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AerospaceTopicSlideshowTypeSpecial Reports

Costa Rica's Radical Rocket

Getting to Mars' or anywhere else in the solar system-may be easier with Ad Astra Rocket Co.'s plasma thruster

0 min read
space flighttype:slideshowrocket engineplasmaCosta Rica

Photo: Randi Silberman
WARMING UP: On a sunny afternoon in Costa Rica, engineers at Ad Astra Rocket Co. prepare to test a heat shield for an electric rocket. It is the brainchild of Franklin R. Chang Díaz, a former NASA astronaut. Instead of combusting hydrogen and oxygen, as in a chemical rocket, this engine uses radio-frequency generators to heat a gas, turning it into a plasma. By blasting the plasma out a nozzle, the rocket generates thrust.
space flighttype:slideshowrocket engineplasmaCosta Rica
The Conversation (0)
Top left, a stuffed bear with a screen attached to its stomach. Top right, a lamp with two bright spots that resemble eyes. Bottom left, a pair of human hands with a clear material on them. Bottom right, a cat looking at a wooden box with pipe cleaners attached to it.
RoboticsTopicTypeNews

Cat Toys, Toaster Bots, and Scolding Lamps

3 min read
The EV Battery Wish List
TransportationTopicTypeAnalysis

The EV Battery Wish List

9 min read