"Full power to main engines..."

[unixronin]

Ad Astra test-fired their VASIMR engine at full power on October 2.  Ad Astra announcement page here, video here.  At full power, VASIMR consumes 200kW of power, generates magnetic fields of 2 Tesla in its core, produces about a pound of thrust ... and looks stunning.  A pound of thrust doesn't sound like much, but it'll take a two-ton payload from Earth orbit to Jupiter in 19 months.

Comments

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

The outer planets would still be infeasibly long trips. (The problem is radiation exposure.) But once they get the VASIMR technology a little more mature, Mars and the inner Belt are within reach.