Ion propulsion for shipping cargo?

[DarkenedOne]

NASA's Constellation program planned on shipping 34 metric tones to Lunar Orbit using 60 metric tones of propellant in LEO. At the same time it is one time use only meaning that you have to build and orbit the hardware as well every single time.

Solar electric propulsion on the other hand can far better. It has been used in commercial satellites for years. It has been used on a number of space missions including Deep Space 1, DAWN, and GOCE. Through all of its trails in space it has proven to be a reliable and cost effective form of propulsion. With a fuel efficiency of more than 10 times better than the J-2 engine used in Constellation it would be able to transport the material for a factor of 10 less fuel. Less fuel means cheaper. It also means a reusable vehicle since all that needs to be replaced each time is the fuel.

VASIMR promises to be able to do the same job using 8 kg for propellant, 5 VASIMR engines, and a 1 MW array. With a vehicle that weighs only 50 metric tones compared to Constellation's 100 metric tones, which puts in within the range of commercial vehicles.

Now admittedly VASIMR is still being tested on Earth and has yet to be tested in space. My problem is that there are ion thrusters that have been tested in space and have been flight proven. They are not as good as VASIMR because they are not variable impulse, but they are good enough to do the job.

I really hope this is one of the game changing technologies that is being proposed. Constellation was a clear indication that NASA has lost the innovative spirit that got us to the moon in the first place. Honestly does anyone have a good reason for why this technology is not being used.

 

[docm]

NASA put out a solicitation stating that they were going to explore VASIMR for use in a cargo tug and that Ad Astra was going to be in on it, so if that preliminary study works out....

This aligns pretty well with their existing Space Act agreement with Ad Astra.

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=33356

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Studies will be conducted to evaluate a Lunar Tug concept utilizing Variable Specific Impulse Magneto-plasma Rocket (VASIMR) engine capabilities from Low Earth Orbit to Lunar Orbit and libration points.

NASA/JSC intends to purchase these services from Ad Astra Rocket Company. This is made pursuant to FAR 6.302-1 for the acquisition of supplies and services determined to be reasonably available from only one source. Ad Astra Rocket Company holds the exclusive right to develop VASIMR technologies under NASA patent applications. Adequate relevant cooling of the High Temperature Superconducting(HTSC) magnets require the conversion of the original HTSC magnet facility to utilize space-relevant cryo-cooler technology that has not yet been utilized under conditions that are relevant to VASIMR operation in space. Ad Astra Rocket Company uniquely possesses the patent rights and institutional memory necessary to make this test fixture relevant to VASIMR technologies.
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