original Local Short-form Fiction," open to continental African writers, was introduced for the 2023 award.[37] The finalists, by category, are:

Criticism

The 100 Year Starship was named in 2012 by U.S. Senator Tom Coburn as one of the 100 most wasteful government spending projects. Coburn specifically cited a 100 Year Starship workshop that included one session, titled "Did Jesus Die for Klingons Too?" that debated the implications for Christian philosophy should life be found on other planets.[38] [39]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: DARPA/NASA Seek to Inspire Multigenerational Research and Development (DARPA Press Release October 28, 2010). 100yss.org . 2011-07-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110915190628/http://www.100yss.org/pdf/StarshipNewsRelease.pdf . 2011-09-15 . dead . 2022-12-12 . DARPA also anticipates that the advancements achieved by such technologies will have substantial relevance to Department of Defense (DoD) mission areas including propulsion, energy storage, biology/life support, computing, structures, navigation, and others. .
  2. Web site: DARPA Releases Request For Information for the 100 Year Starship Study . darpa.mil . 2011-05-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110903180420/http://www.darpa.mil/NewsEvents/Releases/2011/2011/05/05_DARPA_Releases_Request_for_Information_for_the_100_Year_Starship_Study.aspx . 2011-09-03 . dead . 2022-12-12.
  3. News: Offering Funds, U.S. Agency Dreams of Sending Humans to Stars . Dennis . Overbye . August 18, 2011 . The New York Times.
  4. News: Kenneth . Chang . Not Such a Stretch to Reach for the Stars . . October 17, 2011 . 21 May 2014.
  5. Web site: Michael . Belfiore . To Infinity and Beyond at DARPA's 100-Year Starship Symposium . . September 30, 2011 . 21 May 2014.
  6. Web site: Former astronaut to lead starship effort. Sharon . Weinberger. 5 January 2012. . 21 May 2014.
  7. Web site: 100 Year Starship Winner Announced . Paul . Gilster . 6 January 2012 . Centauri Dreams . 28 August 2016.
  8. Web site: 100 Year Starship Symposiums. live. 12 December 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20170724020214/http://www.100yss.org:80/symposium/nexus . 2017-07-24 .
  9. Web site: 2011 American Astronautical Society Robert H. Goddard Memorial Symposium-- DARPA/NASA Joint Efforts, Presentation by David Neyland, DARPA . April 1, 2011 . 2022-12-12.
  10. Web site: Anderson . Paul Scott . 100 year Starship Project has a new leader . Phys.org . 2012-01-12 . 2022-12-12.
  11. Web site: Gilster (Centauri Dreams). Paul . Robert Heinlein And The 100 Year Starship Study . Gizmodo . 2011-08-21 . 2022-12-12 . Neyland credits Heinlein with the notion that inspired the 100 Year Starship Study, but he also pointed to Jules Verne, whose From the Earth to the Moon appeared in 1865..
  12. News: Page. Lewis. DARPA, NASA team on '100-Year Starship' project: plan to invent Heinlein style miracle nonprofit first. The 100-Year Starship study will examine the business model needed to develop and mature a technology portfolio enabling long-distance manned space flight a century from now. . 18 June 2014. The Register. November 3, 2010.
  13. Web site: NASA Ames' Worden reveals DARPA-funded 'Hundred Year Starship' program « Kurzweil . kurzweilai.net . 2010-10-18 . 2022-12-12.
  14. Web site: Gilster . Paul . 100 Year Starship Meeting: A Report . Centauri Dreams . 2011-01-28 . 2022-12-12.
  15. Web site: NASA and DARPA Team Up for 100-Year Starship Study . pcmag.com . 2010-10-30 . 2022-12-12.
  16. Web site: 100-Year Starship Study Strategic Planning Workshop Held . darpa.mil . 2011-02-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111202150320/http://www.darpa.mil/NewsEvents/Releases/2011/2011/02/09_100-Year_Starship_Study_Strategic_Planning_Workshop_Held.aspx . 2011-12-02 . dead . 2022-12-12.
  17. Web site: THE 100-YEAR STARSHIP STUDY: Strategy Planning Workshop Synthesis & Discussions . 100yss.org . 2011-06-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110904152215/http://www.100yss.org/pdf/100YSS_January_Synopsis.pdf . 2011-09-04 . dead . 2022-12-12.
  18. Web site: DARPA Request for Information: 100 Year Starship Study . SpaceRef . 2011-05-19 . 2022-12-12.
  19. Web site: Foust . Jeff . The Space Review: It's not (just) about the starship . thespacereview.com . 2011-06-20 . 2022-12-15.
  20. Web site: DARPA 100 Year Starship Solicitation Announcement . SpaceRef . 2011-08-31 . 2022-12-12.
  21. Web site: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency - 2011/06/15 DARPA Encourages Individuals and Organizations to Look to the Stars . darpa.mil . 2011-06-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111108081454/http://www.darpa.mil/NewsEvents/Releases/2011/2011/06/15_DARPA_Encourages_Individuals_and_Organizations_to_Look_to_the_Stars.aspx . 2011-11-08 . dead . 2022-12-12.
  22. Web site: 100 Year Starship Study 2012 Public Symposium Agenda . https://web.archive.org/web/20120227203817/http://www.100yss.org/pdf/100YSSAgenda_0902.pdf . February 27, 2012 .
  23. Web site: 100YSS JBIS Papers - Yearly archives for papers published in JBIS . bis-space.com . 2022-12-14.
  24. Web site: 100 Year Symposium 2014 . 2013 . 2014-05-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140526011544/http://100yss.org/symposium/2014 . 2014-05-26 . dead .
  25. Web site: NIH - NIBIB Director Roderic Pettigrew at the 100 Year Starship symposium. www.nibib.nih.gov. 2020-01-02. 2020-01-02. https://web.archive.org/web/20200102211511/https://www.nibib.nih.gov/news-events/newsroom/100-year-starship-symposium. dead . NIBIB Director Roderic Pettigrew, Ph.D., M.D., participated in an expert panel convened by the 100 Year Starship in Graz, Austria, to conceptualize the health technologies needed for a human to travel into deep space..
  26. Web site: November 21, 2022 . Celebrating its 10th Anniversary . May 29, 2023 . nexusnairobi.org.
  27. Web site: 100 Year Starship's Post . May 29, 2023 . Linkedin.com.
  28. Web site: Former astronaut to lead starship effort. Sharon . Weinberger. 5 January 2012. . 21 May 2014.
  29. Project Icarus: Laying the Plans for Interstellar Travel . Ross . Andersen . . February 2012 . 28 August 2016.
  30. Uniting the Planet for a Journey to Another Star . https://web.archive.org/web/20220109160203/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna47602646 . dead . January 9, 2022 . Ian . O'Neill . . May 2012 . 9 January 2022.
  31. Web site: 100 Year Symposium 2014 . 2013 . 2014-05-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140526011544/http://100yss.org/symposium/2014 . 2014-05-26 . dead .
  32. Web site: 100 Year Starship Celebrates Halloween Eve Awarding First Interstellar Writing Prize During Science Fiction Stories Night . 20 October 2015 . 100yss.org . 28 August 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160813214531/http://100yss.org/news/press . 2016-08-13 . dead .
  33. Web site: Locus Online News » Canopus Award Winners. www.locusmag.com. 2 November 2015. 2015-11-02.
  34. Web site: 100 Year Starship to Announce Winners of the 2016-2017 Canopus Awards at NEXUS 2017 in Los Angeles in September. 16 January 2023 .
  35. Web site: 100 YEAR STARSHIP ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF THE SECOND CANOPUS AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE IN INTERSTELLAR WRITING. live. 26 March 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20130316122520/http://100yss.org:80/news/blog . 2013-03-16 .
  36. Web site: 100 Year Starship Announces Finalists for the 2023 Canopus Award for Excellence in Interstellar Writing. Winners to Be Announced at NEXUS NAIROBI 2023. 16 January 2023 .
  37. Web site: 100 Year Starship Announces Canopus Award Contest for Africa Writers. 16 January 2023 .
  38. Web site: Dinan. Stephen. November 15, 2012. Pentagon wants to know: 'Did Jesus die for Klingons too?'. live. Washington Times. https://web.archive.org/web/20121115180022/http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/inside-politics/2012/nov/15/pentagon-wants-know-did-jesus-die-klingons-too/ . 2012-11-15 .
  39. Web site: Javers. Eamon. Nov 15, 2012. Did Jesus Die for Klingons, Too? The Pentagon Wants to Know. live. CNBC. https://web.archive.org/web/20130127083355/http://www.cnbc.com/id/49844670 . 2013-01-27 .