Initiative for Interstellar Studies

Although practical studies of interstellar travel date back as far as the JBIS red cover editions in the early 1950s and the BIS Daedalus Project in the 1970s, there was a resurgence of interest in the 2010s and a number of initiatives and institutions have paid attention to the subject. These include the 100 Year Starship project of NASA and DARPA, the Tau Zero Foundation, the Global Starship Alliance, Star Voyager, and Icarus Interstellar.

The first of a planned annual series of symposia inspired by the i4is took place on 29 May 2013 at the British Interplanetary Society(BIS). Titled The Philosophy of the Starship[3] it included contributions on self-replicating Von Neumann probes, the Fermi Paradox, developments since the British Interplanetary Society Project Daedalus of 1975, interstellar discovery as an antidote to intellectual stagnation citing the views of John Locke and Francis Fukuyama, science fiction as a vehicle for discussion of the ethics and cultural impact of alien contact and geopolitical influence on deep space exploration.

The i4is sponsors the Alpha Centauri Award. The first Alpha Centauri Award[4] was to Armen Papazian [5] for his paper Money Mechanics For Space.[6] at the first Starship Congress.[7][8]

The i4is publishes a quarterly newsletter, Principium.[9]

The i4is sponsors postgraduate work at the International Space University and awarded its first prize[10] to M.Sc. student Piotr Murzionak on 29 August 2013.

The Initiative for Interstellar Studies delivered a 2-week elective to the students on the Masters of Space Studies course at the International Space University, Strasbourg, 2–13 May 2016. The course modules were delivered by Professor Chris Welch of the International Space University, Professor Ian Crawford of Birkbeck College, University of London, Robert Swinney, chair of the i4is Education Committee, Kelvin F Long, Executive Director of the i4is, Angelo Genovese, Andreas Hein, John I Davies, Marc Casson, Sam Harrison and Stephen Ashworth.[11] The elective was delivered again in 2017 and in 2019 i4is also delivered components of an ISU elective on chipsat technology.

i4is has initiated a project working on small interstellar spacecraft, propelled by a laser sail in 2014 under the name of Project Dragonfly.[12][13] Four student teams worked on concepts for such a mission in 2014 and 2015 in the context of a design competition.[14][15] In November 2017, i4is launched Project Lyra and proposed a set of mission concepts for reaching the interstellar objects 1I/ʻOumuamua and 2I/Borisov.[16][17]

The i4is has a number of internationally renowned academics and engineers who have oversight and involvement with its work -

• Dr Rachel Armstrong, Professor of Experimental Architecture[18] in the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, Newcastle University, UK, was formerly Director Sustainability & Development for i4is and is a member of the Advisory Council of the i4is.
• Alan Bond, Managing Director of Reaction Engines Limited, is a consultant to i4is.
• Dr Ian Crawford, Professor of Planetary Science and Astrobiology at the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Birkbeck College, University of London[19] is a member of the Advisory Council of the i4is
• Freeman Dyson FRS, theoretical physicist and mathematician, professor emeritus Institute for Advanced Study was a member of the Advisory Council of the i4is
• Roman Kezerashvili, Associate Professor in Physical & Biological Sciences New York City College of Technology[20] is a member of the Advisory Council of the i4is.
• Kelvin F. Long, astrophysicist, past editor of the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society and member of the Management and Advisory Committee of Breakthrough Starshot was formerly Executive Director of the i4is.
• Claudio Maccone, chair of the SETI Permanent Committee of the International Academy of Astronautics is a member of the Advisory Council of the i4is.
• Gregory L. Matloff, professor New York City College of Technology[21] is Chair of the Advisory Council of the i4is.
• Austin Tate, Professor of Knowledge-Based Systems, University of Edinburgh [22] is contributing expertise to Artificial Intelligence and remote vehicle operations to the work of the i4is.
• Dr Chris Welch, Resident Faculty member of the International Space University (ISU),[23] and a Visiting Lecturer in Spacecraft Propulsion at Cranfield University is Deputy Chair of the Advisory Council of the i4is.

• British Interplanetary Society website
• Journal of the British Interplanetary Society
• International Space University
• 20 minutes talk by Chris Welch about The Institute for Interstellar Studies during SpaceUp Stuttgart 2012 (YouTube Video)