66-year-old astronaut's plasma rocket - NASA bet on upcoming fruit picking (Part 2)

The breakthrough in this technology industry caught NASA's attention two years ago and now, what is the fate of it?

What are the things that NASA wants?

So why does NASA make the final decision to see what Mr. Chang-Díaz and his team do? There are those who suspect that the investment in 2015 was just because of the "old sense of old" , not only as the director of NASA in 2015, but Mr. Charles Bolden was an astronaut with the crew with Mr. Chang-Díaz, so he did it. That's it.

But there are still people who believe in this plasma rocket engine . One of them is Jason Crusan, director of NASA's Advanced Exploration System, who manages a contract with Ad Astra.

Jason Crusan.

Mr. Crusan said NASA wanted to bring technology that uses electricity to become a technology applicable to upcoming Mars missions. Most likely, this will be a combination of traditional rocket and electric rocket and finally, we will have a more powerful electric rocket.

Currently, it is unclear how they will test, but it is clear that NASA wants to collaborate to create the combined missile, before specific and detailed Mars plans are officially released. eye.

If the project is completed completely, then the electric rocket booster will reduce the cost we spend if we want to go to Mars. NASA has a lot of experience in testing fuel-fired missiles as well as thrust on the cosmic environment, but cosmic missions as far away as Mars will need huge amounts of fuel. An electric motor that uses energy modestly will be extremely ideal for the mission to set foot on our Red Planet.

If the project is completed completely, then the electric boosters will minimize the cost we spend if we want to go to Mars.

No matter how ideal the technology is, this space agency has made a specific request for Mr. Chang-Díaz and his colleagues to come before the ideal comes true: a motive has a power of 100 kW burning continuously for 100 hours, the deadline is mid-2018.

"At this point, either you succeed or not," Crusan said. "This will erase all ambiguity or the luck factor of a potential technology, because you can't risk trying a 100-hour test."

A cargo truck on the universe

Ten years ago, after leaving NASA, Mr. Chang-Díaz built a small research area near Clear Lake, only a few kilometers from Johnson Space Center. Investment funds from NASA have allowed Ad Astra facilities to be upgraded to a bit.

The amount of 9 million USD is used to improve the vacuum compartment along with the system to remove heat from the engine - which is not an easy thing, when the engine emits plasma with a temperature of up to 3.5 million. Degree C. Currently, engineers believe that Ad Astra has also created a prototype that can be burned continuously for 100 consecutive hours.

The company has achieved every test set by NASA. They tested the new plasma generator and started burning the propulsion system. Mr. Chang-Díaz said that this new version of the engine works well with the heat generated by plasma.

The other 100-hour test is now more visible than ever, and the astronaut who has just turned 66 is looking forward to its success. At this age, he maintains a standard figure as well as a sharp spirit, as if he is willing to fly again if NASA needs the experience of an aging astronaut.

Mr. Franklin Chang-Díaz.

Keeping the company still active is an extremely challenging challenge for Mr. Chang-Díaz. But for nearly 10 years, Ad Astra has raised about $ 30 million in funds from many small institutional investors. And now, the goal of developing a NASA 300 kW engine is logically matched with Ad Astra's short-term plans.

The company proposes VASIMR engine as a foundation technology of a space truck system, transporting goods near the Earth."Our investors consider VASIMR as an engine to power shipments between Earth, the Moon and beyond," said Chang-Díaz.

In this race, Ad Astra is not the only participant. There is still another challenger with another rocket fuel engine. These are the United Launch Alliance, a powerful rocket manufacturing company backed by Boeing and Lockheed Martin, which are producing a prototype rocket engine called ACES.

United Launch Alliance.

Unlike other engines of the same type, they can burn fuel quickly and can be fueled after being used up. As expected, ACES will transport the goods to the Moon, then return to Earth orbit to be fueled, ready for the next trip.

This is also a revolutionary idea, especially when ACES can play a key role in a rotating transport system between Earth and other locations. But Ad Astra says it has a key advantage over ACES: it is the typical fuel-saving element of electric rockets.

Simulation of ULA ACES missile launch.

Mr. Chang-Díaz gave a clear example to compare his chemical-fired rocket engine and engine, an example of a small boat like a mid-air spacecraft."Imagine you're sitting in the middle of a lake on a small boat, but you don't have any paddles. Instead, you have a pile of bowling balls. You throw every single ball, creating a thrust to take the boat. go".

A ridiculous example makes it impossible for his author to control himself, Chang-Díaz laughs and continues the story."You can take the boat that way, but you will need a very large bowling ball. Or you can have a powerful machine gun with a few bullets, and you shoot a gun to take the boat. You don't need too many bullets ".

"If you are a rocket designer, you will be able to choose which propulsion engine you will use. Use a lot of fuel to achieve a small speed, or use less fuel to achieve great speed. ".

The speed at which a gravitational ejection force from a chemical combustion rocket engine of the best type is 5 km / s. With VASIMR missiles, the speed to drain gravity is up to 50 km / s. So, instead of bringing a pile of bowling balls to the universe, why not bring a few bullets?

Martian mission only in 39 days

It is true that at the present time, it is understandable that people are suspicious of Ad Astra's motive. Nearly every newspaper introduced this company to a plasma engine with an impressive number: they would put people on Mars for 39 days.

Mr. Chang-Díaz calculated that a solar power system large enough could provide up to 1 megawatt of energy for generating electric thrust.

That number, in theory, is perfectly feasible with a larger, more powerful VASIMR engine but there is one point that makes everyone question: that they NEED to have a nuclear reactor on board. to be able to create the kind of energy that puts people on Mars in such a October 1 day.

NASA itself has thought about developing this aspect, one of which is the Prometheus project - developing nuclear power for rocket propulsion technology. But the sensitive elements surrounding the two words "nuclear" have led NASA to abandon this project.

Based on current technology, Mr. Chang-Díaz calculates that a solar power power system large enough to provide up to 1 megawatt of energy for generating electric thrust. However, it is only the energy absorbed when the system is located on Earth. When it comes to Mars, sunlight will be much weaker, meaning that energy is no longer as big as it used to be. Therefore, the outer space outside Mars is the place beyond the current ability.

VASIMIR engine carries on itself a nuclear reactor - The future of the cosmic industry must be attached to the nucleus.

Even with the almost endless chemical energy provided by nuclear missile engines, it would take several months to reach Mars. That long period will require more astronaut food, even increasing the risk of radioactive contamination of the crew. Because of that, places farther than Mars are also destinations that are not feasible.

But when it comes to the future of space exploration, Mr. Chang-Díaz believes that the future discovery of the Solar System needs a more efficient, faster, and almost certainly thrust-delivery system. nuclear power is required.

"Gradually, as nuclear technology matures, when we have nuclear reactors located in space facilities, we will have a motor that is ready to be taken away very far," he said. to speak. "You will have a nuclear energy rocket ready to take off."

Perhaps, one day, we will realize that dream.

At this point, NASA wants a smaller rocket, which is supplied with clean energy from the Sun and can be burned continuously without overheating. It is not good that the crew scene is stuck out of space with an engine melted by a hot plasma.