Main menu


	What it is about
	Why we need it
	How to develop
	What it is not
	EPAG Classification
	News
	Links

	Home

Development phases

As you may imagine, the development of a warp drive propulsion technology depends on knowledge at the leading edge of science. There is an abundance of ideas which may lead to the development of such a technology, but the signal/noise-ratio is admittedly bad. Therefore, in this current situation, the primary goal is to collect as many ideas as possible and to examine and rate them using the EPAG scheme. This phase of information gathering and assessment is called Phase 1. The Progress of this phase is summarized in the news section.

As soon as the most promising technologies have been selected, they have to be put together to proposals for an experimental configuration. This phase of technology assembly is called Phase 2.

The experimental configurations have to be evaluated and - if affordable - experimentally tested in order to find the most promising option. This is the most critcal phase because any decision made here has an ultimate impact on the result of the prototype test. This phase of prototype selection is called Phase 3.

Having selected the final prototype configuration, we now need to build real hardware and run experimental tests to validate the propulsion technology. This may lead eventually to a flight-capable spacecraft. This flight test phase is called Phase 4.

The sequence and logic of development phases can be summarized as follows:

Methodology

Developing warp drive technology requires absolutely no magic or supernatural forces or the support from extraterrestrial civilizations. We need to do it ourselves and it is possible. The key to success is the permanent and careful application of a few fundamental scientific principles, which are partially centuries old and have been incredibly successful.

Apply Occam's Razor properly!
The absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence!
Accept only falsifiable theories!
Any knowledge is only presumption! Nature does not care about textbooks.

This project is no place for iconoclasm or bashing space agencies and other established research institutes. These organizations have achived a lot of success, so respect them and listen to what they have to say. This said, however, there is no hope that this project will ever be officially supported by them. This technology does not fit into their procedures, just like gas stations do not fit into horseback riding. However, don't evoke any fears among them that we are competing with them for resources like government funding. We want to go our own way. Period.

Contribute!

A single person is not able to handle a project of this scale and with such a high risk. Sooner or later (better sooner!) the work will have to be distributed in order to gain enough substance to attract significant attention from the community. There are several ways you can contribute:

Submit your technological ideas. I will either link to your page or put the document on the warpdrivenow server. Your copyright will remain untouched.
Help to scrutinize ideas and give ratings.
Suggest experimental tests in order to escalate the rating of promising theories.
Promote the idea of advanced space propulsion to increase public awareness and raise funds.

This web site itself will be an experiment - not a technical but a sociological one. It will help determine whether it is possible to bring together people from different cultures and geographical regions to work on a common technological goal. Time will tell how it works.