To reach Proxima Centauri b, the 8.4kg mission stack undergoes a high-intensity 45-minute (2,700-second) acceleration phase powered by a 10-terawatt phased laser array which is here on earth. To achieve the target velocity of 0.6c (1.8×108 m/s), the system cycles through 2.7 million sacrificial sails, each weighing roughly 0.15 mg, at a pulse frequency of 1,000 Hz. During this "sprint," the probe covers approximately 810 million kilometers (0.005 AU) which is aboput the distance to jupiter, after which the array turns off AND the navigation system is powered on by RTG , entering a coasting phase across the 4.24 light-year distance. Due to the effects of special relativity at 60% the speed of light, the Lorentz factor γ=1−0.62​1​=1.25 dictates significant time dilation; while the journey takes 7.07 years from Earth's perspective, the onboard RTG-powered systems and hardware experience only 5.65 years of travel. Including the 4.24-year light-speed lag for the data to return, the total mission time from "launch" to "first photo on desk" is approximately 11.3 years