MagBeam

MagBeam (magnetized-beam plasma propulsion or magnetized plasma-jet drive) is the term for a theoretical rebound system in space travel. The current work of Professor Robert M. Winglee at the Earth and Space Sciences Department at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington, has been encouraged. NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC), after Winglee presented the concept at an annual NIAC conference in 2005. So, student Andrew Bingham at Clarkson University in Clarkson (New York) received a grant award from the NIAC for his work on the MagBeam.

The approach is to consider that ion propulsion, MOA or similar propulsion techniques on board a spacecraft can only develop a small thrust and therefore have to be accelerated over a very long period of time. This makes engines less suitable for future manned spaceflights to more remote targets such as Mars or Saturnmond Titan. If a larger thrust was to be achieved, significantly heavier engines and a larger support mass would be required. However, this has a negative effect on the size of the vehicle, which would require a larger thrust. This dilemma can be escaped by the fact that one separates the drive from the vehicle, a strategy that is also pursued with the Lightcraft concept, but with the MagBeam with more manageable energy expenditure. In the MagBeam the driving beam is to be produced in space stations, according to the concept conceivable locations of such stations are an earth orbit and a Saturnorbit. A grounded drive unit is not conceivable because this type of drive only works in a vacuum. The original idea of ​​the drive comes from the science fiction novel "Mote in God's Eye" by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, which was published in the English original edition for the first time in 1975. Weblinks Edit sourcetext

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