Solar flares are sudden bursts of radiation and light that travel at the speed of light, causing near-immediate impacts such as radio communication disruptions. When flares ionize the Earth's ...
VASIMR operates by using powerful electromagnetic fields to ionize and accelerate a propellant, creating a high-speed plasma exhaust. This system offers exceptional fuel efficiency compared to ...
The problem is they need lots of power to do so. They must ionize their fuel, which requires a significant amount of energy, and that energy is hard to come by when not connected to a power grid.
For the most part, here at Hackaday we’re more interested in how something was made than the backstory on why an individual actually put it together. Frankly, it’s not really our business.