New evidence is the critical path.
Claude’s supplied Edition 12 assessment is 70.0/100. Its private rubric caps an unreplicated program at 80. The numbers below are conditional editorial scenarios, not scientific certification or earned scores. This website revision does not establish a new score.
| Gate | Required evidence | Claude scenario |
|---|---|---|
| M0 · review and registration | Named reviewer, signed disposition, completed protocol and returned OSF registration identifier. | 74 |
| M1 · team and design | Accepted lead roles, approved G0 review, eligible funding proposal; submission is not an award. | 78 |
| M2 · owned apparatus | Funded build, electrostatic calibration and demonstrated uncertainty/control qualification. | 82 raw → 80 capped |
| M3 · optical closure | Measured photon pressure, repeat sessions, raw data and methods released. | 89 raw → 80 capped |
| M4 · independent replication | Separate team, instrument and location; preregistered closure, raw data and external assessment. | 90.0 scenario |
| Alpha 1 constraint gate | Defensible model-to-existing-tests mapping and independent technical disposition; signature alone insufficient. | 91.5 scenario |
The supplied 90.0 and 91.5 target vectors recompute correctly. Intermediate scores remain the reviewer’s proposed allocations. The cap is a rubric rule, not a universal scientific standard.
Schedule from dependencies, not an assumed award.
The proposed late-2026 to early-2029 calendar assumes funding around August 2027. That date is not an NSF commitment. Begin procurement only after capital funding, quotes and signed design review. Set build and replication dates from supplier lead times and a lab agreement; revise the schedule when dependencies slip.
Owned first; independently repeated second.
Metric Flight retains its owned-apparatus baseline. TU Dresden is a prospective replication provider; NIST is a prospective traceability provider. Neither has accepted a role. Renting the first measurement is not an adopted fallback. If capital funding fails, pause or re-scope the build while preserving the requirement.
Reproducing ordinary photon pressure qualifies metrology. It does not validate Alpha 1, graphene propulsion or a closed-system thrust claim.
Replication specification↗Funding and cost review↗Download implementation kit↗