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Check out these solar photon sail images:

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ION ENGINES Lastest, News, photon, Sail, solar

A few nice ION ENGINE images I found:

1934 Dymaxion

Image by brewbooks

1934 Dymaxion

Image by brewbooks

ION ENGINES engine, Nice, photos

Mars2010_ Pt2of6_ Various Panelists_ The Vasimr Drive For Space Exploration_ Panel Discussion. The Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR) is an electro-magnetic thruster for spacecraft propulsion. It uses radio waves to ionize and heat a propellant and magnetic fields to accelerate the resulting plasma to generate thrust. It is one of several types of spacecraft electric propulsion systems. The method of heating plasma used in VASIMR was originally developed as a result of research into nuclear fusion. VASIMR is intended to bridge the gap between high-thrust, low-specific impulse propulsion systems and low-thrust, high-specific impulse systems. VASIMR is capable of functioning in either mode. Costa Rican scientist and former astronaut Franklin Chang-Diaz created the VASIMR concept and has been working on its development since 1977.

ION ENGINES Discussion.mp4, drive, Exploration_, Mars2010_, panel, Panelists_, Pt2of6_, space, Various, VASIMR

by PhOtOnQuAnTiQuE

Question by erik_8991: Interesting problem about sun, photons, momentum?
The sun emits 3.9 × 10^26 W of power. NASA would like to use the flux of photons from the sun to move a spacecraft that is in the shape of a sail. This absorbing solar sail is d = 2 × 10^11 m from the sun and has an area of A = 10^6 m2. What is the change in momentum of the solar sail when it faces the sun for 60 seconds? (Note, you do not need to know the wavelength of sunlight to answer the question, but the sun does emit most of its photons at a wavelength of 500 nm.)

(a) 160 kg m/s
(b) 12 kg m/s
(c) 4.0 × 10^-19 kg m/s
(d) 1.3 × 10^-27 kg m/s
(e) The momentum does not change.

thanks!

Best answer:

Answer by DH
The intensity of the sun’s energy at d is P/4πr^2 = 3.9×10^26W/(4π*(2×10^11)^2) = 776W/m^2

The radiation pressure is I/c= 776w/M^2/3X10^8m/s = 2.59×10^-6 Pa

So the force on the sail is P*A = 2.59×10^-6*10^6 = 2.59N

The impulse would be F*t = 2.59N*60s = 155N-s = change in momentum

Rounded to 2 digits the answer is a) 160 kg-m/s

Add your own answer in the comments!

ION ENGINES about, interesting, momentum, photons, problem

A few nice VASIMR images I found:

ION ENGINES Nice, photos, VASIMR

Some cool NASA ION images:

OTHER WORLDS OTHER SOUNDS..cover art 1958 …..item 1..Asteroid Vesta (July 19, 2011) …..item 2..Juan García Esquivel: Begin The Beguine …

Image by marsmet463

RHIC Control Room

Image by Brookhaven National Laboratory

ION ENGINES 1..Asteroid, 1958, 2..Juan, 2011, begin, Beguine, Esquivel, García, item, July, SOUNDS..cover, Vesta, World's

A few nice solar photon sail images I found:

ION ENGINES cool, images, photon, Sail, solar

by Chris Radcliff

Question by Rob: Can some one tell me about VASIMR Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket?
The only thing I can dig up is

((( The Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR) is an electro-magnetic thruster for spacecraft propulsion. It uses radio waves to ionize and heat a propellant and magnetic fields to accelerate the resulting plasma to generate thrust. It is one of several types of spacecraft electric propulsion systems. )))

It sounds like it uses radio waves to heat a propellant and magnetic fields.Does this have high thrust and high and high-specific impulse> Can this go almost the speed of light ?

Can this take up 10 or 15 people to the space station? How many people can this hold?

I hear there 3 types of VASIMR a plane/ rocket combo and rocket type and may be a SSTO.

Best answer:

Answer by lithiumdeuteride
Ion engine exhaust velocity is very high, giving it very good efficiency (as measured by specific impulse). However, the thrust is very low, making the engine totally useless for getting out of an atmosphere such as Earth’s. Ion engines like these are only good for orbital maneuvers, but they are much better than chemical rockets for such maneuvers.

Chemical rockets have very high thrust, but their specific impulse is low, so they run out of fuel more quickly (or alternatively, they must more fuel mass to accomplish the same maneuver).

Add your own answer in the comments!

ION ENGINES about, Impulse, Magnetoplasma, Rocket, some, specific, tell, Variable, VASIMR

After being exposed to the full power VASIMR exhaust for ~5 seconds, several plasma diagnostics can be seen glowing red hot after the shot, even with the interior lights on! Based on the color of these glowing sensors, we estimate the sensor temperature to be ~1000 degrees C. The plasma exhaust temperature is ~1000000 degrees C. Ad Astra Rocket Companys VASIMR® VX-200 rocket prototype reached its highly-coveted 200 kW maximum power milestone at 11:59 am (CST) September 30th 2009 in tests conducted at the companys Houston laboratory. The DC power trace actually exceeded the design requirement by 1 kW and exhibited the clear signature of a well established plateau at peak power. The achievement comes after an intense experimental campaign that began in April 2009 when the engine was fitted with a powerful low temperature superconducting magnet, a critical component that enables VASIMR® to process large amounts of plasma power. The electrical power processing is accomplished using high efficiency, 95%, solid state RF generators built by Nautel Ltd of Halifax, Canada. Demonstration of a 200 kW capability was required to validate, with full scale performance data, the design of the VF-200-1 already underway. The VX-200 turns out to exceed the expected power density of VF-200-1 by about 25%, so this is a robust demonstration of the technology. The VF-200-1 is the first engine that the company plans to fly in space, and it is presently working with NASA to effectuate inspace …

ION ENGINES exhaust, Glowing, plasma, Sensors, VASIMR

A few nice ION ENGINE images I found:

Gail Porter on 4kW Electro Scooter

Image by Revolve Eco-Rally

Electricycle City 4.0L

Image by Revolve Eco-Rally

ION ENGINES ELECTRO, Gail, Porter, scooter

ION ENGINES engine, Lastest, News

Plasma ion flux instrumentation being put to use in the exhaust plume of the Ad Astra Rocket Company’s VASIMR VX-100 plasma rocket. Additional plasma is created along magnetic field lines intercepting the collectors’ surface as secondary electrons are flung back upstream.
Video Rating: 3 / 5

ION ENGINES flux, probe, VASIMR

A few nice solar photon sail images I found:

ION ENGINES Nice, photon, photos, Sail, solar

www.li-ionmotors.com — Li-ion Motors at NASA, interview with Bruce Chesson, PM Space Center. NASA
Video Rating: 0 / 5

ION ENGINES Liion, Motors, NASA

A few nice VASIMR images I found:

ION ENGINES cool, images, VASIMR

ION ENGINES Lastest, News, VASIMR

Question by : Can a fusion drive engine be made from a ion-drive tuned to emit 500 keV protons and a supply of 11-Boron?
For rocket propulsion. The alpha particles in the product could be used to generate electric power, too.

Best answer:

Answer by Search first before you ask it
No. But a fusion reactor could power a plasma-ion engine.

Give your answer to this question below!

ION ENGINES 11Boron, drive, emit, engine, from, fusion, iondrive, Made, protons, supply, tuned

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video for embedding at scitech.quickfound.net JPL story: www.jpl.nasa.gov PASADENA, Calif. – A new video from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft takes us on a flyover journey above the surface of the giant asteroid Vesta. The data obtained by Dawn’s framing camera, used to produce the visualizations, will help scientists determine the processes that formed Vesta’s striking features. It will also help Dawn mission fans all over the world visualize this mysterious world, which is the second most massive object in the main asteroid belt… You’ll notice in the video that Vesta is not entirely lit up. There is no light in the high northern latitudes because, like Earth, Vesta has seasons. Currently it is northern winter on Vesta, and the northern polar region is in perpetual darkness. When we view Vesta’s rotation from above the south pole, half is in darkness simply because half of Vesta is in daylight and half is in the darkness of night . Another distinct feature seen in the video is a massive circular structure in the south pole region. Scientists were particularly eager to see this area close-up, since NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope first detected it years ago. The circular structure, or depression, is several hundreds of miles, or kilometers, wide, with cliffs that are also several miles high. One impressive mountain in the center of the depression rises approximately 9 miles (15 kilometers) above the base of this depression, making it one of the highest elevations on all known …
Video Rating: 5 / 5

ION ENGINES 2011, 2min, 720HD, above, Asteroid, Dawn, Journey, NASA, Vesta