[simpits-chat] Naner naner naner

[Brian Sikkema]

Hey, congrats! I'm hoping to finish mine up this summer (crosses fingers).

And yeah, I do: nothing. ;) This is a test engine, NASA has a bunch of these 
Russian-built Hall thrusters (because the Russians are the only ones who 
ever produced them in bulk), and they loan them to places like us. Actually, 
we're only going to be using the NASA thruster to test out all our 
equipment, because we're not allowed to alter it in any way. We'll build our 
own thrusters to play around with. My buddy Alex, the grad student who got 
me interested in all this stuff, is working on one. They're remarkably 
simple things, really.

As of right now the only thing I can think of that's been flown on an ion 
engine is NASA's Deep Space One probe, which was flown on an older style 
thruster - and is now currently the fastest man-made object in the universe. 
;) They have very low thrust (right now), but very high specific impulse 
(acceleration/fuel ratio), which means you can run the engine for a LONG 
time and continually accellerate. I think the DS1 probe ran its thruster for 
~2 years. Fun stuff :) I'm hoping to get a new digital camera soon and get 
some pics of the lab. My old one died after I opened it up... go figure. 
Good thing it was cheap.

Brian

----Original Message Follows----
From: Matt Bailey <mattb@rtccom.net>
Reply-To: simpits-chat@simpits.org
To: simpits-chat@simpits.org
Subject: Re: [simpits-chat] Naner naner naner
Date: Fri, 31 Jan 2003 13:58:49 -0500

Cool! Coincidentally, I got my private pilot's license today, must be a day
for personal milestones. :)

Any details on what they're gonna fly with that ion thruster? :)

	-Matt Bailey

On Friday 31 January 2003 12:21 pm, you wrote:
 > Not to brag or anything, buuut...
 >
 > I have just recently scored a job (sorta) working in the Advanced Space
 > Propulsion Laboratory here at school! :) I spent this morning making fuel
 > lines (fuel=krypton) for a nice shiny russian-built NASA-owned one 
million
 > dollar ion thruster... Yummy... :) I say a "sorta" job because at this
 > point Dr. King, my advisor, doesn't have the funding for undergraduate 
pay,
 > so I'm working for credit right now. Hopefully he'll have some money 
soon,
 > but if he doesn't, oh well. Still turning wrenches in a space lab.
 >
 > Muhahahahahahaha.
 >
 > Brian
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