Russia’s Rosatom Working on Plasma Rocket Engine for Space Travel
/ Go to the mediabankThe Soyuz-2.1a launch vehicle carrying the Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft for the new International Space Station (ISS) crew
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SOCHI (Sputnik) – Scientists of Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom are successfully working on a project to create a plasma rocket engine with a capacity of several hundred kilowatts.This technology will allow Russia to reach a new level of space exploration, Viktor Ilgisonis, head of Rosatom’s Scientific and Technical Research and Development, said on Monday.In 2023, Rosatom developed a plasma accelerator with an external magnetic field for a prototype plasma rocket engine with increased thrust of at least 6 N and specific impulse of at least 100 kilometers (62 miles) per second. The average power of such an engine, operating in a pulsed-periodic mode, could reach 300 kW. “A laboratory prototype has now been created. The goal for the coming years is to create a laboratory sample – that is, a flight-capable sample – and conduct ground testing. So, the project is proceeding quite well,” Ilgisonis told reporters. Rosatom has said that the creation of a plasma rocket engine with a capacity of several hundred kilowatts will enable Russia in the future to achieve technological leadership in this field and reach a new level of space exploration, carry out interplanetary flights, and also regularly exchange cargo between the Earth and the Moon.
