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Feasibility study of a mission to Sedna – Nuclear propulsion and solar sailing

(arxiv.org)
200 points speckx | 2 comments | 01 Jul 25 14:08 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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mikewarot ◴[01 Jul 25 20:16 UTC] No.44437635[source]▶
Already in orbit is OTP-2, which has 2 novel drive systems, one based on non-Newtonian thrusters, and the other based on an ION drive.[1]

Edit: The latter is "Fusion enhanced"[3]

  The company’s the FireStar Drive uses is a water-fueled pulsed plasma thruster that uses a form of aneutronic nuclear fusion to boost its performance.
I watch the orbital observations closely to see if any altitude is being gained.[2] This is their second satellite in orbit, the first one had high voltage power supply issues so they never got to try the thruster.

[1] https://www.nanosats.eu/sat/otp-2

[2] https://celestrak.org/NORAD/elements/graph-orbit-data.php?CA...

[3] https://www.aerospacetestinginternational.com/news/space/roc...

replies(2): >>44437677 #>>44437768 #
lgats ◴[01 Jul 25 20:34 UTC] No.44437768[source]▶
*IVO – Quantum Drive Propellantless Thruster - *The objective of the IVO Quantum Drive is to test the system in the LEO environment and qualify the drive’s ability to provide thrust utilizing proprietary quantum technology with no required propellant. Estimated Thrust: 1.75mN.
replies(1): >>44438576 #
VonTum ◴[01 Jul 25 22:35 UTC] No.44438576[source]▶
Why does this give me EM-Drive vibes? Haven't we established that some kind of propellant is required for conservation of momentum?
replies(1): >>44439793 #
1. mikewarot ◴[02 Jul 25 02:40 UTC] No.44439793[source]▶
Similar thing... it shouldn't work, according to the established laws of physics, though it does seem to work on the ground. If it actually does work in space, then our rules of physics need tweaking.
replies(1): >>44441414 #
2. VonTum ◴[02 Jul 25 08:46 UTC] No.44441414[source]▶
1.75mN can certainly be measured on earth. I would of course be happy to hear about a new physics breakthrough, but putting all the VC buzzwords together "proprietary quantum whatever" does not instill confidence.