Project Longshot is a design for an interstellar probe to Alpha Centauri developed by researchers from NASA and the United States Navy in 1988. Longshot would be assembled at the International Space Station, and be propelled on a 100-year flight to the nearest star by a pulsed fusion engine of the type proposed in the Daedalus design. The 6.4-ton spacecraft would carry a 300-kilowatt fusion reactor to power instruments and engine startup, and use a 250-kilowatt laser to transmit data to Earth.¹

 

Reference

1. Beals, K. A., M. Beaulieu, F. J. Dembia, J. Kerstiens, D. L. Kramer, J. R. West and J. A. Zito. Project Longshot: An Unmanned Probe To Alpha Centauri. US Naval Academy. NASA-CR-184718. 1988.