Starbound
Interstellar Travel and the Limits of the Possible

Science writer Ed Regis critically explores of the proposed technologies and practicalities of undertaking an interstellar journey.

Ed Regis (Author)

9781009457590, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 30 January 2025

300 pages
22.2 x 14.4 x 2 cm, 0.47 kg

'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

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.

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.

Subject Areas: Popular astronomy & space [WNX]