Ahad's virtual bridge to Alpha Centauri hypothesis

[Javid]

Abdul Ahad was the first in scientific history to hypothesise a mode of safe and secure interstellar propulsion for reaching our neighbouring solar system by utilising the resources of Oort cloud bodies for rocket fuel and life support ingredients.

The nearest comparison to Ahad's version of interstellar propulsion hitherto was the Bussard Ramjet, which relied on scooping up molecular hydrogen found sparsely floating around en-route within the interstellar medium.

In his August 2004 article entitled "Reaching Alpha Centauri using the resources of comets and planetoids", Abdul Ahad wrote: "Crossing a virtual bridge to the stars... utilising a series of interim miniature worlds to bridge the gulf separating two larger worlds in neighbouring star systems."

With respect to his generational starship concept, he writes:

"On a voyage spanning tens of millennia, accommodating the day to day needs of hundreds of consecutive generations it is dead certain that vital resources like water, air, fuel, power and raw materials will require topping up periodically along the voyage, no matter how good the recycling process on the starship. The availability of miniature worlds, acting as "stepping stones" for resource mining along the journey, will be a crucial requirement in this mission concept. "

"...it is just possible that the Oort cloud may extend from the outer Kuiper Belt all the way to perhaps as far as half way to Alpha Centauri. With even more luck, Alpha Centauri could have its own Oort cloud of comets stretching out like an extended arm reaching towards us, beckoning us to cross the interstellar gulf with far more ease than we might have previously imagined.... With an integrated mass of 2.0 x solar mass, the combined gravitational strength of Alpha Centauri's two principal stars (A and B) could meet us more than half way along the journey, with the system's own Oort cloud of comets."

Extracts from the article:

http://uk.geocities.com/aa_spaceagen...ropulsion.html

That is known as Ahad's "virtual bridge" hypothesis, which he used in his novel / would be motion picture concept "First Ark to Alpha Centauri":

http://uk.geocities.com/aa_spaceagen...acentauri.html