Page:Project Longshot - Advanced Design Program Project Report.pdf/8

 * Capability to house a large work force to include assembly technicians and test engineers.
 * A number of large manipulator arms and sufficient mechanical support structure to allow attachment of all required assembly jigs.
 * Adequate data processing capability to perform systems checks during assembly and the final system check-out following assembly.

Due to the nature of the main drive, it is both inadvisable and impossible to complete the mission by igniting the fusion drive in LEO. This fact leads to the requirement for the advanced upper stage. The planned in-solar system mission profile calls for a series of three burns using these upper stages to escape the solar system from which the interstellar injection may be made. This report will assume that the upper stage will have twice the impulse and similar weight characteristics to the Space Shuttle SRB.

The human side of the infrastructure will be a much greater challenge than the technical side because the required commitment spans such a long period of time. The time between the initial authorization for the mission until the return of the first data from Alpha Centauri system will be well in excess of one century. In fact it will probably be on the order of two centuries when the time needed for hardware design, procurement, in-orbit assembly, and transit are considered. The effort required to design, build and launch the probe would be on the order of the Apollo project or much larger. The commitment at the other end of the mission should be an easy one to fulfill since scientists will be eager to analyze the incoming data. Thus, the greatest challenge comes