Firing up the ion drive
Posted by Mindy Limback
Ever since the Wright brothers flew at Kitty Hawk, the goals of aviation have seemed simultaneously overly ambitious and within reach. It’s no different at Missouri S&T, where researchers are using a pulsed theta pinch to study the physics of high-density, heavy-gas plasma for ion space propulsion in order to meet (and in some cases exceed) the demands of future NASA missions. Inside S&T’s Space and High-Altitude Environment Testing Facility, researchers analyze multiple ion drive propulsion systems.
