Plasma space-drive aces efficiency numbers: Set for ISS in 2014

The Register ^ | 11/25/10 | Lewis Page

[KevinDavis]

Top boffins working at a NASA spinoff company are thrilled to announce that their plasma drive technology – potentially capable of revolutionising space travel beyond the Earth's atmosphere – has checked out A-OK in ground tests.

[KevinDavis]

Good Show!!

[KevinDavis]

[Brilliant]

“Firstly it requires a plentiful supply of electricity to convert argon into plasma and expel it with such terrific violence.”

This is actually the biggest problem with it. They will need to vastly improve the efficiency of nuclear power generators to make it work. But that may not be impossible.

[FatherofFive]

They will need to vastly improve the efficiency of nuclear power generators to make it work. But that may not be impossible.

Di-lithium crystals.

[infidel29]

Pretty interesting stuff.

[Vaquero]

Russia to develop nuclear space engine

[Robe]

I would submit that the particular spacecraft depicted here is going nowhere ....

[dangerdoc]

power chips plc

[Bean Counter]

Interesting, but nowhere near powerful enough, at least not yet.

[Talisker]

This is actually the biggest problem with it. They will need to vastly improve the efficiency of nuclear power generators to make it work. But that may not be impossible.

It's just a scaling problem - if they just use a regular fission reactor connected to a reverse-engineered ET anti-gravity generator, they can make the reactor big enough to support both the required platform size and the plasma engine thrust requirements.

Slap on some black anti-radar panels, and they're in business.

[Nateman]

[mikrofon]

"Ion powerrh!"

[MindBender26]

Eh?

Hullo, Hullo, Hullo?

It was the Boffins, Wot?

[Kevmo]

Please add me to your space ping list.