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VASIMR = Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket, a product of Ad Astra Rocket Company - a startup owned by former astronaut & plasma physicist Franklin Chang-Diaz.
think: 2001's Discovery or USS Enterprise impulse drive, but for real.
In its most evolved form it would be a real live fusion drive. Yup, you read that right. Plans are for one to be put on the ISS to re-boost its orbit as it decays, a job normally done by the shuttle or other spacecraft at the expense od a LOT of toxic hypergolic fuels. VASIMR would do the same job using a few tens of kg of argon as reaction mass plus electricity.
They talk of a test unit of 200 kw, but the tech could well be scaled to tens or hundreds of megawatts.
think: 2001's Discovery or USS Enterprise impulse drive, but for real.
In its most evolved form it would be a real live fusion drive. Yup, you read that right. Plans are for one to be put on the ISS to re-boost its orbit as it decays, a job normally done by the shuttle or other spacecraft at the expense od a LOT of toxic hypergolic fuels. VASIMR would do the same job using a few tens of kg of argon as reaction mass plus electricity.
They talk of a test unit of 200 kw, but the tech could well be scaled to tens or hundreds of megawatts.
PRESS RELEASE 080311, March 8, 2011
AD ASTRA AND NASA SIGN SUPPORT AGREEMENT ON VASIMR® TECHNOLOGY
[Houston, TX For immediate release] – Ad Astra Rocket Company and NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) have signed a Support Agreement to collaborate on research, analysis and development tasks on space-based cryogenic magnet operations and electric propulsion systems currently under development by Ad Astra. The agreement was signed on March 2, 2011 by NASA-JSC Director of Engineering, Mr. Stephen J. Altemus and Ad Astra’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Franklin R. Chang Diaz. The Support Agreement is the fourth entered into by the parties under an “Umbrella†Space Act Agreement, executed in December of 2007. That document established the basic framework for collaboration and serves as host to support agreements, such as this one, that define specific tasks and objectives to be accomplished over a certain period.
Among its most significant elements, this Support Agreement provides for bilateral engineering consultation in NASA’s and Ad Astra’s respective areas of expertise, including Ad Astra’s VASIMR® technology and NASA’s expertise in spacecraft development. Ad Astra will provide NASA with an assessment of VASIMR®’s high power low thrust trajectories over a number of mission scenarios ranging from near-Earth to deep space, while NASA will support Ad Astra’s efforts to mature the design of the 200 kW VF-200 VASIMR® flight demonstrator. This support includes, among other things, engineering design on two of the VF-200 flight demonstrator’s subsystems, integration support and structural engineering of interfaces with a launch vehicle and a potential flight platform (e.g. ISS or free flyer). The Support Agreement also provides for the use of specialized NASA facilities and equipment that may be required for some of the testing.
AD ASTRA AND NASA SIGN SUPPORT AGREEMENT ON VASIMR® TECHNOLOGY
[Houston, TX For immediate release] – Ad Astra Rocket Company and NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) have signed a Support Agreement to collaborate on research, analysis and development tasks on space-based cryogenic magnet operations and electric propulsion systems currently under development by Ad Astra. The agreement was signed on March 2, 2011 by NASA-JSC Director of Engineering, Mr. Stephen J. Altemus and Ad Astra’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Franklin R. Chang Diaz. The Support Agreement is the fourth entered into by the parties under an “Umbrella†Space Act Agreement, executed in December of 2007. That document established the basic framework for collaboration and serves as host to support agreements, such as this one, that define specific tasks and objectives to be accomplished over a certain period.
Among its most significant elements, this Support Agreement provides for bilateral engineering consultation in NASA’s and Ad Astra’s respective areas of expertise, including Ad Astra’s VASIMR® technology and NASA’s expertise in spacecraft development. Ad Astra will provide NASA with an assessment of VASIMR®’s high power low thrust trajectories over a number of mission scenarios ranging from near-Earth to deep space, while NASA will support Ad Astra’s efforts to mature the design of the 200 kW VF-200 VASIMR® flight demonstrator. This support includes, among other things, engineering design on two of the VF-200 flight demonstrator’s subsystems, integration support and structural engineering of interfaces with a launch vehicle and a potential flight platform (e.g. ISS or free flyer). The Support Agreement also provides for the use of specialized NASA facilities and equipment that may be required for some of the testing.
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