The star trek The universe continues to expand, with a series set at Starfleet Academy in development at Paramount+. Starfleet Academy trains cadets from all eras of the franchise, from Star Trek: The Original Series season 1, episode 3, “Where No Man Has Gone Before”, in the 32nd century in Star Trek: Discovery, season 4. He has been in several series and movies from both timelines. The creators of the new show can set it to any period of the sprawling star trek cannon.

The beginning of the 25th century Star Trek: Picard makes a better setting for the new series than the 32nd century of Star Trek: Discovery. Both series staged some of their most recent seasons at the Academy. Discovery season 4 set up some of its strongest characters, Sylvia Tilly and Dr. Kovich, to play important roles in the Academy. While many viewers could welcome bigger roles for these characters, the sooner picard era has much richer storytelling and casting potential.

Related: Star Trek Just Proved DS9 Should Return As A New Series

Discovery revived 32nd century Starfleet Academy

The premiere of season 4 of Star Trek: Discovery reopens Starfleet Academy for the first time since The Burn, but at Starfleet’s offworld headquarters instead of the familiar San Francisco campus. Tilly’s Season 4 arc sees her leave Discovery to accept a position at the Academy. Tilly’s scenes with the Cadets in Season 4, Episode 4, “Anything Is Possible”, sets the stage for the confident instructor Tilly promoting her Cadets in Season 4, Episode 13, “Coming Home”. These sequences, along with Tilly’s scenes with Kovich and Admiral Vance, paint a promising picture of a 32nd century Star Trek: Discovery-era Starfleet Academy show.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5, however, may expand on Tilly’s story within the series’ own narrative, much as season 4 followed Saru on his own leave. Discovery still has vast parts of its new era to explore with few canonical constraints, and Season 5 should expand on its 32nd century world a bit more. The distant future doesn’t seem ready for a second show just yet.

Why Picard’s 25th Century Starfleet Academy Would Be a Better Show

A Starfleet Academy series set in the early 25th century Star Trek: Picardon the other hand, can build on the hugely popular legacy of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Voyager. Picard’s the first two seasons are at their best when they bring back Riker, Troi, Seven of Nine, and other characters from those classic shows. Callbacks to classic stories are also handled well, such as the Romulan Crisis and Gary Seven’s protective organization of Star Trek: The Original Series season 2, episode 26, “Assignment: Earth”. Many actors are available and the interest of the public seems to be at the rendezvous. A 25th century Starfleet Academy series can therefore accommodate Quark, Janeway, Kira and others for years without running out of popular characters.

Additionally, a 25th century Starfleet Academy series can build upon the new canon established in Star Trek: Picard, star Trek: lower decks, and even Star Trek: Prodigy. The Fenris Rangers, the newly benevolent Borg, and the new generation of Synths can all feature in Academy stories. A StarTrek: Starfleet Academy show set in the 25th century can also provide a home for appealing characters like Elnor, Laris and Kestra Troi-Riker, introduced in Star Trek: Picard but would have been written out of the show’s highly anticipated final season. It’s not yet clear when audiences will see the new Starfleet Academy show, but with a new season of each of the five series on the way, it’s likely a year or more away.

Star Trek: Picard season 3 premieres February 16, 2023 on Paramount+.

Next: Every Voyager Character Who Returned To Star Trek (& How)

]]> https://jupiter-station.com/lower-decks-directly-address-one-of-starfleets-biggest-blind-spots/ Thu, 20 Oct 2022 13:47:00 +0000 https://jupiter-station.com/lower-decks-directly-address-one-of-starfleets-biggest-blind-spots/

“Lower Decks” has already established its captain and crew’s primary mission as “second contact,” which both mocks the franchise’s age-old tradition of first contact scenarios while adding a bit of practicality to the world. of “Trek” – after all, exploration can’t always be glamorous and headline-grabbing. Someone has to do the heavy lifting of tracking historic encounters with all-new extraterrestrial beings.

In a similar vein, episode seven expanded on this idea by moving forward with Captain Carol Freeman’s (Dawnn Lewis) “swing-by” initiative. The gist involves a spacecraft like the USS Cerritos returning to a planet the Federation has already made contact with and offering further assistance in any way possible. In this case, the crew revisits the planet Ornara, a world Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) experienced in an episode of “The Next Generation.” After traveling to other parts of the universe again and leaving the planet to fend for itself, Picard’s actions eventually necessitated the new Cerritos follow-up mission 17 years later.

The implementation of this small pet project doesn’t quite go as planned, as Ornara seems to have thrived in the years since Starfleet’s intervention. But their planetary neighbor, Brekka, finally proves the wisdom of the move when the “Lower Decks” crew stumble upon an occupying force of the villainous Breen – a development they never would have discovered if the Federation hadn’t. do a half turn.

The episode primarily uses this mission as a way to further explore the mother/daughter relationship between the Captain and Ensign Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome), but in the process it finally addresses a long-standing (and quite fun) in Starfleet MO.

Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 3, Episode 7 – “A Mathematically Perfect Redemption”All weird Star Trek: Lower Decks season 3, episode 7, “A Mathematically Perfect Redemption”, reintroduces Peanut Hamper (Kether Donohue), who turns out to be one of Starfleet’s worst traitors. Ensign Peanut Hamper deserted the USS Cerritos in Star Trek: Lower Decks‘ The Season 1 finale, ‘No Small Parts’ and ‘A Mathematically Perfect Reunion’ reveals that the Exocomp has crash-landed on Areolus, a planet of technology-averse humanoid birds. Peanut Hamper nearly ruins their civilization for his own selfish ends.

Peanut Hamper seems to be on the road to redemption in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 3, episode 7, when she heroically fights off an invasion by the Drookmani. But in a last-minute hiatus, Captain Drookmani (JG Hertzler) reveals that it was Peanut Hamper who invited the Doorkmani to Areolus to steal the ancient spaceship technology the birds buried beneath their planet. Once exposed, Peanut Hamper was shown that his attempts to embrace Starfleet values ​​were all a lie, and the Exocomp was willing to let the Dookmani kill everyone before threatening to contact the Borg. So Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) and the crew of the USS Cerritos arrested Peanut Hamper and locked up the traitorous ex-ensign at the Daystrom Institute’s self-aware megalomaniac computer storage on Earth.

Related: Every New DS9 Update Star Trek Just Revealed

Starfleet has its share of traitors throughout Star Trek

Starfleet has occasionally faced traitors to its cause of galactic peace and exploration, and even some high-ranking Starfleet officers have betrayed their uniforms. In Star Trek VI: The Unknown Country, Admiral Cartwright (Brock Peters) led a conspiracy that included Lt. Valeris (Kim Cattrall) that aimed to prevent the United Federation of Planets from forging a peace treaty with the Klingon Empire. In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Admiral Layton (Robert Foxworth) was willing to commit treason and lead a military coup in order to protect Dominion Land. In Star Trek Into DarknessAdmiral Marcus (Peter Weller) manipulated Khan Noonien Singh (Benedict Cumberbatch) into starting a war with the Klingons as part of his plan to weaponize Starfleet.

In the 24th Century of Star Trek, the Maquis was a magnet for Starfleet officers to commit treason. Lieutenant Ro Laren (Michelle Forbes) betrayed Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) to fight for the maquis in Star Trek: The Next Generation. And on DS9Lt. Commander Michael Eddington (Kenneth Marshall) asked Starfleet and Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) to join the Maquis and continue their terrorist war (or freedom fight, from the Maquis perspective) against Cardassia .

Why Star Trek: Lower Decks Peanut Hamper is Starfleet’s worst traitor

Peanut Hamper was originally a simple deserter, but she becomes a real traitor in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 3. “A Mathematically Perfect Redemption” seemed like a story about how the Exocomp re-embraced Starfleet values, and for a brief heroic moment, it seemed like Peanut Hamper had turned the corner. But the former Lower Decker is truly selfish, deceitful and remorseless. Peanut Hamper is a psychopath who only cares about herself. In fact, one of the first things Peanut Hamper did when she landed on Areolus was to offer to hand over all Starfleet security codes. She ultimately had no respect for the Areore, not even Rawda, the bird-man she married, and Peanut Hamper didn’t care if the planet and the crew of the Cerritos were killed.

As soon as Peanut Hamper was incarcerated at the Daystrom Institute, she immediately formed an unholy alliance with Agimus (Jeffrey Combs), another evil AI. This proves that the Exocomp is not done betraying Starfleet. As a computer armed with its own replicator and various systems, Peanut Hamper could become the most dangerous traitor who not only Star Trek: Lower Decks but everything Star Trek has never seen.

Next: Star Trek Reveals The Secret To Quark’s Picard Success

Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 3 airs Thursdays on Paramount+.

]]> https://jupiter-station.com/lt-gen-chance-saltzman-named-next-space-force-chief-of-space-operations-united-states-space-force-news/ Thu, 28 Jul 2022 07:00:00 +0000 https://jupiter-station.com/lt-gen-chance-saltzman-named-next-space-force-chief-of-space-operations-united-states-space-force-news/ ARLINGTON, Va. (AFNS) —

Lt. Gen. B. Chance Saltzman has been nominated to be the next Chief of Space Operations for the US Space Force.

If confirmed by the Senate, Saltzman will become the service’s highest-ranking officer and the second chief of space operations in the fledgling service’s history. Saltzman will fill the position currently held by General John W. “Jay” Raymond, who has led the Space Force since its inception in December 2019. Raymond is expected to retire later this year.

“I am very humbled and honored by the appointment as the second Chief of Space Operations. If confirmed, Jennifer and I will be committed to building on the incredible foundation that General Jay and Mollie Raymond have put in place for our service. and we are eternally grateful for their service and dedication,” Saltzman said.

Raymond congratulated Saltzman and his appointment and paid tribute to the Guardians and Airmen he led during his career.

“It has been the honor of a lifetime to lead Guardians and Airmen and to serve as Space Force’s first Chief of Space Operations. I couldn’t be more excited for the next chapter of the greatest space force in the world. world and the appointment of Chance Saltzman as our next CSO,” said Raymond.

“His vast space experience and deep understanding of how to integrate space into our nation’s defense has made him indispensable to the establishment of this service and Guardians everywhere will not find a more loyal teammate. .” Raymond said.

Likewise, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall praised Raymond for his tenure and for the way he built Space Force. Kendall said Saltzman was the perfect candidate to build on Space Force’s accomplishments.

“General Jay Raymond has worked tirelessly to create a strong foundation for Space Force and to prepare our Guardians for long-term success. Every American should be grateful for what he has accomplished,” Kendall said.

“I’m confident General Saltzman has the skills and drive to build on this base, and if confirmed, I look forward to the opportunity to work with him as the second Chief of Space Operations.” he declared.

If confirmed, Saltzman would inherit a space force as it continues its transition from the early stages of planning and organization needed to form the first new branch of the military since 1947 to one that focuses more on the operational imperatives of the Department of the Air Force.

As of August 2020, Saltzman has served as Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Operations, Cyber ​​and Nuclear. In this role, Saltzman has overall responsibility for Space Force operations, intelligence, sustainment, cyber and nuclear operations.

Commissioned in 1991 after graduating from Boston University, he has extensive missile and space systems operational experience as a Minuteman III launch officer and as a satellite operator for National Reconnaissance. Office. He also served as the first Chief of Combat Plans for the Joint Space Operations Center, and later as Chief of Combat Operations.

Saltzman commanded at the squadron, group, and wing levels, including the 614th Space Operations Squadron and the 1st Space Control Squadron at what is now Space Force Base Vandenberg, California. , as well as the 460th Operations Group at what is now Buckley Space Force Base, Colorado.

Prior to serving in his current assignment under Raymond, Saltzman was the Deputy Commander of U.S. Air Forces Central Command; Deputy, Combined Force Air Component Commander, U.S. Central Command, Southwest Asia.

During his time in the Air Force and later the Space Force, Saltzman earned a collection of notable awards and decorations, including the Defense Superior Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Legion of merit with two oak leaf clusters and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal. ]]> https://jupiter-station.com/space-force-welcomes-clemson-university-in-partnership-program/ Mon, 18 Jul 2022 07:00:00 +0000 https://jupiter-station.com/space-force-welcomes-clemson-university-in-partnership-program/

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) – The US Space Force (USSF) welcomes a new partner to the Midlands.

Clemson University joined the USSF University Partnership Program (UPP) on Monday, July 18, 2022.

The UPP is designed to develop and retain scientific and technical manpower. It also provides training and leadership development opportunities for current USSF employees.

Clemson University President Jim Clements said: “Clemson is proud to partner with the United States Space Force by becoming a member of the USSF University Partnership Program. As we continue our institution’s strong history with the United States Armed Forces, this new partnership is an incredible opportunity for our faculty, staff, and students to continue to engage in groundbreaking research, develop experiences innovative educational experiences and discover an exciting new way to serve our country. .”

Program universities are selected based on four qualifications:

• STEM degree offerings and space-related research labs and initiatives
• ROTC program
• Diverse student population
• Degrees and programs that support veterans, their families, and serving military personnel pursuing higher education

Clemson’s ROTC program has produced more than 10,000 officers, including the Space Force’s Chief of Space Operations, General John W. “Jay” Raymond. Raymond graduated in 1984. Two other Air Force generals assigned to Space Force also graduated from Clemson’s ROTC, Major General Leah G. Launderback and Major General Donna Shipton.

Clemson and the USSF said they are working to achieve the program’s four main goals:

• Create opportunities for research, advanced academic degrees and workforce development
• Identify areas of mutual interest for research with other member universities
• Establish scholarships, internships and mentorship opportunities for ROTC students and cadets
• Recruit and develop diverse officers, enlisted custodians, and civilians with an emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and math

Copyright 2022 WIS. All rights reserved.

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According to Crunchbase data, approximately $5.2 billion in venture capital has already been invested in space technology this year, including large rounds like SpaceX’s $850 million round and Relativity Space’s 650 million Series E. These data suggest that this year’s investment in space technology will surpass the approximately $6 billion spent the previous year. With 136 investment rounds disclosed this year, compared to 238 in 2020, deal flow is on track to surpass last year’s.

“I think in the last 12 to 18 months, you’ve seen investors open up to different types of space technology,” said the CEO of Face 4, an El Segundo, California-based developer of a satellite propulsion thruster that just closed a $30 million Series B round. “Investors are realizing that the ecosystem is more complicated than rocket launches,” he said.

How do Vehicle Title Loans Operate?

Borrowers in Kentucy who own their car entirely or have a significant amount of equity in the vehicle may qualify for Kentucy Green Day title loans, which provides them with the chance to fund a short-term loan. The title to your vehicle is used as evidence that you are the legal owner of the vehicle and also serves as security for the loan. The lender will often expect repayment by the due date, which may range anywhere from 15 to 30 days.

Lenders may provide Massaccussets title loans either online or at a physical facility in the borrower’s community. In order to apply for this position, you will need to complete out an application form. In order to exhibit your car, you will need to locate an offline physical and mortar shop if you are not already in one and you are unsure where to go.

When you get Greenday – Title Loans LA, you will be required to provide a title that is clear and unambiguous, confirmation that you have insurance, and any further documentation. You won’t have to worry about losing your vehicle while you go through the repayment procedure.

If you are unable to repay the loan by the due date, you may be able to refinance the title loan that you have already taken out into a fresh new one; however, doing so will simply result in an increase in the fees and interest that you are required to pay back. If you are unable to make your payments, the lender has the right to seize and sell your car to recoup some of the money that is owed to them.

Since the interest rates on title loans may be exceedingly expensive, and the practice is not legal in many states. There are some jurisdictions that outright prohibit them, while other governments have limits on the interest rates that may be charged. On the other hand, several states have no laws whatsoever.

What are the fees associated with Title Loans? Cost?

Even the best vehicle title loans could have annual percentage rates in the triple digits, and that doesn’t even take into account the interest or other fees that might be incurred. Due to the short payback time, auto title loans are a costly kind of borrowing.

According to Lyle Solomon, the principal attorney at Oak View Law Group, which offers the debt-relief services, “Title loans typically include a variety of additional charges, such as processing the loan, documentation, and loan origination, which can amount to several hundred dollars.” Oak View Law Group is a company that provides the debt-relief services. In certain instances, “the acquisition of a roadside assistance package as well as the payment of its associated fee might be necessary.”

Take, for instance, the case where you borrow $800 and the finance fee is either 25 percent of your loan amount, or $200, whichever is greater. The annual percentage rate (APR) is around 304 percent if the loan is due in thirty days. This is far greater than what you would have to pay for even personal loans for people with terrible credit.

According to James Garvey, CEO and co-founder of Self Lender, which is a company that provides loans for the purpose of credit-building, “Title loans are generally in the category of lending that lenders perceive as predatory lending.”

More than just rockets

Companies like Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, and Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic make headlines. However, insiders say the current surge in funding is due to satellite technologies and investors seeing the benefits of building up space infrastructure for the benefit of businesses on the ground.

“This current interest began approximately two years ago,” said Alsop. After the first wave of firms like SpaceX and Rocket Lab was created, Alsop noted the sector has seen its share of ups and downs as it has matured into what he terms “Space 2.0.” Investors realize space’s commercial, government, and military prospects as launch costs have decreased and propulsion technology has improved.

He stated, “Investor hunger is not fading. Right now, the deal flow is incredible.”

While space tourism “sets people dreaming again,” according to Steve Jurvetson, co-founder of Future Ventures and a board member of SpaceX, some of the most significant prospects in space innovation are genuinely connected to communication, earth imaging, and telecom.

He claims that these and other prospects have piqued people’s interest in the area. 

According to him, almost 300 venture capital firms have made their initial stakes in space technology in the previous three years.

“As we’ve seen firms mature, more investors have wanted to invest,” said Buckett, MD of Phim Capital.

According to Buckett, space is at the intersection of numerous major themes, including connection, mobility, and data. This is propelling investments to new heights significantly since the launch and cost of satellites have dropped by a factor of 100 in recent years.

According to Buckett, companies are developing real-time data from satellites to deliver meaningful and financially lucrative data around sustainability and climate change or to help bring connectivity to the more than 50% of the world that lacks such infrastructure.

He went on to say, “We’re building a digital platform in the sky.”

Income generation

Of course, while the prospect of generating money in a growing area such as space gets investors’ attention, it is witnessing money being earned that draws them in. To that point, SPACs or special-purpose acquisition firms have shown a keen interest in assisting in the public offering of space technology companies.

Planet Labs, which Google supports, has announced that it will go public in a $2.8 billion SPAC offering. AST & Science currently known as AST SpaceMobile a satellite-to-cell firm financed by Seraphim Capital, went public through a SPAC in April. 

In April, MDA, a Canadian space operations and satellite corporation, also conducted an IPO on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Spire Global, a tiny satellite constructor and data company financed by Seraphim Capital, announced a SPAC agreement in March that valued it at $1.6 billion. Rocket Lab announced the same month that it would merge with a SPAC to go public later this year in a deal worth more than $4 billion.

SPACs in Space

Of course, not everything has gone smoothly for space technology businesses looking to enter the public market. Momentus, a Santa Clara, California-based in-space transit startup, and its SPAC were charged with making misleading statements and allowing investors to bail out earlier this month by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SPACs’ interest in space technologies is quite real, according to Peter Kant, CEO of Boston-based propulsion developer Accion Systems. Accion just received $42 million in a Series C round, and Kant claimed SPACs engaged the company throughout the financing process.

“Because of the intensity of the SPAC market, it appears like financing $300 million is simpler than raising $30 million,” he joked.

The firm raised funds a little earlier than planned due to SPAC interest but determined that going public via a SPAC was not the best option for Accion at this time.

“There is just such a wide spectrum of opportunities coming to the market for investors,” said Buckett, alluding to the industry’s new exit plans.

He said that the industry now has a complete ecosystem for funding, from seed rounds to significant growth raises to public markets, thanks to the rewards the sector is getting from going public.

He stated, “We now have the whole financial ladder.”

Netflix had a terrible month. The streamer’s stock price tumbled after the service suffered its first-ever drop in users in the previous quarter, and Netflix is ​​now canceling a slew of shows as it tries to convince Wall Street that it can straighten out the activity.

“Space Force,” the series from Steve Carell and “The Office” producer Greg Daniels, got the ax after just two seasons. A show about General Mark Naird (Carell) and his attempts to justify the existence of a Sixth Military Branch failed to warrant a return for another set of episodes.

Carell is rumored to earn around $1 million per episode, making him the highest-paid actor in the streaming world. With a supporting cast including John Malkovich (“Deepwater Horizon”), Ben Schwartz (“Sonic the Hedgehog”), Jimmy O. Yang (“Silicon Valley”), Tawny Newsome (“Star Trek: Lower Decks”), Don Lake (“Best in Show”) and Diana Silvers (“Booksmart”), the show needed a large audience to justify its budget.

This is after Netflix moved production from Los Angeles to Vancouver for a second season and dropped Lisa Kudrow (“Friends”) from the cast to save money. They also changed the overall approach from a “movie” style of production to a workplace comedy in line with Daniels’ previous hits with “The Office” and “Parks and Recreation”.

Season 2 was definitely funnier than Season 1, but many viewers had dropped the show, and the latest episodes had never ranked as highly in Netflix’s Top 10 as the first season. In the final season, Space Force had four months to prove its worth to the Pentagon before being dismantled. Unfortunately, “Space Force” couldn’t do the same with Netflix.

The real-world Space Force appears to be safe for now. The Military.com press team has been following the latest developments in the new military branch, and the expansion and rollout of the service appears to be on track.

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The plasma-based rocket designed for deep space exploration lasts longer and generates high power.

The increased interest in deep space travel has necessitated the development of powerful and durable rocket systems to propel spacecraft into the cosmos. Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) created a small modified version of a plasmapropulsion system based on a propulsion system known as a Hall thruster that both improves rocket life and produces high power.

The miniature plasma-powered device measures less than an inch in diameter and removes the walls surrounding the plasma thruster to create innovative thruster configurations. Plasma is a state of matter composed of floating electrons and atomic nuclei, or ions. Among these innovations are the cylindrical Hall thruster, which was originally designed and studied at PPPL, and a completely wallless Hall thruster. Both configurations reduce channel erosion generated by plasma-wall interactions, which limits thruster lifetime – a major problem for typical annular or annular Hall thrusters and especially for low-power miniaturized thrusters used on small satellites.

Widely studied

Cylindrical Hall thrusters were invented by PPPL physicists Yevgeny Raitses and Nat Fisch in 1999 and have been studied with students in the Laboratory’s Hall Thruster Experiment (HTX) ever since. PPPL devices have also been studied in countries such as Korea, Japan, China, Singapore, and the European Union, with Korea and Singapore considering flying them.

While wallless Hall thrusters can minimize channel erosion, they face the problem of severe plasma thrust plume broadening or divergence, which degrades system performance. To reduce this problem, PPPL installed a key innovation on its new wallless system in the form of a segmented electrode, a concentrically joined current carrier. This innovation not only reduces divergence and helps intensify rocket thrust, Raitses said, but also removes hiccups from small Hall thruster plasmas that interrupt smooth power delivery.

Graduate student Jacob Simmonds, center, with advisors Masaaki Yamada, left, and Yevgeny Raitses with the Wallless Hall thruster figure behind them. Credit: Photos of Yamada and Raitses by Elle Starkman/Communications Office; Photo of Simmonds by Tyler Boothe. Collage by Kiran Sudarsanan.

The new findings cap a series of papers that Jacob Simmonds, a graduate student from princeton university Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, published with Raitses, its PhD co-supervisor; PPPL physicist Masaaki Yamada is the other co-advisor. “Over the past two years, we’ve published three papers on new plasma thruster physics that led to the dynamic thruster described in this one,” said Raitses, who leads PPPL low-frequency plasma physics research. temperature and the HTX. “It describes a new effect that promises new developments in this area.”

The application of segmented electrodes to Hall thrusters is not new. Raitses and Fisch had previously used such electrodes to control plasma flow in conventional annular Hall thrusters. But the effect that Simmonds measured and described in the recent article by Applied Physics Letters is much stronger and has a greater impact on the operation and overall performance of the thruster.

Plume concentration

The new device helps overcome the problem of wallless Hall thrusters that allow the plasma thruster to fire from the rocket at wide angles, contributing little to the rocket’s thrust. “In short, wallless Hall thrusters, while promising, have a hazy plume due to the lack of channel walls,” Simmonds said. “So we needed to find a way to focus the plume to increase thrust and efficiency and make it a better overall propellant for spacecraft.”

The segmented electrode diverts some of the electrical current from the thruster’s high voltage standard electrode to shape the plasma and shrink and improve plume focus. The electrode creates this effect by changing the directions of the forces inside the plasma, particularly those on the ionized xenon plasma that the system accelerates to propel the rocket. Ionization transformed the xenon gas used in the process into self-contained electrons and atomic nuclei, or ions.

These developments increased thrust density by shaping more of it into a reduced volume, a key goal for Hall thrusters. An added benefit of the segmented electrode was the reduction of plasma instabilities called breath-mode oscillations, “where the amount of plasma increases and decreases periodically as the rate of ionization changes over time,” Simmonds said. Surprisingly, he added, the segmented electrode made these oscillations disappear. “Segmented electrodes are very useful for Hall thrusters for these reasons,” he said.

The new high-thrust-density rocket can be especially beneficial for tiny cubic satellites, or CubeSats. Masaaki Yamada, co-doctoral adviser to Simmonds who directs the Magnetic Reconnection Experiment (MRX) which studies the process behind solar flares, the aurora borealis and other space phenomena, proposed the use of a system of segmented electrodes without walls to power a CubeSat. Simmonds and his team of undergraduates working under Professor Daniel Marlow, Evans Crawford 1911 Professor of Physics at Princeton, took up this proposal to develop a CubeSat and such a rocket – a project that was halted nearly complete by the COVID-19[feminine] pandemic and which could resume in the future.

Reference: “Mitigation of Breathing Oscillations and Focusing of the Plume in a segmented electrode wall-less Hall thruster” by J. Simmonds and Y. Raitses, November 22, 2021, Applied Physics Letters.
DOI: 10.1063/5.0070307

Support for this work comes from the DOE Office of Science.

PPPL, at Princeton University’s Forrestal Campus in Plainsboro, NJ, is dedicated to creating new knowledge about the physics of plasmas – ultra-hot, charged gases – and developing practical solutions for creating energy of merger.

Joseph Guzman, Vice President SFA Central Region

AUSTIN, TEXAS, UNITED STATES, April 21, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ — The Space Force Association (SFA) has announced the launch of the SFA Texas Chapter. The inaugural meeting will take place on Friday, May 13 (5-8 p.m.) at the Capital Factory, Center for Defense Innovation (710 Brazos St – 8th floor, Austin, TX). Get involved in the space community, stay informed about politics, and network with military, industrial, and educational leaders.

Membership is open to military and civilians. All are welcome to attend the meeting to learn more, or you can click here for more information or join.

About the Space Force Association (SFA)
The Space Force Association (SFA) is the only independent, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that serves as a professional military association. The sole purpose of the SFA is to support the United States Space Force, United States Space Command, U.S. national space power as a whole, and the efforts of our global partners and allies in space exploration. Its primary functions are to seek, inform, and advocate for superior space power by shaping a space force that provides credible deterrence in competition, dominant capability in combat, and professional services for all partners. Additionally, the SFA’s primary function is to provide support to the men and women of the US Space Force. Membership is open to military and civilians. For more information about the SFA, please visit ussfa.org.

About Capital Factory
Capital Factory is the center of gravity for entrepreneurs in Texas. They meet the best entrepreneurs in Texas and introduce them to their first investors, employees, mentors and clients. To learn more about Capital Factory Virtual Membership, visit www.capitalfactory.com.

Rhonda Sheya
Space Forces Association
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