VASIMR Lunar Tug Concept

An unmanned cargo capability based on VASIMR propulsion offers significant cost savings to NASA and commercial lunar exploration programs. VASIMR can deliver twice as much payload to the lunar surface, compared to chemical propulsion, if used as a 'tug boat' between Low Earth Orbit and Low Lunar Orbit. At the present, chemical propulsion always has to be used to climb out of Earth's atmosphere and into a Low Earth Orbit, in addition to the final lunar landing descent.

Beyond VX-200 (VASIMR Experimental, 200 kW) and VF-200 (VASIMR Flight, 200 kW) demonstrations, the Ad Astra Rocket Company plans to fill a developing high power transportation niche near Earth for orbit maintenance of large space structures for commerce and tourism and satellite repositioning, retrieval and re supply. Longer term applications for which VASIMR may be ideally suited include: the delivery of large payloads to the lunar surface, recovery of space resources from asteroids and comets and propelling cargo and human missions to Mars and beyond.

More at:
www.AdAstraRocket.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variable_specific_impulse_magnetoplasma_rocket

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[whitesox629]

birds were a nice touch

[TheFluffyDuck]

Ill be dead long before humans have an urge to go into space again. Untill then Big Brother and Australian Idol will have to suffice *sigh*

[weeinchit]

@AgrivatedKillah Of course fusion would be terrific. But fusion is another far-off technology that won't be available for decades. Whenever you see NASA putting technologies in front of plans for real missions that means they are not being allowed to actually have a real mission. If we decided to wait for something like fusion then there would never be a mission anywhere. Remember: NASA creates technology to complete it's missions, not the other way around.

[AgrivatedKillah]

@weeinchit Hm.

I heard that fusion power is more promising.

See Project Icarus and Project Daedelus

[weeinchit]

@AgrivatedKillah -Well VASIMR is far off for technical reasons. Perhaps many decades from now it will evolve into something that can transport heavy cargo and people at high speeds. This is not the case for NTR. NTR was almost flight ready in the 70s and could be rapidly developed - and improved- today. But we don't do that simply because there is no mission grand enough to require advaced propulsion. Without the mission, advanced propulsion is just a pipe dream.

[AgrivatedKillah]

@weeinchit  Either way....both are far off when it comes to interstellar space

[weeinchit]

@AgrivatedKillah There are lots of ion propulsion technologies that have been flown for thousands of hours so far. I don't hate VASIMR and there's nothing wrong with studying it. But it is being sold as the holy grail of space propulsion and that is false. It will only be useful for small space probes, not for tranport of bulk hardware or people. It will not get humans to Mars faster (or at all) than chemical or NTR propulsion. There are no studies showing that it will.

[AgrivatedKillah]

@weeinchit Yeah...because it's not like we have any mars missions now.

Also, Vasimir if proven[which it has been so far] Is MUCH faster, and more practical for long duration space missions.

[weeinchit]

VASIMR is a futuristic propulsion technology that will not ever be capable of taking humans anywhere. It has been intentionally placed in front of going to Mars to make sure that a Mars mission can never be initiated.

[Helge129]

@bestamerica "You" is the only term available in the english language. I did not insult you, I stated the truth.

[bestamerica]

Helge129, ' dont insult me,,, dont use a word - YOU - on me,,, do RESPECT me,,, i dont insult and stupid to heigel129,,, explain about this country and space,,, let america can go mars first,,, ussr russia cannot go,,, helgel129 is a rude,,, cased closed

[Helge129]

@bestamerica Also ussr russia? You truely have to be delusional, or stupid, or missinformed. The USSR doesn't exist anymore. It's been that way for 20 fricken years.