Privately-built ion thrusters?

How difficult is it for a non-government group to build an effective
ion thruster? The only ones that I'm aware of have been built by NASA
or the ESA.

I'm particularly wondering about this in the context of JP Aerospace,
which has announced plans to construct an orbital airship, using a very
large balloon equipped with ion thrusters to reach orbit. They look
like they might have the balloon part handled, but I haven't heard
anything about what they're doing with regards to the ion thruster.
-- Neil

Boeing builds their own.

"Neil Halelamien" wrote in message
ups.com...
How difficult is it for a non-government group to build an effective
ion thruster? The only ones that I'm aware of have been built by NASA
or the ESA.

I'm particularly wondering about this in the context of JP Aerospace,
which has announced plans to construct an orbital airship, using a very
large balloon equipped with ion thrusters to reach orbit. They look
like they might have the balloon part handled, but I haven't heard
anything about what they're doing with regards to the ion thruster.
-- Neil

In sci.space.tech Neil Halelamien wrote:
How difficult is it for a non-government group to build an effective
ion thruster? The only ones that I'm aware of have been built by NASA
or the ESA.

I'm particularly wondering about this in the context of JP Aerospace,
which has announced plans to construct an orbital airship, using a very
large balloon equipped with ion thrusters to reach orbit. They look
like they might have the balloon part handled, but I haven't heard
anything about what they're doing with regards to the ion thruster.

The ion thruster part of it is comparatively easy.
Making a hypersonic lifting body with a performance several hundred times
better than any in the past is the hard bit.

On 25 Jan 2005 21:55:22 -0800, "Neil Halelamien"
wrote:

How difficult is it for a non-government group to build an effective
ion thruster? The only ones that I'm aware of have been built by NASA
or the ESA.


You might find it useful to contact these folks:

http://www.engin.umich.edu/dept/aero/ERPS/index.html


I'm particularly wondering about this in the context of JP Aerospace,
which has announced plans to construct an orbital airship, using a very
large balloon equipped with ion thrusters to reach orbit. They look
like they might have the balloon part handled, but I haven't heard
anything about what they're doing with regards to the ion thruster.
-- Neil

Richard Hofer wrote:

Of course, who would have thought
SpaceShipOne could reach orbit for a paltry $20M?

They didn't.

What they've done is built a 3-man X-15 with half the original's maximum
speed.

It's still a remarkable *aeronautical* achievement, but it's a long long way
from orbit, for which (IMHO) you're talking at least another order of
magnitude of $$$.

--
Malcolm Street
Canberra, Australia
The nation's capital

In article ,
Malcolm Street wrote:

Richard Hofer wrote:

Of course, who would have thought
SpaceShipOne could reach orbit for a paltry $20M?

They didn't.

What they've done is built a 3-man X-15 with half the original's maximum
speed.

But more than its maximum (demonstrated) altitude.

It's still a remarkable *aeronautical* achievement, but it's a long long way
from orbit, for which (IMHO) you're talking at least another order of
magnitude of $$$.

True. But, aeronautical or not, it's a VERY remarkable achievement, one
which many knowledgeable people would have said was very unlikely ten
years ago. Moreover, it's clear that Rutan's goals do not end with
suborbital hops; he has a plan involving both technical and financial
elements, and is already ahead of schedule. I'm really looking forward
to what will come in another five or ten years.

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