new NASA spacecraft 'Dawn' with ion propulsion to asteroid belt

[jefferiestubes8]

Using solar arrays spanning 65 feet, Dawn collects power from the sun to ionize atoms of xenon. These ions are expelled by a strong electric field out the back of the spacecraft, producing a gentle thrust.

The weightless and frictionless conditions of space flight allow this gossamer force effect to build up, so the spacecraft gains speed slowly and continuously.

At this very moment, Dawn is slowly climbing away from the sun, beyond Mars, on its way to its first destination, asteroid Vesta. Dawn will enter “standard orbit” around this rocky world for a year

“Dawn will thrust for five years,” says Rayman. “It’s already been thrusting for 591 days.

Then Dawn will do something unprecedented in real-world space flight: exit the orbit of one distant body, and fly to and orbit another. The second destination is asteroid Ceres.

Dawn is scheduled to explore Vesta between 2011 and 2012, and Ceres in 2015.

http://www.farmanddairy.com/news/star-trek-inspires-new-spacecraft/14848.html

related threads:
The Thread For The Future Of Interstellar Propulsion

ion plasma rocket being developed - VASIMR

If the VASIMR test on the ISS is successful

 

[Meredith]

Ceres may be a better place to place a colony than the moon or Mars especially if it has plenty of water. A nuclear powered colonizing craft could be awesome!

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Yeah, I've postulated Ceres as a good spot for a colony before, mostly due to its water ice composition. You could also crack the water to free oxygen for breathing and hydrogen for energy. Seems like a win-win-win all the way around.

 

[jefferiestubes8]

asteroid belt locations

Yeah, I've postulated Ceres as a good spot for a colony before, mostly due to its water ice composition. You could also crack the water to free oxygen for breathing and hydrogen for energy.

I've not heard about it before actually:

Ceres, is the smallest identified dwarf planet in the Solar System and the only one in the asteroid belt.

a diameter of about 950 km

It may harbour an ocean of liquid water underneath its surface.

Since this DAWN spacecraft is going to Vesta:

Vesta, formal designation 4 Vesta, is an asteroid. It is the second most massive object in the asteroid belt, with a mean diameter of about 530 km

Its greatest distance from the Sun is slightly more than the minimum distance of Ceres from the Sun, and
its orbit is entirely within the orbit of Ceres.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceres_%28dwarf_planet%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4_Vesta

Really you would think maybe two probes could go to this area and then breakoff and each attempt a landing with the larger transport ship vehicle remaining in an orbit around Vesta to also be used for communication links for multiple missions beyond the asteroid belt.

 

[Meredith]

Re: asteroid belt locations

I say after both are surveryed we build something like a giagantic base on steroids in orbit based off of the Bigelow modules and thrusted with Nuclear powered VASIMIR thrusters and send it to Ceres with a crew! Plenty of water and easy as heck to soft land a huge base on the surface. Plus it could double as a fuel depot for missions to mars. Just build some "fuel tanker" craft that go between Mars and Ceres which fill up with Fuel produced on Ceres and take it with Ion drives to Mars for use there.

 

[jefferiestubes8]

space base in orbit

I say after both are surveryed we build something like a giagantic base on steroids in orbit based off of the Bigelow modules and thrusted with Nuclear powered VASIMIR thrusters and send it to Ceres with a crew!

Are you talking about this kind?
or

expandable habitats offering 2,100 cubic meters of volume — nearly twice the capacity available on the International Space Station — while another plan sketches out use of a super-jumbo structure providing 3,240 cubic meters of volume.

or

The BA 330 (previously known as the Nautilus space complex module) is the complete, full-scale production model of Bigelow Aerospace's expandable space habitation module program.

The exterior of the craft is intended to be 45 feet (14 m) long by 22 feet (6.7 m) in diameter

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BA_330

with
Boeing/Bigelow Aerospace commercial crew capsule concept
http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/hyperbola/2010/02/pictures-boeingbigelow-aerospa.html

Can you be more specific?

 

[Meredith]

Re: space base in orbit

BA330