Originally Posted by
Nige321
Paywall clickbait...
?
The research/paper the New Scientist refers to credible and has already been subject of discussion in other places such as specialist spaceflight forums.
FWIW the author is well known is in spaceflight history circles and has academic credentials so it’s maybe worth a read.
Direct link here that allows you to download the paper in e.g. pdf format
free of charge.
https://arxiv.org/abs/2105.10088