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Nuclear pulse propulsion
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===Project Longshot=== {{Main|Project Longshot}} Project Longshot was a [[NASA]]-sponsored research project carried out in conjunction with the [[US Naval Academy]] in the late 1980s.<ref>{{cite web |last=Beals |first=Keith A. |display-authors=etal |title=Project Longshot An Unmanned Probe To Alpha Centauri |publisher=[[NASA]] |url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19890007533_1989007533.pdf |access-date=March 14, 2011}}</ref> ''Longshot'' was in some ways a development of the basic Daedalus concept, in that it used magnetically funneled ICF. The key difference was that they felt that the reaction could not power both the rocket and the other systems, and instead included a 300 kW conventional [[nuclear reactor]] for running the ship. The added weight of the reactor reduced performance somewhat, but even using [[Lithium hydride|LiD]] fuel it would be able to reach neighboring star [[Alpha Centauri]] in 100 years (approx. velocity of 13,411 km/s, at a distance of 4.5 light years, equivalent to 4.5% of light speed).
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