Metal propellant thruster prototype developed by Magdrive. Called, 'Look what you made me do'. This prototype was smaller and faster than the previous version. The control system was better designed and it demonstrated a successful scaling down from 4 units in the previous version to 2 units. This prototype showed a signifiant improvement in terms of speed, size and efficiency.
Magdrive's 'Rogue' thruster uses solid metal propellant as fuel. Rapid pulses of energy heat up the metal, turning it into a hot plasma which is then forced out using magnetic fields, generating thrust.
Metal is inert which means there are no combustable materials in the thruster, minimising risk. It also means there are no fuel pipes or tanks needed. Metal is also abundant in space, meaning that its could be possible to refuel spacecraft using space debris or even mining asteroids. The thrusters can react quickly in space, maneuvering spacecraft out of debris paths or to alter its orbit.
Details
- Category:
- Space Technology
- Object Number:
- 2025-926
- Materials:
- aluminium (metal), copper (alloy), fibreglass, tin (metal), silver (metal), copper (metal), plastic (unidentified), ceramic (unspecified), plastic ABS, PLA, PTFE, gold (trace) and steel (metal)
- Measurements:
-
overall: 120 mm x 200 mm x 200 mm, 1.34 kg
- type:
- thruster prototype
- credit:
- Magdrive
