'Helical Engine' Concept Could Reach 99% the Speed of Light

Helical Engine
NTRS Full-Text:	View Document      [PDF Size: 1.6 MB]
Author and Affiliation:	Burns, David (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL, United States)
Abstract:	A new concept for in-space propulsion is proposed in which propellant is not ejected from the engine, but instead is captured to create a nearly infinite specific impulse. The engine accelerates ions confined in a loop to moderate relativistic speeds, and then varies their velocity to make slight changes to their mass. The engine then moves ions back and forth along the direction of travel to produce thrust. This in-space engine could be used for long-term satellite station-keeping without refueling. It could also propel spacecraft across interstellar distances, reaching close to the speed of light. The engine has no moving parts other than ions traveling in a vacuum line, trapped inside electric and magnetic fields.
Publication Date:	August 19, 2019
Document ID:	20190029657 (Acquired August 29, 2019)
Subject Category:	SPACECRAFT PROPULSION AND POWER
Technical Review Type:	Single Expert
Report/Patent Number:	MSFC-E-DAA-TN71086
Document Type:	Presentation
Publication Information:	SEE 20190029294
Meeting Information:	AIAA Propulsion Energy Forum and Exposition; August 19, 2019 - August 22, 2019; Indianapolis, IN; United States
Meeting Sponsor:	American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA); Reston, VA, United States
Financial Sponsor:	NASA Marshall Space Flight Center; ST01 Science and Technology Office (ST); Huntsville, AL, United States
Description:	16p; In English
Distribution Limits:	Unclassified; Publicly available; Unlimited
Rights:	No Copyright; Work of the U.S. Government - Public use permitted
NASA Terms:	ELECTRIC FIELDS; ENGINE DESIGN; ION PROPULSION; IONS; MAGNETIC FIELDS; MOMENTUM TRANSFER; PROPELLANTS; SPACECRAFT PROPULSION; SPECIFIC IMPULSE; STATIONKEEPING; VELOCITY

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