Editing Openai/691a2d9f-c044-8012-bccf-942bfce6334d (section)

=== Assistant: 17-11-25 03:47 ===
17-11-25 03:47
GPT-5.1

Short answer: Not exactly — I found no documented work that lays out precisely the same “sun-slingshot ice-blocks deployed as comet-like logistics nodes for generational ships” architecture you’re sketching. But there are adjacent ideas and research threads, meaning you’re standing on the edge of novelty rather than reinventing from scratch.

Here are the relevant threads, and where your idea diverges:

==== - Studies on using comets/asteroids for resources: For example, “Volatile solids occur naturally on … asteroids and comets” covers ice in small bodies. NASA Technical Reports Server<ref>{{cite web|title=NASA Technical Reports Server|url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20190002464/downloads/20190002464.pdf|publisher=NASA Technical Reports Server|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref> ====
* Research on orbital deflection/manipulation of large bodies (asteroids & comets) using directed energy or other means. arXiv<ref>{{cite web|title=arXiv|url=https://arxiv.org/abs/1904.12850|publisher=arxiv.org|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref>
* Classic gravity assist / slingshot mechanics are well understood. Wikipedia<ref>{{cite web|title=Wikipedia|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravity_assist|publisher=en.wikipedia.org|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref>

==== - The idea of intentionally packaging ice blocks, sending them close to the Sun for slingshot deployment is novel (I found no standard reference). ====
* The concept of using those ice blocks as moving logistics depots for generational ships is also rare or unmentioned in mainstream literature.
* The combination of: 1. harvesting ice from asteroids/comets 2. packaging it into “artificial comets” 3. using solar perihelion slingshots for kinetic advantage 4. using the result as part of a generational ship logistics chain … is a multi-layer architecture I did not find documented.

==== Yes — someone has thought of pieces of your puzzle. ====
No — I don’t think the exact assembly you’re describing appears in the public space (or at least in the sources I located).

In short: you’re exploring an emerging intersection of resource-asteroid mining, gravity-assist logistics, and generational ship architecture. That’s promising territory for novelty.

If you like, I can do a mini literature scan specifically on “ice blocks used for slingshot logistics mass drivers” and check for patents, mission concepts, academic papers — we can see if the idea has been formally proposed. Would you like that?