The motor development of a new type has been ongoing for several years.
Space Agency NASA and the Ad Astra company are preparing for a 100-hour test of the plasma rocket.
The missile of the new type works by heating the neon or argon to high temperatures using magnetic fields.
Red-hot plasma and then shot from the rocket at high speed, thereby providing the movement. This engine can only be used in zero gravity, for example, launch of a spacecraft from near-orbit, or as the last stage of the rocket.
“The company is now conducting several short testing engine and preparing for the longer 100-hour test. When that will be held next year, the engine will be ready for real missions,” noted journalists.
Initially, the company plans to use a plasma rocket as a means to transport cargo to the moon or to Mars. Powered by solar panels, the missile will have a relatively low thrust and therefore will move slowly but efficiently. But, if it is equipped with a nuclear reactor, one day you will be able to reach higher speeds, which would allow people to quickly travel through the Solar system.
We add that the motor development of a new type has been ongoing for several years. In 2015, the company Ad Astra won $ 10 million tender for the construction of the interplanetary plasma of the Vasimr engine capable to deliver an expedition to Mars in less than forty days.
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