1. Mapping a Path
to the Solar
System and
Beyond
Franklin R. Chang Díaz
Ad Astra
RocketCompany
Houston, TX

4. We have learned to live and
work efficiently in space
But we are still very close
to home

5. And we long to
move outward

6. And we long to
move outward

9. And we long to
move outward

16. Saturn Mission

17. Titan closest approach Oct. 2004

18. Titan Huygens Landing Jan. 14, 2005

19. Enceladus March 2006
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20. How do we go to these places
fast?
Chemical rockets will not be
suitable for these journeys

22. Thrust and power of a rocket
1
T = m×u P = m×u 2
THRUST POWER 2
Example:
m = 400 kg/sec
u = 5000 m/sec
T = 2000000 Newtons
P = 5, 000, 000, 000 Watts
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23. The best chemical rocket
Isp = 450
(limited by materials
and the temperature
of chemical reactions)
To reach higher
temperatures we move
into plasma physics

24. What is Plasma?
• Plasma is a super heated gas made up of free electrons
and ions. It is sometimes called the 4th state of matter and
makes up 99% of the visible universe.
Stars and
Lightning The sun Plasma
nebulae
processing
Many others
Propulsion
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25. Propulsion technologies ranked by specific impulse (Isp)
higher is better
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26. The Propellant Issue
Chemical rocket Electric rocket
thrust thrust
Solar
panels
fuel
fuel oxidizer
Electric rockets are electricity
more fuel efficient.
Use electricity rather
than chemical
combustion to produce
hot exhaust gases.
exhaust exhaust
Low Low fuel High High fuel
temperature efficiency temperature efficiency
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27. The VASIMR Concept
POWER
RF generators
Superconducting
Magnet coils
Magnetic
field lines
Thrust Exhaust
Plasma
Propellant
feed Ionizing antenna Heating antenna
(helicon) (ICRF)
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28. Physics of VASIMR
Plasma Source Magnetic Nozzle
RF waves establish a “helicon” When particles see an expanding
discharge, which ionizes neutral gas magnetic field, they are accelerated
to produce a dense plasma with an axially at the expense of their
electron temperature of a few eV rotational motion.
n -i
n -i + -
n -i
n
-i
Ions get extra kick from
ICRF heating ambipolar electric field
(Ion Cyclotron Range of Frequencies) Both ions and electrons
Injected electromagnetic waves accelerate the ions by leave at the same rate
resonating at magnetic beach with their fundamental
cyclotron frequency (and associated harmonics.)
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29. Important Advantages
• No electrodes or other materials in
direct contact with the plasma.
• Therefore, potential for very high
power density, high reliability, long
life.
• Multiple propellants: Helium,
Hydrogen, Deuterium, Nitrogen,
Argon, Neon, Xenon, others…
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30. VX-200 prototype development
Cryogenic
RF subsystem subsystem
Thermal Plasma experiments
subsystem
Superconducting magnet subsystem
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31. Ad Astra Rocket Company Formally
Organized July 15, 2005
Wholly owned subsidiary in Costa Rica
Established October 2005
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32. Present Status
• Conducting high power experiments with Argon
• Major development of VX-200 prototype
• Two new vacuum chambers to support new
experimental facilities
• New Houston location
• Both companies fully operational
• Negotiating Investment SPVs (special purpose
vehicles) in Costa Rica, USA and Europe
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33. VX-50 Experiment at JSC
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34. VX-100 Installation, Nov 2006
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35. VX-50 Recent Results
• Significant flow velocity with neon, about
4000 second equivalent Isp.
• Three different measurement techniques. 7
4
x 10
fluxprobe/interferometer
RPA
6
• VX-100 will enable similar results with Argon
5
to achieve our specific impulse goal.
velocity (m/s)
4
3
2
1
0
0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4
time (seconds)
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36. VX-50 promising performance
• Using flow velocity and measured flux we can
calculate a jet power and efficiency of the
acceleration process, 50 to 75%.
• About 0.5 N of apparent thrust, with only about 30
kW of power.
• This is agrees with predictions and validates
predictions for VX-200 performance.
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37. The Economics
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38. Lower fuel launch costs
• The cost of launching rocket fuel into
space is a major driver in the cost of
space operations.
• Plasma rockets require much less fuel
to operate
Ad Astra Rocket Company, U. S. A

39. Cost effective Moon cargo capability
VASIMR delivers the highest fraction of the initial mass in low Earth
orbit (IMLEO) to the Moon vs. a chemical thruster or the Hall thruster,
thereby reducing the cost per kg. Cargo ship
elements see slide
32
• Here,
VASIMR
can deliver
39% of
IMLEO to
the Moon’s
surface.
• Hall thruster:
32%.
• Chemical:
17%
Ad Astra Rocket Company, U. S. A

40. Lower intrinsic fuel costs
• VASIMR uses less expensive and more abundant fuels: hydrogen, argon,
neon, potentially ammonia.
• Competing electric rockets such as the ion engine and the Hall thruster
use Xenon, a rare and expensive gas.
Propellant Earth abundance Market Price
(listed by increasing (by weight) ($/kg)
weight)
Hydrogen 0.11 of seawater 1,010.0
Deuterium .00015 of seawater 7,700.0
Nitrogen 20 (ppm) 4.0
Neon 5.0x10-3 (ppm) 250.0
Argon 3.2 (ppm) 42.0
Xe 3.0x10-5 (ppm) 2120.0
Ammonia Manufactured 50
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41. The Plan
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42. The Plan
• Near term goals:
– demonstrating VASIMR
in space
– developing a generic
electric power and
propulsion test platform
for attachment to the
International Space
Station (ISS).
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43. The Market
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44. Electric Power Requirements
• For missions near Earth and The
Moon, the electricity will come from
solar panels.
Ad Astra Rocket Company, U. S. A

45. Collaboration with ENTECH Inc.
• Advanced solar power
technology for space applications
– ENTECH to build 100kW
solar array for the VF-200-1
VASIMR engine
– Electric power density is 300
Watt/m2 (technology
improvement expected to 400
Watt/m2
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46. Electric Power Requirements
• For missions to Mars and beyond,
the electricity must come from
nuclear reactors.
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47. Space Nuclear Power
VASIMR configuration with
Vapor Core Reactor System
Vapor Core Reactor with
MHD power conversion
Concept by Prof. Samim Anghaie, Director,
Innovative Nuclear Space Power and
Propulsion Institute, INSPI; University of
Florida, Gainesville.
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48. Radiation is a big problem
• Not from the nuclear reactor…but
from space itself
• Solar flares (eruptions)
• Cosmic rays
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49. Potential solutions
• We go fast!
0.7
• Magnetic shielding
GCR Dose, mSv/day
0.6
Aluminum
• Material shielding 0.5
• All of the above 0.4 Water
0.3
0.2 Polyethylene
0.1 Liquid hydrogen
0.0
0 10 20 30 40 50
Depth, g/cm 2
Liquid hydrogen shielding.
Magnetic shielding.
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50. 115day Mission Architecture
High thrust Heliocentric Robotic Mars orbit
Earth spiral (30days) Trajectory(85days) insertion
Departing LEO
May 6, 2018 Crew Lander
188 mT IMLEO (60.8 mT Payload)
12 MW power plant 31.0 mT Habitat
α = 4 kg/kW 13.5 mT Aeroshell Isp profile for
16.3 mT Descent System piloted segment
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51. High Power dramatically reduces trip time
200MW Earth to Mars Missions
α = 0.5; Maximal Isp = 30,000
Payload Mass 22 MT
Total Initial Spiraling around Earth Heliocentric trajectory Final relative Total trip
Mass (mT) fuel (mT) time (days) fuel (mT) time (days) velocity (km/s) time (days)
600 180 7 298 34 0 41
350 117 5 111 42 0 47
250 88 4 40 49 0 53
600 152 8 324 31 6.8 39
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52. Other Ship Architectures
Superconducting
toroidal radiation
shield
Crew compartment
Lander
Liquid hydrogen
tanks
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53. System Design
• Modularity
• Suitable for both cargo and piloted
missions
• Redundancy
Power and
Propulsion Module
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54. Asteroid Missions
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55. Collaboration
International Government
• National Center for High • NASA
Technology (Costa Rica) • DOE: ORNL, LANL
• Australian National University
• Alfvén Laboratory (Sweden)
• kyushu University (Japan)
• University College Dublin (Ireland)
Academia
• UT-Austin
Strong participation of • Rice U
Industry
students at both graduate • U of Maryland
• MEI Technologies
and undergraduate levels • U of Houston
• Creare Inc.
• U Alabama H.
• TYR
• MIT
• ManSat (Isle of Man)
• U Florida
• Entech Inc.
• U Michigan
• Nautel Ltd. (Canada)
• Everson Tesla
• Scientific Magnetics (U.K)
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56. Costa Rica subsidiary
• Established Oct. 28, 2005
• Formally incorporated Nov. 15, 2005 to support USA
operation
• Initial engineering tasks:
– Helicon plasma source thermal management
– Life testing of VASIMR components
– Engineering support of hazardous waste processing
using plasma technology
• Initial 700 m2 laboratory facility in EARTH La Flor
campus
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57. Ad Astra Rocket Company, U. S. A

58. Architectural concept
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59. Construction Initiated Feb. 16, 2006
12/28/05
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60. Facility Inauguration July 15, 2006
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61. Ad Astra Rocket Company, U. S. A

62. The Team
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63. First Plasma Dec 13, 2006
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