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Friday, March 27, 2009
From the Bench
MIT rocket scientist Batishchev hopes for engine blastoff
By Brendan Lynch
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Oleg Batishchev, a research scientist at MIT’s department of aeronautics and astronautics, has developed the Mini-Helicon Plasma Thruster, a compact, economical rocket for use on spacecraft.
The rocket comprises a glass tube, an antenna and magnets. Gas pumped into the tube is transformed into plasma by radio waves from the antenna. The magnets create a magnetic field to confine and guide the plasma, which is exhausted out the other end of the tube, creating thrust. The rocket creates 1 million-degree hot, dense plasma, which necessitates the magnetic fields.
“It would melt through the wall,” he said.
The rocket is intentionally simple in design for longevity. Other plasma rockets have ceramic linings or electrodes that corrode over time due to the heat of the plasma.
The rocket is meant to position a spacecraft once it escapes earth’s orbit. It can help a vehicle stay in a certain orbit or help it move from the earth’s orbit to the moon, Batishchev said.
Batishchev and his team of about 12 students designed the rocket to be economical. Similar rockets use xenon gas, which can cost thousands of dollars a bottle. Batishchev’s creates plasma from nitrogen and argon, abundant gases that cost about $7 and $9 a bottle, respectively.
The rocket is compact but powerful, Batishchev said, pumping out four to 10 megawatts per square meter. It also runs on electricity from a battery or outlet.
“We plug it into the wall, basically,” Batishchev said.
Down the road, it’s possible the technology could be used for every stage of spacecraft propulsion, including liftoff, Batishchev said. The technology behind the rocket could also be applied in other industries. Batishchev said a differently configured system could sterilize wounds, since less dense, lower temperature plasma would kill germs. It could also be used in the processing of harmful waste, he said.
Batishchev’s work is based on a more complex system developed by MIT alum Franklin Chang-Diaz, CEO of Ad Astra Rocket Co., former astronaut and the father of state Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz.
“I’m a proud supporter,” Batishchev said.
Chang-Diaz’s system is like a Ferarri, Batishchev said, while he sees his as an economical hybrid. Chang-Diaz is working on a rocket that could go as far as Mars.
After a part broke last summer, Batishchev and his team fashioned a working version of his system from a Coca-Cola bottle, substituting for the glass tube, and a Coke can filling in for the antenna. Batishchev’s team made the Coke-rocket for fun, but he said the experiment showed the integrity of the design — the plasma doesn’t crack the glass or peel the paint.
From The Bench is a series of profiles of local researchers and the new discoveries they have made.
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