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Fermi Explorer — Alpha Centauri Mission Calculator

fermiexplorer.github.io · 9,512 words · saved by 1 readers

Reach Alpha Centauri (≤ 2600 AU) within 100,000 yr, with a ≥1 kg payload, launching from LEO. Adjust assumptions on the left; results update live. Source code, engine & independent audits: github.com/fermiexplorer/fermi The default perihelion-pumped architecture is due to the external PSI feasibility assessment (Physical Superintelligence PBC, final, July 2026) — see the perihelion-pumping section and the audit cross-comparison. Each box below is clickable — expand it to see the calculation behind it: the formula, a plain-English note, and the live numbers for the current design. This is a first-order ("Fermi") feasibility model. Every formula below is implemented in the live calculator above and cross-checked against a validated Python engine (fermi_sim). A probe that has escaped the Sun coasts in a near-straight line at its heliocentric excess velocity v∞. To pass through where Alpha Centauri will be at arrival time T, it needs heliocentric velocity V_p(T) = A₀/T + V_ac — an ai

Fermi Explorer — Alpha Centauri Ion-Propulsion Mission Calculator build 185 Reach Alpha Centauri (≤ 2600 AU) within 100,000 yr, with a ≥1 kg payload, launching from LEO. Adjust assumptions on the left; results update live. ⚠ PRELIMINARY — first-order "Fermi estimate" only. Every number here is an order-of-magnitude sizing built on simplifying assumptions (straight-line target motion, patched-conic geometry, a derived naïve low-thrust escape spiral, geometric gravity-assist bounds). It is intended for feasibility and architecture trades, not for design or flight decisions, and requires…

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