Posted on 12/14/2008 6:21:08 PM PST by KevinDavis
[Houston, TX. For immediate release] - The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Ad Astra Rocket Company of Webster, Texas have entered into a Space Act Agreement that could lead to conducting a space flight test of the Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR(TM)) engine on the International Space Station (ISS). The VASIMR(TM) engine is a new plasma-based space propulsion technology, initially studied by NASA and currently under commercial development by Ad Astra. The agreement was fully executed on December 8, 2008. It was signed on behalf of NASA by its Associate Administrator for Space Operations, William H. Gerstenmaier and on behalf of Ad Astra Rocket Company by its President and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Franklin R. Chang Diaz. It is the third agreement entered into by the parties since June, 2005 relating to the VASIMR(TM) technology development.
(Excerpt) Read more at spaceref.com ...
No there’s a rocket engine. Go Ad Astra!
Plasma fuel to be collected after speeches by prominent Liberals.
No = Now LoL!
Pretty damned cool.
Interesting.
Where’s the warp core and the dilithium crystals?
This is an impulse engine, not a warp drive. Enterprise had both.
Add muffler bearings and it will work fine.
Which would make a trip to Mars a bit shorter..
Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket — thanks KD, using one of these to push a probe (a very durable, very capable, long-lived probe) beyond the heliopause would be a good idea.
Actually it’s ion propulsion.
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