VASIMR Plasma Thruster To Be Tested Aboard ISS

Toren Altair brings news that NASA and the Ad Astra Rocket Company finalized a Space Act Agreement earlier this week to test the Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR) on the International Space Station. The agreement hinges on a series of requirements for the thruster's performance and efficiency in ground-based tests. "The primary technical objective of the project is to operate the VASIMR VF-200 engine at power levels up to 200 kW. Engine operation will be restricted to pulses of up to 10 minutes at this power level. Energy for these high-power operations will be provided by a battery system trickle-charged by the ISS power system. These tests will mark the first time that a high-power, steady-state electric thruster will be used as part of a manned spacecraft." Reader clarkes1 points out related news of a runway trial for Virgin Galactic's WhiteKnightTwo, the mothership that is designed to carry SpaceShipTwo from the ground to 50,000 feet. A very brief video shows the oddly-shaped plane moving down a runway under its own power.

Comments

Nice acronym

[Concerned Onlooker]

Oy VASIMR...

Bugger that namby pamby stuff

[David Gerard]

Just give 'em gigantic pounding thrust, none o' this wussing about with plasma. OXYGEN AND KEROSENE. It was good enough for Wernher von Braun!

Re:white knight 2 looks too fragile

[ionix5891]

dont worry only the rich would get to ride on this, and if anything happens to them, well oh dear :)

Two scientists aboard the ISS

[RevWaldo]

- "Rochambeau for it?"
- "Two out of three?"
- "Deal."
- "OK. Rock-paper-scissors-Shoot! Rock. Rock-paper-scissors-Shoot! Paper. Rock-paper-scissors-Shoot! Rock."
- "I win!"
- "Yeah, you win... go ahead and say it.."
- "Helmsman! Engines to FULL IMPULSE POWER!"
- "Doofus." (pushes button)

Re:white knight 2 looks too fragile

[dragonbutt]

I'd have thought falling would have been the opposite of zero g :D

Thats just the abrupt stop at the bottom