Space Propulsion System of the Near Future

[Radrook]

This is the propulsion system of the near future which can reduce the time taken to reach Mars to thirty-nine days.

Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR).
NASA - Propulsion Systems of the Future

 

[FrumiousBandersnatch]

It looks like a good improvement over chemical and ion thrusters for in-orbit and beyond, but despite what the start of the video implies, it doesn't appear to have sufficient thrust to get payloads into orbit in the first place.

 

[Radrook]

It looks like a good improvement over chemical and ion thrusters for in-orbit and beyond, but despite what the start of the video implies, it doesn't appear to have sufficient thrust to get payloads into orbit in the first place.

I think its purpose is to get us to Mars in thirty-nine days.

 

[Speedwell]

It looks like a good improvement over chemical and ion thrusters for in-orbit and beyond, but despite what the start of the video implies, it doesn't appear to have sufficient thrust to get payloads into orbit in the first place.

It will be quite a while before ion drives of any kind can be built to generate that kind of thrust and in any case they will not work in the Earth's atmosphere. Ion drives are for propulsion in the vacuum of space.

 

[juvenissun]

This is the propulsion system of the near future which can reduce the time taken to reach Mars to thirty-nine days.

Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR).
NASA - Propulsion Systems of the Future

Almost 10 years passed. Is the engine working now?

 

[Radrook]

Almost 10 years passed. Is the engine working now?

I couldn't find a reference to the exact drive Chang is working on as far as its practical application to current space exploration. However here is a 2015 article concerning an improvement in a type of ion drive which explains its advantages:

Neumann Space

The science
The Neumann Drive is a revolutionary, patented solar-electric ion drive. It uses a pulsed cathodic arc technology, paired with a solid fuel rod, which generates more specific impulse than NASA’s HIPEP thruster. The Neumann Drive can run on a variety of solid metallic fuels, the exact makeup of which varies the amount of thrust and specific impulse generated. This means that the Neumann Drive can run on nearly any metal likely to be found in asteroids, as well as on sintered-down space junk. So not only can you go further with a Neumann Drive, but you can refuel with whatever you find when you get there.

Researcher's experimental ion drive outperforms NASA's HiPEP engine[/quote]

The Bepi Colombo Mission to Mercury scheduled for 2017 and mentioned in my next post clearly shows that ion drives are indeed being utilized in space exploration.

 

[Radrook]

The 2017 Bepi-Columbo Mission to Mercury will employ an ion drive for the cruising phase.

The Transfer Module is equipped with two propulsion systems: a solar electric ion drive engine and a standard bipropellant chemical propulsion system using MMH / MON3. The chemical propulsion system will be used for Earth escape and then it will be pyrotechnically isolated, and the solar electric ion engine will take over for the cruise phase. The twin QinetiQ T6 ion thrusters operate at maximum combined throttle of 290 mN.[12] The MTM supplies electrical power for the two hibernating orbiters as well as for its solar electric propulsion system.[13]

The solar electric propulsion will be used for the cruise phase. The ion drives have very high specific impulse and very low thrust. This leads to a flight profile with long continuous low-thrust braking to gradually reduce the velocity of the spacecraft.

BepiColombo - Wikipedia

 

[Subduction Zone]

The 2017 Bepi-Columbo Mission to Mercury will employ an ion drive for the cruising phase.

Sadly there is not too much information about what sort of ion drive that they are using. We can't tell if it is the sort in your OP, which does sound rather promising.

 

[Radrook]

Sadly there is not too much information about what sort of ion drive that they are using. We can't tell if it is the sort in your OP, which does sound rather promising.

True, there seems to be nothing current referring directly to VASIMIR as far as its application. Maybe they ran into funding problems?

 

[Subduction Zone]

True, there seems to be nothing current referring directly to VASIMIR as far as its application. Maybe they ran into funding problems?

I have no idea. This is the first that I have heard of this, but it only makes sense. What limits the ability of a rocket to use its fuel is the speed with which it leaves the ship. With VASIMIR it sounds like the speeds might be approaching relativistic speeds. At that point the amount of momentum of the fuel is not linear with its velocity any longer.

 

[Radrook]

It looks like a good improvement over chemical and ion thrusters for in-orbit and beyond, but despite what the start of the video implies, it doesn't appear to have sufficient thrust to get payloads into orbit in the first place.

I have no idea. This is the first that I have heard of this, but it only makes sense. What limits the ability of a rocket to use its fuel is the speed with which it leaves the ship. With VASIMIR it sounds like the speeds might be approaching relativistic speeds. At that point the amount of momentum of the fuel is not linear with its velocity any longer.

Well, for some mysterious reason or reasons NASA seems to be ignoring it and going in its own direction with ion propulsion.
NASA - Ion Propulsion

 

[Radrook]

It will be quite a while before ion drives of any kind can be built to generate that kind of thrust and in any case they will not work in the Earth's atmosphere. Ion drives are for propulsion in the vacuum of space.

There is a mission to Mercury scheduled for 2017 in which the ion drive will be used in space. Below is an explanation of how they have been used.

Past Ion Propulsion

The NASA Glenn Research Center has been a leader in ion propulsion technology development since the late 1950s, with its first test in space— the Space Electric Rocket Test 1— flying on July 20, 1964. From 1998 to 2001, the NASA Solar Technology Application Readiness (NSTAR) ion propulsion system enabled the Deep Space 1 mission, the first spacecraft propelled primarily by ion propulsion, to travel over 163 million miles and make flybys of the asteroid Braille and the comet Borelly.

Current Ion Propulsion
Ion thrusters (based on a NASA design) are now being used to keep over 100 geosynchronous Earth orbit communication satellites in their desired locations, and three NSTAR ion thrusters that utilize Glenn-developed technology are enabling the Dawn spacecraft (launched in 2007) to travel deep into our solar system. Dawn is the first spacecraft to orbit two objects in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter: the protoplanets Vesta and Ceres.

NASA - Ion Propulsion

 

[Larniavc]

Only one ion engine?

Meh.

I'm waiting for the Twin Ion Engine vessels to come about.

You could have TIE ships of all configuration: bombers, interceptors etc.

 

[Radrook]

Only one ion engine?

Meh.

I'm waiting for the Twin Ion Engine vessels to come about.

You could have TIE ships of all configuration: bombers, interceptors etc.

Remember, they are designed to be used in a vacuum and not in atmospheres. They don't have the thrust to lift a ship against earth's gravity. So it's a matter of getting them into space via chemical propulsion and then using them.