Lmst

#SpacecraftPropulsion

“While we are still some years away from making #fusion energy a viable technology for #PowerGeneration on Earth, we don’t need to wait to start using this power source for #SpacecraftPropulsion” https://edition.cnn.com/science/nuclear-powered-rocket-pulsar-space-spc/index.html

#FusionPropulsion #helium3

To get enough fuel ⛽ into #orbit for a #Mars 🔴 mission would require at least 10 launches of the #SLS rocket, or about $20 billion 💰. Just for the fuel. To use traditional propulsion, one needs to push the boundaries of #reuse ♻️ and heavy lift rockets to extreme limits—which is precisely what #SpaceX is trying to do with its fully reusable launch system https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/02/report-nasas-only-realistic-path-for-humans-on-mars-is-nuclear-propulsion

#SpacecraftPropulsion #reusability #LaunchCost

#Space 🌌 is a far more logical, sensible place to do #fusion, because that’s where it wants to happen anyway. In 📆 2027, we’re going to send a small part of #Sunbird in #orbit. The first #functional Sunbird will be ready four to five years later. Sunbird could deliver #cargo to #Mars 🔴 in under six months https://edition.cnn.com/science/nuclear-powered-rocket-pulsar-space-spc/index.html

#SpacecraftPropulsion #FusionPropulsion #PulsarFusion

@ScottManleyHimself : Why #nuclear ☢️ rockets can beat #chemical rockets and #IonEngines https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlKAMB71wT4

#ElectricPropulsion #SpacecraftPropulsion

In an #electrospray thruster, charged particles are pulled directly out of a liquid propellant using a strong electric field and accelerated using charged #electrodes https://spacepropulsion.mit.edu/electric-propulsion

#SpacecraftPropulsion #ElectricPropulsion

The #3Dprinted prototype was able to generate thrust more #efficiently than larger, more expensive #chemical rockets and outperformed existing droplet #electrospray engines. It can be produced rapidly and for a fraction of the #cost 💵 of traditional thrusters and even be fully made in #orbit 🌌 https://news.mit.edu/2025/mit-engineers-develop-fully-3d-printed-electrospray-engine-0212

#SpacecraftPropulsion

#MIT #OpenLearning, topic #SpacePropulsion, excerpt :

• Fundamentals and Definitions
• Basic #Electromagnetic Theory and Plasma Physics
• #Electrostatic Thrusters
• Characterization of Space Propulsion Devices
• #Plasma Accelerators
...
https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/16-522-space-propulsion-spring-2015/pages/lecture-notes/

#SpacecraftPropulsion #OpenKnowledge

Ultrananocrystalline diamond 💎 may be a promising approach to prolong service life. #Nanoscaled metamaterial could help to reduce the heat losses. #SelfHealing of Boron nitride nanotubes with very high tensile strength similar to that of carbon nanotubes, and excellent electrical characteristics https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-017-02269-7

#SpacecraftPropulsion #MaterialsScience

#FusionPropulsion offers 1000 times the power of conventional #IonThrusters currently used in orbit. The vacuum environment and extremely cold ❄️ temperatures of space 🌌 provide an ideal setting for fusion propulsion * https://orbitaltoday.com/2023/07/14/interplanetary-travel-to-become-faster-through-nuclear-fusion/

* https://orbitaltoday.com/2023/06/15/us-and-uk-join-forces-to-apply-nuclear-fusion-propulsion-to-future-mars-travel/

#SpacecraftPropulsion
#RocketScience

The #FireStar Drive begins a fusion process by adding #boron into the thruster exhaust. The base thruster generates high-speed protons through the ionization of water vapor. These protons collide with the nucleus of a boron atom, which starts the fusion reaction. The technique produced ionizing radiation and increased the base propulsion unit’s thrust by 50% 📈 https://interestingengineering.com/space/nuclear-fusion-powered-electric-propulsion-drive

#RocketStar #SpacecraftPropulsion #RocketScience

What's Eagleworks Laboratories?
Get acquainted with Eagleworks...AKA
The Advanced Propulsion Physics Laboratory or "Eagleworks Laboratories" at NASA's Johnson Space Center is a small research group investigating a variety of theories regarding new forms of spacecraft propulsion.

Think 'warp drive'.

#spacecraftpropulsion #warpdrive

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Propulsion_Physics_Laboratory

@georgetakei

A #DirectFusionDrive* could propel a #spacecraft to #Mars 🔴 in two months. For comparison, it took #NASA’s Perseverance rover about seven months to reach the Red Planet. https://payloadspace.com/helicity-raises-5m-for-in-space-fusion-propulsion/

Exhaust speeds are calculated to be roughly one-thousand times that of a #HallEffectThruster https://www.space.com/nuclear-fusion-breakthrough-spacetravel

📆 August 7, 2023 fusion ignition 💥 breakthrough https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-scientists-repeat-fusion-power-breakthrough-ft-2023-08-06/

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_Fusion_Drive

#NuclearFusion #SpacecraftPropulsion #HelicitySpace #PulsarFusion

#ScienceDirect 📆 2006 : The magneto-plasma sail produces the #propulsive force due to the interaction between the artificial #magnetic 🧲 #field around the #spacecraft inflated by the plasma and the #SolarWind erupted from the #Sun ☀️ with a speed of 300–800 km/s https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0094576505002365