All articles tagged with #space propulsion
L3Harris is selling a 60% stake in its space propulsion business to AE Industrial Partners for $845 million to shift focus towards defense, while reorganizing into three segments to better align with future warfare needs; the deal also aims to accelerate propulsion tech development, including nuclear propulsion for Mars exploration, with the transaction expected to close in late 2026.
L3Harris Technologies plans to sell a 60% stake in its space propulsion business to AE Industrial Partners for $845 million, while retaining a 40% stake and the RS-25 engine program. The deal aims to refocus L3Harris on core defense priorities, and AE Industrial intends to revive the Rocketdyne brand and collaborate on future propulsion technologies, including nuclear propulsion for deep-space exploration.
A former NASA scientist claims to have developed a new propulsion system that can move without expelling mass, potentially defying gravity, using electrostatic asymmetry. While intriguing, these claims are unverified and face skepticism due to their challenge to established physics principles, requiring rigorous independent testing before acceptance.
NASA has successfully tested powerful new electric engines for the Lunar Gateway, a space station orbiting the Moon that will serve as a staging point for lunar and future deep space missions. These efficient electric thrusters will enable longer, more cost-effective trips by using electricity instead of fuel, marking a significant advancement in space propulsion technology and preparing for future Mars exploration.
A new engine technology has been developed that could potentially enable travel to Mars in just 30 days, representing a significant breakthrough in space propulsion and interplanetary travel capabilities.
A new plasma engine prototype could make it possible to travel to Mars in just 30 days, significantly reducing travel time to the Red Planet.
Pam Melroy, a former NASA astronaut and spaceflight expert, has joined Venus Aerospace's board as the company advances its revolutionary rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE), which offers a 15% efficiency increase and could transform space travel and defense applications, including high-speed global travel and lunar/Mars landers.
Researchers from the University of Nottingham have developed innovative transmissive solar sail technology that uses sunlight bending through microscopic patterns for fuel-free spacecraft propulsion, with potential applications in deep space exploration, climate intervention, and space debris removal, paving the way for more sustainable and versatile space missions.
Charles Buhler, a former NASA engineer, claims to have developed a revolutionary propulsion system that generates thrust without propellant, potentially transforming space travel. While initial tests are promising, the technology requires rigorous validation to confirm its viability and adherence to physical laws. If proven, it could lead to cleaner, cheaper, and more efficient space exploration, marking a significant breakthrough in physics and engineering.
The article discusses the historical and ongoing efforts to develop nuclear power for space exploration, highlighting early ambitions from President Kennedy, current projects like NASA's DRACO, and the potential for nuclear energy to revolutionize travel to Mars and beyond, amid a shift in both government and commercial space initiatives.
Researchers are making progress on the centrifugal nuclear thermal rocket (CNTR), a new type of nuclear propulsion that could nearly double the specific impulse of traditional systems by using liquid uranium fuel in a centrifuge, though significant engineering challenges remain, particularly in uranium containment and vaporization management.
Chinese scientists have developed a prototype nuclear-powered engine for Mars missions, positioning China as a contender in the global space race. This technology offers benefits such as extended mission duration, increased efficiency, reduced travel time, enhanced power supply, and feasibility for more ambitious space exploration missions. While initial costs may be high, the long-term cost efficiency and potential for reuse make nuclear-powered spacecraft a promising advancement in space propulsion technology.
California startup Helicity Space has raised $5 million in a seed funding round to develop fusion engines for spaceflight. The funding comes from strategic partners including Airbus Ventures, TRE Ventures, Voyager Space Holdings, E2MC Space, Urania Ventures, and Gaingels. Helicity aims to deliver a proof-of-concept fusion drive and demonstrate the novelty of its technology before putting it into space. Fusion engines have the potential to revolutionize space travel by providing clean and efficient propulsion, reducing travel time to Mars and beyond. The company's technology is based on the work of its chief scientist, Setthivoine You, and has been developed specifically for space propulsion.
Pulsar Fusion, a space propulsion company, is constructing a large nuclear fusion chamber in England with the goal of becoming the first company to launch a nuclear fusion-powered propulsion system in space. Nuclear fusion propulsion technology has the potential to significantly reduce travel times to destinations like Mars and Saturn's moon Titan. Pulsar believes fusion propulsion is inevitable and is focusing on developing this technology for deep space travel. The company is building an eight-meter fusion chamber to confine ultra-hot plasma within an electromagnetic field, and it has partnered with Princeton Satellite Systems to simulate and model plasma behavior. The next step for Pulsar is an in-orbit demonstration of a nuclear-fusion powered propulsion system.