Franklin Chang Space Tech Lab in Liberia Ready
Next Saturday, former NASA astronaut Franklin Chang will be inaugurating the Costa Rican laboratory dedicated to developing space technology.

The Daniel Oduber - La Flor de la Universidad EARTH, in Liberia, Guanacaste campus, will be opening its doors to the AS Astra Rocket that was founded by Chang in 2005.

The company's mission is to develop the Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR) plasma engine technology that will reduce space travel time.

In Liberia, seven Costa Rican scientists will be be working on the technology that will then be exported and built in Houston, Texas.

Slated to be at the inauguration is Samuel. C. C. Ting, 1976 Nobel Prize winner for Physics for his work with atomic sub-particles. Also present will be Roald Sagdeev, former space director of the Soviet Union.

NASA scientists and investigators from various United States and European universities will also be on hand for the opening with what Chang promises "a good entrance for Costa Rica to space technology".

The lab was built in six months at a cost of us$1 million dollars and financed by local investors. Ad Astra Rocket plans to have the VASIMR prototype by 2007 and the first tests to be begin in 2010.


What is VASIMR?
The Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR) system encompasses three linked magnetic cells, consisting of a “plasma source,” an “RF booster,” and a “magnetic nozzle.” With this configuration, plasma can be guided and controlled over a wide range of temperatures and densities.

The plasma source cell involves the main injection of neutral gas (typically hydrogen, or other light gases) to be turned into plasma and the ionization subsystem. The RF booster cell acts as an amplifier to further energize the plasma to the desired temperature using electromagnetic waves. The magnetic nozzle cell converts the energy of the plasma into directed motion and ultimately useful thrust.



 

Ad Astra Rocket Company - Costa Rica
The AARC Costa Rica was formed in 2005 and new building facilities are under construction. The facility is being built approximately 10 km west of the city of Liberia, capital of the province of Guanacaste, on the territory of the Earth University.

The main tasks of AARC CR are: Building a flexible apparatus to explore optimization of a Plasma Source for VASIMR technology; Measure the waste heat load from the source, and characterize its distribution; Explore strategies to minimize thermal load; Create engineering designs to remove the waste heat efficiently; Ensure thermal engineering solutions are compatible with the rest of VASIMR subsystems.