Plasma and QED physicists
Positron sources, pair plasmas and annihilation physics. The pair-beam research starts here.
TeamWho we are
One founder. One mission. Room for you.
SoLeV is at its earliest stage. Here's who is behind it, where the idea came from, and the people we want to meet.
01/ Founder
Eric Holmes
Founder · Aerospace engineer
Eric holds a bachelor's and a master's in aerospace engineering from Auburn University. As an undergraduate he co-wrote the original SoLeV paper and presented it at an AIAA conference in 2017. His master's thesis developed new conservation quantities and a solution method for the N-body collision problem.
He then spent five years at Raytheon, from systems engineering and flight testing to chief engineer of a production program and integration and test lead for guidance and navigation software. He has also founded software companies, including TradeFuse and BossDrop.
eric-k-holmes.com
PDF · 8 pages
02/ Origins
It started as a research paper.
“When considering methods to accomplish speed of light exit velocities, one must consider a system that deals with photons, whose inherent velocity is the speed of light.”
In 2017, Auburn aerospace engineering students Eric Holmes and Nathanael Snow wrote Speed-of-Light Exit Velocity Propulsion Method, an undergraduate research paper on the working end of a gamma-ray thruster. SoLeV is that idea, grown into a company with one goal.
The paper is shared as written in 2017. Several of its estimates have been revised since; the current numbers are in the technical notes.
Read the 2017 paper03/ Who we're looking for
The first crew.
SoLeV is a long mission and an early company. We want people who would rather work on the hard problem than the easy one, and who will tell us where we're wrong.
Simulation engineers
Monte Carlo particle transport to model pair production, annihilation and how the light leaves the drive.
Spacecraft systems engineers
Power, thermal, shielding and the probe that has to survive decades between the stars.
Advisors
Researchers in interstellar flight, antimatter and propulsion who can pressure-test the plan.
If that's you, use the form below and pick your field. Every message is read.
Join/ The mission
Help us get there in our lifetime.
We are gathering physicists, engineers, and backers who want to see another star system up close. Get mission updates, or tell us how you'd like to help.