Project icarus: Progress report on technical developments and design considerations

Project Icarus is a theoretical design study of an interstellar spacecraft that is the successor to the 1970s Project Daedalus. This paper summarises some of the technical progress that has occurred since its launch in September 2009 and discusses each of the twenty research modules that define the project, encompassing all the major spacecraft systems. A number of options are currently available for the design configuration and mission profile and these are discussed prior to entering Phase IV of the design study which begins the process of down selecting design options. This paper represents a progress report on Project Icarus and is a submission of the Project Icarus Study Group.