Cutting-Edge News Online

The field of warp drive research is moving rapidly beyond the realm of science fiction to real-world engineering solutions for achieving faster-than-light (FTL) space travel.

New Warp-Drive Propulsion Concept Moves Fictional Starships Closer to Engineering Reality
by Chrissy Newton | The Debrief

A new warp-drive study proposes a novel segmented design that could sidestep many of the problems in the original decades-old concept, bringing the possibility of hyper-fast space travel one step closer to becoming a reality.

Warp drive theory has quickly evolved since the mid-90s, when a concept developed by Mexican physicist Miguel Alcubierre was first described in a landmark paper that provided a scientific basis for hyper-fast travel within general relativity.

Continue reading →

A novel warp drive concept that can function without any need for hypothesized exotic or negative forms of energy has been unveiled in a groundbreaking new study by leading propulsion researchers.

Dubbed the “Constant-Velocity Subluminal Warp Drive,” the concept, developed by physicists with the Advanced Propulsion Laboratory at the New York-based think tank Applied Physics and from the University of Alabama in Huntsville, offers a theoretical new means of propulsion for space travel that conforms to general relativity, allowing it to operate at constant subluminal speeds with no need for unphysical forms of matter outlined in past concepts. This would allow a “warp bubble” to be achieved that will allow the movement of objects very rapidly through space within the bounds of light speed.

Warp Drive Breakthrough Could Enable Constant-Velocity Subluminal Travel

Continue reading →

Researchers are developing a real-life tractor beam, with the goal of pulling defunct satellites out of orbit to alleviate the space junk problem.

In science fiction films, nothing raises tension quite like the good guys’ spaceship getting caught in an invisible tractor beam that allows the baddies to slowly reel them in. But what was once only a sci-fi staple could soon become a reality.

This real-life tractor beam wouldn’t suck in helpless starship pilots, however. Instead, it would use electrostatic attraction to nudge hazardous space junk into a safer Earth orbit where it cannot smash into working spacecraft.

Sci-Fi Inspired Tractor Beams Are Real, and Could Solve a Major Space Junk Problem

Continue reading →

In the vast majority of space-based science fiction, ships that can travel faster than the speed of light are pretty much a given. Most credit Gene Rodenberry for creating the first warp drive spacecraft for his TV show Star Trek, but before too long, other space dramas like Star Wars were using their own “hyperdrives” to power ships from planet to planet in a matter of hours, or even minutes.

Then in 1994, Mexican mathematician Miguel Alcubierre laid out the mathematical foundation for a real-world warp drive spacecraft. Critics immediately pointed out the shortcomings of Alcubierre’s work. Nonetheless, his mathematics were sound, moving at least the idea of a warp-capable spaceship from science fiction closer to science fact. Since Alcubierre’s breakthrough, a number of physicists and engineers have laid out their own formulas for theoretical warp drives. See the following article for more information:

Star Trek Is Motivating This Team of Scientists to Build a Working Warp Drive Spacecraft

Continue reading →

Imagine gliding smoothly beyond Earth’s atmosphere, not in a thundering rocket, but in the gentle embrace of a space balloon. This dream could soon be a reality as the American start-up Space Perspective floats closer toward its goal of redefining space tourism and offering thrill-seekers a serene journey to the edge of space in its state-of-the-art balloon.

The space balloon will take roughly two hours to reach its apogee of 100,000 feet above the Earth’s surface and will then spend another two hours at the very edge of the Earth’s atmosphere, where the passengers can take in the Earth’s curvature and total blackness of space and have the “quintessential astronaut experience.”

Experience the Universe Like Never Before: Space Balloons Looking To Elevate Luxury Adventure Tourism

Since Captain Kirk first ordered the Starship Enterprise to engage the warp drive back in 1967, fans of science fiction have dreamed of traveling to the stars at warp speed. That idea remained in the realm of science fiction until 1994, when Mexican mathematician Miguel Alcubierre proposed a mathematically viable solution for building a real-world faster-than-light warp drive. Since then, numerous scientists and engineers have taken a swing at their own version of a viable, real-world warp drive, including an attempt to patent one of these “out there” ideas.

These Are the Top Four Theories That Could Bring Us Closer to Faster-Than-Light Travel

There are very few people who think to help mankind without considering any profit in return. After the great inventor Nikola Tesla, Baltimore engineer Otis T. Carr was the only person who believed in Tesla’s free energy concept. He wanted to create a spacecraft that would run on free energy and take humans to the Moon and other planets. His friendship with Tesla lasted until his death in 1943. He was a protégé of Tesla who constructed a number of fully functional flying saucers in the late 1950s.

Otis Carr Invented Anti-Gravity UFO Shaped Spacecraft That Could Fly To The Moon & Go Beyond