Look at this thing I found: High Altitude Air breathing ELF Thruster:

originally posted by: stormbringer1701 with ten years of funding i bet we will see improved prototypes like i was talking about earlier. probably MOAR thrust!

You'd better spend the ten years of funding on smaller, lighter reactors first

originally posted by: _Del_



You'd better spend the ten years of funding on smaller, lighter reactors first

good news. the ten years of funding also applies to two other companies. the one that makes the elf thruster. and that same company also is making a fusion reactor rocket in partnership with NASA. The also licensed the fusion technology to another company called helion. The other Grant went to another company with a ion thruster design.

The three NextSTEP advanced propulsion projects, $400,000 to $3.5 million per year per award, will have no more than a three-year performance period focused on ground testing efforts. The selected companies are:

Ad Astra Rocket Company of Webster, Texas
Aeroject Rocketdyne Inc. of Redmond, Washington
MSNW LLC of Redmond, Washington

- See more at: www.parabolicarc.com...

msnwllc.com...

John Slough is thier plasma thrust/fusion guru. he is in partnership with NASA on a purpose built direct conversion fusion rocket.

a reply to: stormbringer1701

Wow, if those "specs" are even close, it is a massive leap forward. (pun intended).
Is there a planning stage vehicle that might consider using this technology?
Got to get it into space to know what it can really do.

originally posted by: charlyv
a reply to: stormbringer1701

Wow, if those "specs" are even close, it is a massive leap forward. (pun intended).
Is there a planning stage vehicle that might consider using this technology?
Got to get it into space to know what it can really do.

i think elf thrusters are gonna be a thing with satellite makers and owners first. perhaps some space probes. then maybe someone will use 'em for a manned vehicle.

Yes small satellites and other type of low weight probes first.