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I have been following it for a while. Nothing hoax-y about it. Think of it as an ion-thruster on steroids, with RF added. But it needs a lot of power. Last time I checked it they worked on 100kW design, kinda north of what solar-panel could supply. But much bigger thrust and good ISP too. (100kW is nothing a small reactor couldn't fix though...)
The Mars Society article does sound fishy though. " couple of astronauts received 50REM dose (1% chance of cancer), and they didn't get cancer, so we don't need VASIMR and fast transit to MArs" is just one of interesting "proofs".
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Thank you for your time,
Last edited by beepbeep; 04-02-2015 at 12:02 PM..
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