NASA PRESS RELEASE
NASA and Ad Astra Rocket Company of Webster, Texas, have signed a Space Act Agreement that could lead to the testing of a new plasma-based space propulsion technology on the International Space Station. The Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR) engine initially was studied by NASA and is being commercially developed by Ad Astra.
This is the first such agreement for a payload on the station’s exterior and represents an expansion of NASA’s plans to operate the U.S. portion of the space station as a national laboratory. This effort follows the success achieved by the agency last year in reaching multiple agreements to utilize internal station sites for this endeavor.
Continue reading ‘Griffin on Ad Astra Deal: I LIKE IT!’
AD ASTRA PRESS RELEASE
The helicon first stage of the VX-200 VASIMR™ plasma rocket prototype has achieved its full power rating of 30 kW with Argon propellant in tests conducted last Wednesday at Ad Astra’s Houston laboratory. The helicon first stage is an essential component of the VASIMR™ rocket and is responsible for generating the core plasma needed by the engine to operate.
Short for Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket, VASIMR™ is a new high-power plasma-based space propulsion technology, initially studied by NASA and now being developed privately by Ad Astra. A VASIMR™ engine could maneuver payloads in space far more efficiently and with much less propellant than today’s chemical rockets. Ultimately, VASIMR™ engines could also greatly shorten robotic and human transit times for missions to Mars and beyond.
Continue reading ‘Ad Astra Reports Progress on VX-200 VASIMR Plasma Rocket’
AD ASTRA ROCKET COMPANY PRESS RELEASE
In an internal report to its investors, presented in February of this year, Ad Astra Rocket Company reported the achievement of all its stated milestones in 2007 and presented a revised schedule of testing for the VX-200 VASIMR™ prototype under development at its Houston facility.
Short for Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket, VASIMR™ is a new high-power plasma-based space propulsion technology, initially studied by NASA and now being developed privately by Ad Astra. A VASIMR™ engine could allow space operations far more efficiently and with much less propellant than today’s chemical rockets. Ultimately, VASIMR™ engines could also greatly speed up robotic and human transit times for missions to Mars and beyond.
Major 2007 milestones achieved included key results from a newly operational VASIMR™ 100kW test bed, the VX-100 and initiation of manufacturing and subsystem integration for the first flight-like engine prototype, the 200kW VX-200. In addition, the company signed important agreements with NASA and NAUTEL Ltd of Canada.
Continue reading ‘Ad Astra Rocket Company Reaches Milestones on VX-200 VASIMR Plasma Rocket’
