A Maxwell plasma thruster, which developer Phase Four says is the most compact system in its class. Credit: Phase Four WASHINGTON — Electric propulsion company Phase Four flew its first plasma ...

Space has a trash problem, with defunct satellites, rockets, and smaller broken bits orbiting Earth at high speeds. The amount of space junk is only increasing, raising the risk of collision with ...

A laboratory in Troitsk, Russia, may have just nudged humanity closer to interplanetary commuting. Scientists at Rosatom, the country's state nuclear corporation, have revealed a working prototype of ...

The magnetic nozzle rf plasma thruster operated in a Mega hpt vacuum chamber at Tohoku University CREDIT Kazunori Takahashi A Tohoku University researcher has increased the performance of a high-power ...

Plasma jet engines promise a future of fuel-free, electrically driven flight, but the technology faces a stubborn obstacle that no amount of enthusiasm can wish away. Ionizing air to generate thrust ...

The space agency is investing in the development of a propulsion system that uses nuclear power to create plasma bursts. Reading time 2 minutes The future of space travel depends on our ability to ...

View gallery - 3 images NASA and Howe Industries are working on a new rocket to make the trip to Mars much more manageable. The Pulsed Plasma Rocket could boast 100,000 N of thrust, unlocking speeds ...

Space startup Phase Four will be rolling out the next generation of its Maxwell radio-frequency plasma propulsion system next year, which the company says offers key performance improvements to allow ...

Space missions already use electric propulsion devices, where electromagnetic fields are utilized to generate the thrust of spacecraft. One such electrodeless device, which harnesses radio frequency ...