Plasma Sensors Glowing Red Hot in VASIMR Exhaust

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 ~1,000,000 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 testing in late 2013 on the International Space Station (ISS).

The total power processed by the engine is distributed between its two electromagnetic stages. The first, tested last July at its full 32 kW power rating, generates the plasma from Argon feedstock gas, while the second energizes it to the desired output conditions. At maximum power, the second stage contributes an additional 168 kW to complete the 200 kW power rating. The 200 kW test is, in effect, a validation of the VASIMR® second stage design, a hitherto untested element of the engine at these tremendous power levels, said Dr. Jared P. Squire, Ad Astras Director of Research and leader of the experimental team conducting the tests. Preliminary data indicate a better than expected power coupling, leading to slightly less thermal stress than originally predicted. These findings will continue to be verified, but the indications point to operation well within the chosen design specifications he said.

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 transport payloads in space far more efficiently and economically than todays chemical rockets. The company envisions an early commercial deployment of the technology, beginning in 2014, to greatly reduce the operational costs of maintaining an evolving space infrastructure, including space stations, satellites, lunar outposts and fuel depots in the Earth-Moon environment. Ultimately, VASIMR® engines could also greatly shorten robotic and human transit times for missions to Mars and beyond.

THE TECHNOLOGY
The VASIMR® engine works with plasma, a very hot gas, at temperatures close to the interior of the Sun. Plasmas are electrically charged fluids that can be heated to extreme temperatures by radio waves and controlled and guided by strong magnetic fields. The magnetic field also insulates any nearby structure, so temperatures well beyond the melting point of materials can be achieved and the resulting plasma can be harnessed to produce propulsion. In rocket propulsion, the higher the temperature of the exhaust gases, the higher their velocity and hence the higher their fuel efficiency. Plasma rockets feature exhaust velocities far above those achievable by their chemical cousins, so their fuel consumption is extremely low and their fuel-related costs substantially reduced.

ABOUT AD ASTRA
Ad Astra Rocket Company is a privately-owned corporation established January 14, 2005 to commercialize the technology of the VASIMR® engine, a plasma propulsion system originally studied by NASA with potential to support an emerging in-space transportation market. The company has its main laboratory and corporate headquarters at 141 W. Bay Area Boulevard in Webster, Texas, USA. Ad Astra also owns and operates Ad Astra Rocket Company, Costa Rica, a supporting research and development subsidiary in Guanacaste, Costa Rica.

www.AdAstraRocket.com

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[v2keener]

That's intense. They are glowing white hot for about 2.5 seconds, and red hot for about 0.25 seconds.

[birdoffirephoenix]

That was Chuck Norris yawning.



[MetalMilitia5488]

@premiumherbs A gas doesn't have to be heated up to millions of degrees to ionize and form a plasma phase. Look up reactive ion etching. Chemical and electrical engineers use oxygen and SF6 plasmas to etch and pattern circuits at temperatures well below millions of degrees.

[DJLocoAl]

First post was "Errored", weres what it said: Well, of corse it would be glowing red. Thats like sticking metal in fire. Heat Make Metal Glow. PLASMA ROCKET EXHAUST MAKES PLASMA SENSORS GLOW RED.

[DJLocoAl]

Ok, I tke that back, this is still pretty intense, but, not suprising. Its a fucking powerful engine.

[DJLocoAl]

Well, of corse it would be glowing red. Thats like sticking metal in fire. Heat Make Metal Glow. PLASMA ROCKET EXHAUST MAKES PLASMA SENSORS GLOW RED.

[DragonFlyback256]

@LizzyAston

For a solid, dense object to become as hot as 1,000,000'C (and to become entirely vaporized in the process), needs a LOT more energy than this, all concentrated onto the surface of the object.

Think about atomic bombs...

[DragonFlyback256]

@k35magnum

That's called spectrum analysis. =)

Noble / inert gases are the best for creating plasma because they require lower energies to become ionized. Vapors of some metals are good for it as well, like Sodium or Mercury. The key is low electron-negativity.

[premiumherbs]

Plasma is a gas heated up to MILLIONS of degrees, turning the gas into a super dense gas that keeps itself together-ish. They use nobel gases because they heat much faster and are stable. Argon is this one.