Steemit by Sammosk 8/3/2017
Getting Moving.
Something that has always interested me is moving through space, and if we're going on a journey of interstellar distances, well, we better be doing it at pace unless you want to spend tens of thousands of years getting there. Nothing in this universe (as far as we know so far) goes faster than light, so let's look at how we can get there. Or even bend space around us to push past those limitations.
It seems rather silly to go for high speed with no method of slowing down again, so let's cover that for a moment before diving into hitting the 'Go Baby Go' button.
There are a number of methods to slow down a space craft, and here are a couple for you.
Aerobraking - using interstellar dust and debris or atmospheric interaction to create friction against the craft, reducing its speed. You could even use solar wind to brake your craft with a reversed solar sail. Or within an atmosphere by deploying parachutes or balloons to slow you down. Even a heat-shield can be considered an aerobrake as it uses friction from the air to slow you down and keep your craft safe from the elevated temperatures.
Lithobraking - essentially running into the ground, this is generally used as a last method of braking as you meet the ground, ensuring you have a strong enough craft and bodies able to resist the impact is required.
Retrothrusters - either by turning your craft around and using your main thrusters to apply reverse thrust, or by carrying thrusters mounted in the opposing direction of your craft to slow you down. This is a rather traditional method of scrubbing off speed.
Now that we have discussed a few methods of slowing down, let's look at going fast! (My favorite bit).
Nuclear Power!!
Ion Drives and Plasma Thrust.
Pushing Light?
Light On board.
Stuffing The Ram.
Capturing Black Holes?
Anti-matter - Big Booms?!
Prepare for Warpspeed!!
More:
https://steemit.com/technology/@sammosk/alternative-propulsion-systems-pushing-for-lightspeed
