P6_6 Vacuum Resistance Effects on Photon Sails

Abstract

The total change in momentum from collisions between a spacecraft and interstellar hydrogen
atoms was considered in order to calculate the the time taken for the spacecraft's velocity to half (t 1/2), and the total distance the spacecraft travels in this time (s 1/2). It was found that for Voyager1, t 1/2=1.521x10^12 years and s 1/2= 2:986x10^7 ly. For a Graphene Photon Sail t 1/2= 8.7 years and s 1/2= 0:54 ly. It is recommended that the signicance of these results merits further investigation.