Of course, “Star Wars” fans aren’t the only ones who’d like to see a way to move around space quickly. Some of NASA’s own scientists envision the same thing.
“We need better propulsion systems. Right now I’d say that would be the one invention that would really help us out a lot,” said Joseph Tellado, a logistics manager for the International Space Station. “It’d be great if our astronauts could go at hyperspeed.”
It’s hard to say what a real hyperdrive might look like, but NASA has long studied different ways to move faster around the solar system. Some recent probes have used exotic propulsion systems, notably the Deep Space 1 and Dawn missions, which were powered by ion engines.
The inspiration works both ways, with NASA and “Star Wars” inspiring each other to stretch out and envision the future and then fill in details of what that future might look like.
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