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VASIMR: The VASIMR: The Future of Space Future of Space
Travel (?)Travel (?)
Kevin Blondino
8 October 2012
What is VASIMR?What is VASIMR? VAriable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma
Rocket – electric propulsion system using accelerated plasma with a magnetic field.
Uses radio waves to ionize and further heat Argon (or Xenon, or Hydrogen)
Low thrust-to-weight ratio Developed by Ad Astra Rocket Company
Possible UsesPossible Uses
Deep space travel/robotic missions (not for leaving Earth’s orbit)
Lunar cargo transport from low-Earth orbit Drag compensation for space stations In-space refueling Satellite maintenance, refueling, and
repositioning
Who is this?Who is this?
HistoryHistory
Development started 1977 in his Ph.D. with magnetic mirrors
First experiment in 1983 at MIT Moved to Houston in 1995 Ad Astra Rocket Company incorporated and
partnership with NASA in 2005 Subsidiary in Liberia, Guanacaste, Costa Rica in
2006 Testing of VF-200 will occur on the ISS in 2015
DesignDesign
to ~6000 K
Current and Past ModelsCurrent and Past Models
VX-10: 10 kW thruster tested in 1998 VX-25: 25 kW in 2002 VX-50: 50 kW also in 2002 VX-100: 100 kW in 2007 VX-200: 200 kW single-thruster VF-200: 2 100 kW thrusters with opposing
magnetic field.
VX-200VX-200
Operating at full power with argon propellant at about 50 km/s exhaust velocity.
Sense of Sense of ScaleScale
VF-200VF-200
Conceptual mock-up
Two 100 kW thrusters with opposing magnetic fields. This makes a zero-torque magnetic quadrapole in order to not interact with the Earth’s magnetic field.
A 2MW solar powered lunar tug concept using 4 VASIMR engines.
ProsPros
Much lower fuel consumption and cost Higher efficiency than chemical propulsion No use of electrodes Almost no moving parts Very durable, and thus reusable Highly scalable
ConsCons
Requires superconducting magnets (low temperature) This requires low temperature cooling Such a strong magnetic field could interfere with other
equipment, and could cause torque (single thruster design). Large power requirement
i.e. lots of waste heat that must be directed away External source may be needed
Solar for near-Earth missions Nuclear
[1] http://www.adastrarocket.com/aarc/VASIMR
[2] http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/space/plasma-rockets.html
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_Chang_Díaz
[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VASIMR
[5] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4jf2F3YEAI
ReferencesReferences