Space Forum / Space Flight / September 2004

Early on in the space program, the space capsule used brute force re-entry.
IE: it slammed into the upper atmosphere at high speed to slow down for
return.
The space shuttle is a lifting body.

I would like some advice and comments please on the feasibility to
mine comets in-flight on a hypothetical futuristic spaceflight mission
towards Alpha Centauri, I have outlined in this research article:-
http://uk.geocities.com/aa_spaceagent/restricted/interstellar-propulsion.html

I'm designing an O'Neill habitat for use in a game scenario, where I'm
trying to keep the science as plausible as possible. It's going to be
the classic "spinning tin can" design, surrounded by an array of solar
panels, mirrors and radiators (and directly in orbit around a star,