Space propulsion breakthrough: new spacecraft ion engine tested

blunt

shot by both sides
Beyond cool ...

"The European Space Agency and the Australian National University have successfully tested a new design of spacecraft ion engine that dramatically improves performance over present thrusters and marks a major step forward in space propulsion capability."
 
blunt said:
Beyond cool ...

"The European Space Agency and the Australian National University have successfully tested a new design of spacecraft ion engine that dramatically improves performance over present thrusters and marks a major step forward in space propulsion capability."

Yeah, that's cool, but ion drives are a bit old hat really. This , however will mean Earth to Mars in 3 hours, Earth to nearest star in 11 days.

the original paper is here http://www.hpcc-space.de/publications/documents/aiaa2004-3700-a4.pdf
 

blunt

shot by both sides
HMGovt said:
This, however, will mean Earth to Mars in 3 hours, Earth to nearest star in 11 days.

Crikey, Moses... you win!

"I'll see your ion drive, and raise you one hyperdrive." ;)
 

Canada J Soup

Monkey Man
I expect that the anti-gravity hyperdrive flying saucers we'll be commuting to Mars in will also need ion engines for parking.

There's a good Wikipedia entry on Heim: A reclusive, disfigured, blind, deaf former Nazi rocket scientist with a photographic memory who theorized a clean hydrogen bomb at the age of 18, went on to develop a unified Theory Of Everything and invented an anti-gravity engine along the way.

Comicbooktastic.
 
Top