ion plasma rocket being developed - VASIMR

[jefferiestubes8]

a new ion plasma rocket being developed...could potentially reach Mars in just 39 days.

The Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR, for short) consists of three linked magnetic cells.

http://www.adastrarocket.com/VASIMR.html
That 39 day figure depends on many things of the design actually executed...


conceptual ship illustration to goto Jupiter:
http://regmedia.co.uk/2008/10/28/vasimr_callisto.jpg
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/10/28/vasimr_plasma_first_stage_test/

another illustration concept (Illustration: Ad Astra Rocket Company):
http://www.gizmag.com/pictures/hero//vasimr-.jpg

the VASIMR concept and has been working on its development since 1979.

VASIMR is not suitable to launch payloads from the surface of the Earth due to its low thrust to weight ratio and its need of a vacuum to operate. Instead, it would function as an upper stage for cargo, reducing the fuel requirements for in-space transportation.

On December 10, 2008 Ad Astra Company signed an agreement with NASA to arrange the placement and testing of a flight version of the VASIMR, the VF-200, on the International Space Station (ISS).

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

Ad Astra and NASA have agreed to test fire the rocket in space, attached to the International Space Station in 2012 or 2013

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17505-ion-engine-could-one-day-power-39day-trips-to-mars.html

 

[Zachary Smith]

^^

"She'll make point five past lightspeed. She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid. I've made a lot of special modifications myself."

 

[Lindley]

Just a few pounds of force can apparently make quite a difference if applied continuously.

Of course, the time required would also depend on the spacecraft mass.

 

[Bill Morris]

My take on this is that it requires a lot of electricity, which could be of solar source if operating no farther from the sun than Earth's orbit, with sunlight concentrated by a giant mylar balloon with reflecting interior half-surface (possibly eliminating the step of making electricity and using that concentrated heat to create the plasma), but othewise would need a portable fusion generator. But the only compact fusion generator currently under development that I see having a good chance of achieving over-unity is polywell, which could itself be configured as a direct fusion rocket and not need this otherwise interesting VASIMR approach.

 

[Peter the Younger]

My take on this is that it requires a lot of electricity, which could be of solar source if operating no farther from the sun than Earth's orbit, with sunlight concentrated by a giant mylar balloon with reflecting interior half-surface (possibly eliminating the step of making electricity and using that concentrated heat to create the plasma), but othewise would need a portable fusion generator. But the only compact fusion generator currently under development that I see having a good chance of achieving over-unity is polywell, which could itself be configured as a direct fusion rocket and not need this otherwise interesting VASIMR approach.

Not necessarily. A good old fashioned fission reactor would work just fine, as was mentioned in this thread.

 

[Irishman]

At one point, it was going to be tested on the ISS. Don't know if that will ever happen now that they're considering de-orbiting her in a few years.

 

[kes7]

At one point, it was going to be tested on the ISS. Don't know if that will ever happen now that they're considering de-orbiting her in a few years.

What? Do you have a link to that? I hadn't heard about it.

 

[sojourner]

A few years being 2015. And that is just a political move by NASA to get more money from congress.

 

[jefferiestubes8]

October 2013 date set

According to Mr. Diaz, "[Ad Astra is] getting ready to fly the VASIMR engine on the International Space Station (ISS). It is a 200-kilowatt plasma rocket, the most powerful rocket ever built to fly in space

Commercial Plasma Rocket Reaches 200 KW, an Important Milestone

The rocket will be first tested in space in October 2013, aboard the International Space Station.

http://www.dailytech.com/Commercial...00+KW+an+Important+Milestone/article16428.htm

related thread from 2008:
If the VASIMR test on the ISS is successful.

 

[Peter the Younger]

Excellent news. After seeing so many interesting designs die on the vine, it's nice to see VASIMR is still moving forward.

 

[Data Holmes]

How long before this thing, if it goes operational and is actually used, gets shorthanded into being just "impulse drive"?

 

[sojourner]

Longer than for it being shorthanded to Vasimr drive. (pronounced vasimir)

 

[Meredith]

My take on this is that it requires a lot of electricity, which could be of solar source if operating no farther from the sun than Earth's orbit, with sunlight concentrated by a giant mylar balloon with reflecting interior half-surface (possibly eliminating the step of making electricity and using that concentrated heat to create the plasma), but othewise would need a portable fusion generator. But the only compact fusion generator currently under development that I see having a good chance of achieving over-unity is polywell, which could itself be configured as a direct fusion rocket and not need this otherwise interesting VASIMR approach.

Fission reactors work just as well and we have that tech today. Or even a "Beta Battery" Light Radioactive element that breaks down via Beta Particle decay for electricity. That way all the shielding you would need for that reactor would be a thick layer of tin-foil.

 

[jefferiestubes8]

The engine would accelerate a spaceship non-stop until it's halfway to Mars, producing a tiny stream of argon gas that it fires out the rear of the spacecraft. Then it turns the engine around and decelerates non-stop until reaching Mars.

“It probably needs to be tested on the moon. You need to run it in a vacuum for 39 days. You can't do that on Earth.”

This popped up in the news [again via Canwest News Service yesterday]
http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/rocket%20engine%20could%20make%20trips%20Mars%20realistic/2119300/story.html

Why would they test this on the Moon instead of in space just out of Earth's orbit? Because the engine would propel it too far? They need a hard surface for it not to move?
There is always the possibility of just going for it and propelling a satellite to Mars just like the theoretical 39 day target suggests, but it would be too costly and could blow up and damage an expensive satellite...

 

[Lindley]

Why not just use a vacuum chamber?

 

[Samurai8472]

Longer than for it being shorthanded to Vasimr drive. (pronounced vasimir)

Kirk- Mr. Chekov vaccum factor 8

Scotty- She's gone from suck to blow sir!