VASIMR's helicon 1st stage achieves full power

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<p>A little late, but....</p><p>Link..(PDF)</p><p><strong>PRESS RELEASE 241008, October 24, 2008</strong> <br />&nbsp;<br />VASIMR&trade; VX-200 first stage achieves full <br />power rating. <br />&nbsp;<br />[Houston,&nbsp; TX.&nbsp; For&nbsp; immediate&nbsp; release]&nbsp; &ndash;&nbsp; The <br />helicon&nbsp; first&nbsp; stage&nbsp; of&nbsp; the&nbsp; VX-200&nbsp; VASIMR&trade; <br />plasma&nbsp; rocket&nbsp; prototype&nbsp; has&nbsp; achieved&nbsp; its&nbsp; full <br />power&nbsp; rating&nbsp; of&nbsp; 30&nbsp; kW with Argon&nbsp; propellant&nbsp; in <br />tests&nbsp; conducted&nbsp; last&nbsp; Wednesday&nbsp; at&nbsp; Ad&nbsp; Astra&rsquo;s <br />Houston&nbsp; laboratory. The&nbsp; helicon&nbsp; first&nbsp; stage&nbsp; is&nbsp; an <br />essential component of the VASIMR&trade; rocket and <br />is&nbsp; responsible&nbsp; for&nbsp; generating&nbsp; the&nbsp; core&nbsp; plasma <br />needed by the engine to operate. </p><p>Short&nbsp; for&nbsp; Variable&nbsp; Specific&nbsp; Impulse <br />Magnetoplasma&nbsp; Rocket,&nbsp; VASIMR&trade;&nbsp; is&nbsp; a&nbsp; new <br />high-power&nbsp; plasma-based&nbsp; space&nbsp; propulsion <br />technology,&nbsp; initially&nbsp; studied&nbsp; by&nbsp; NASA&nbsp; and&nbsp; now <br />being&nbsp; developed&nbsp; privately&nbsp; by&nbsp; Ad&nbsp; Astra.&nbsp; A <br />VASIMR&trade;&nbsp; engine&nbsp; could&nbsp; maneuver&nbsp; payloads&nbsp; in <br />space&nbsp; far&nbsp; more&nbsp; efficiently&nbsp; and&nbsp; with&nbsp; much&nbsp; less <br />propellant&nbsp; than&nbsp; today&rsquo;s&nbsp; chemical&nbsp; rockets. <br />Ultimately, VASIMR&trade; engines could also greatly <br />shorten&nbsp; robotic&nbsp; and&nbsp; human&nbsp; transit&nbsp; times&nbsp; for <br />missions to Mars and beyond. </p><p>The&nbsp; successful&nbsp; achievement&nbsp; of&nbsp; this&nbsp; milestone <br />clears&nbsp; the way&nbsp; for&nbsp; the&nbsp; integration of&nbsp; the engine&rsquo;s <br />170&nbsp; kW&nbsp; ion&nbsp; cyclotron&nbsp; resonance&nbsp; heating&nbsp; (ICRH) <br />second stage, which is responsible for accelerating <br />and&nbsp; ejecting&nbsp; the&nbsp; plasma&nbsp; out&nbsp; of&nbsp; the&nbsp; rocket&nbsp; nozzle <br />thereby providing useful&nbsp; thrust. The&nbsp; combination <br />of&nbsp; the&nbsp; 30&nbsp; kW&nbsp; first-stage&nbsp; and&nbsp; the&nbsp; 170&nbsp; kW&nbsp; second <br />stage&nbsp; yields&nbsp; the&nbsp; rocket&rsquo;s&nbsp; full&nbsp; rated&nbsp; power&nbsp; of&nbsp; 200 <br />kW. </p><p>Reaching&nbsp; the&nbsp; present&nbsp; milestone&nbsp; is&nbsp; particularly <br />significant,&nbsp; as&nbsp; it&nbsp; marks&nbsp; an&nbsp; absolute&nbsp; record&nbsp; for <br />power, using&nbsp; the&nbsp; flight-like&nbsp; radio&nbsp; frequency&nbsp; (RF) <br />solid&nbsp; state&nbsp; power&nbsp; generator&nbsp; developed&nbsp; in <br />partnership&nbsp; with&nbsp; Nautel,&nbsp; Ltd.&nbsp; of&nbsp; Halifax,&nbsp; NS. <br />Canada. The Canadian&nbsp; company&nbsp; is&nbsp; also&nbsp; engaged <br />in&nbsp; the&nbsp; final&nbsp; test&nbsp; phases&nbsp; of&nbsp; the&nbsp; similar&nbsp; but&nbsp; more <br />powerful&nbsp; (170&nbsp; kW) RF&nbsp; generator&nbsp; needed&nbsp; for&nbsp; the <br />second stage.</p><p>></p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>