Reaching for the Stars

The NASA Administrator, Dan Goldin, has given us the challenge to literally "Reach for the Stars" by requesting an Interstellar Mission. The star that has been chosen for the design reference mission is Alpha Centauri, located at a distance of 4.3 light years from Earth. As an additional enticement for this mission, the discovery of four newly formed solar systems was announced in May of 1998. In July of 1998, a NASA/AIAA Interstellar Mission Workshop was held at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California to develop the Interstellar Mission roadmap including a set of precursor missions, and to examine advanced propulsion concepts to enable these missions. This paper outlines the Interstellar Mission, related Precursor Interstellar Missions, and the advanced propulsion research and technology development activities being conducted to support these missions.