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Division Spotlight
Operations & Power
Members focus on the dissemination of knowledge and information in the area of power reactors with particular application to the production of electric power and process heat. The division sponsors meetings on the coverage of applied nuclear science and engineering as related to power plants, non-power reactors, and other nuclear facilities. It encourages and assists with the dissemination of knowledge pertinent to the safe and efficient operation of nuclear facilities through professional staff development, information exchange, and supporting the generation of viable solutions to current issues.
Meeting Spotlight
2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
Standards Program
The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Commercial nuclear innovation "new space" age
In early 2006, a start-up company launched a small rocket from a tiny island in the Pacific. It exploded, showering the island with debris. A year later, a second launch attempt sent a rocket to space but failed to make orbit, burning up in the atmosphere. Another year brought a third attempt—and a third failure. The following month, in September 2008, the company used the last of its funds to launch a fourth rocket. It reached orbit, making history as the first privately funded liquid-fueled rocket to do so.
Jared P. Squire, Franklin R. Chang Díaz, F. Wally Baity, Glenn C. Barber, Mark D. Carter, Richard H. Goulding, Dennis Sparks, Greg McCaskill, Andrew V. Ilin, Roger D. Bengtson, Robert G. Bussell, Jr, Verlin T. Jacobson, Tim W. Glover
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 35 | Number 1 | January 1999 | Pages 243-247
Oral Presentations | doi.org/10.13182/FST99-A11963860
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The Advanced Space Propulsion Laboratory (ASPL) is developing a Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR) using a Radio Frequency (RF) heated magnetic mirror operated asymmetrically. The system comprises of three stages: 1) plasma ionization and injection into the magnetic system; 2) ion heating by action of Ion Cyclotron Resonance Heating (ICRH); 3) plasma exhaust through a magnetic nozzle. The central experimental device is a small versatile tandem mirror configured system. The system can also be easily reconfigured to operate as a simple mirror. The total length of the device is 3.2 m, and the maximum magnetic field is 3.0 T. The exhaust end connects to a 5 m vacuum chamber where we are installing a 40,000 liter/second pumping capacity. Radio frequency power is available at approximately 3 MHz at up to 200 kW. A set of plasma diagnostics is being developed and installed, starting with two fast reciprocating probes, one quadruple Langmuir and one Mach.2 We are now evaluating the use of a helicon3 RF plasma source for an efficient ionization stage of the system. Initial results from experiments using a single double-half turn antenna are presented. In addition, we are exploring the use of a Lorentz Force Accelerator (LFA) as a plasma injector source.4
