Starbound: Interstellar Travel and the Limits of the Possible

This book is for anyone enthralled by the romantic dream of a voyage 'to the stars.' From our current viewpoint in the twenty-first century, crewed interstellar travel will be an exceptionally difficult undertaking. It will require building a spacecraft on a scale never before attempted, at vast cost, relying on unproven technologies. Yet somehow, through works of science fiction, TV and movies, the idea of human interstellar travel being easy or even inevitable has entered our popular consciousness. In this book, Ed Regis critically examines whether humankind is bound for distant stars, or if instead we are bound to our own star, for the indefinite future. How do we overcome the main challenge that even the nearest stars are unimaginably far away? He explores the proposed technologies and the many practical aspects of undertaking an interstellar journey, finishing with his reflections on whether such a journey should be planned for.

Table of Contents:
Preface; 1. Origins of the Dream; 2. The 100 Year Starship; 3. Three Icons of Star Travel; 4. Project Orion; 5. Where To?; 6. The World Ship; 7. Hail Mary Propulsion Systems, Inc.; 8. The Fate of the Crew; 9. The Moral Status of the Trip; 10. Let Us Hibernate; 11. Why Go?; 12. The Odds; Tables and Figures; Bibliography; Index.

About the Author :
Ed Regis holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from New York University and is the author of ten previous books about science and technology. He has also written for Scientific American, Wired, Nature, Harper's, Omni, Discover, and Air & Space Smithsonian. He lives with his wife, Pam, in the Maryland mountains.

Review :
'Ed Regis's Starbound offers a rich analysis of the rationales used by advocates to support future interstellar travel as well as the scientific, technological, and biological challenges to be met in the endeavor. In so doing Regis injects into the vision of becoming a multiplanetary species an important dose of reality missing from most discussions of such human migration.' Roger D. Launius, former NASA chief historian 'A deeply researched, fascinating, and sobering look at the possibility of interstellar travel.' Kelly Weinersmith, co-author of A City on Mars 'Throughout its information-packed, engagingly written pages, [Regis] applies a rigorous eye to both the broad-brush concepts of human interstellar travel and the fine detail of countless specific proposals … It's Regis's engagement with potential failures that really brings the point home … Although the analysis is serious, the tone is leavened with anecdotes and occasional incredulity at some proposed schemes … If his overwhelming message is that star travel is a lot harder than its proponents argue, Regis also raises important questions about why we should even attempt it … His conclusions may be sobering for interstellar dreamers, but this revelatory book carries lessons about our broader susceptibility to scientific and technological boosterism that we might all do well to digest. [five stars]' Giles Sparrow, BBC Sky at Night Magazine 'Ed Regis offers his assessment of the possibility, plausibility or even desirability of interstellar travel. The title is self-consciously double-edged: we're either heading to the stars or forever anchored to the Sun. His intention is to present the arguments and let the reader decide - but there's no doubt where he has landed.… As [the author shows], questions about current and future space exploration are profoundly consequential. There are no easier answers, but the stakes couldn't be higher.' Richard Dunn, The Times Literary Supplement '(a) vigorous and entertaining book mixing science and technology with dreams and religion.' Andrew Robinson, Nature 'Ed Regis is a thoughtful and amusing commentator … In 12 chapters he carefully unpicks and assesses the stories and the technology of proposed interstellar travel … Regis takes in turn each of the proposed engineering and social topics involved in the project[s] and applies a healthy dose of reality … His discussion is not in the minutiae of small details but addresses the overwhelmingly vast lack of potentially capable technology … This excellent and thoroughly readable book guides our thinking and starship imaginings to follow Regis's ideal of not letting our dreams outrun what is possible …' Barry Kent, The Observatory 'The title of the book is deliberately ambiguous; is humanity destined to reach the stars or forever bound to a single star? … In fact, however, Starbound argues strongly that there is no reason to believe that human interstellar travel is possible. It asserts that achieving such a feat would require overcoming many difficulties which may well be insuperable; that all of the plans thus far are hopelessly inadequate or completely farfetched … In my mind, Regis makes a convincing case.' Ernest Davis, Siam News