Fabrication and Test of HTS Coils for the VASIMR Experiment

In the Phase I effort, Tai-Yang Research Corporation (TYRC) proposes to design and perform analyses on state-of-the-art High Temperature Superconducting (HTS) coils for the Variable Specific Impulse Magneto-Plasma Rocket (VASIMR) experiment being conducted at the Advanced Space Propulsion Laboratory (ASPL) at the NASA Johnson Space Center. Using the design results obtained in the Phase I effort, TYRC proposes in Phase II to fabricate, test, and install HTS coils (VX-2 and VX-3) in the existing VASIMR experiment. Replacing the conventional copper coils with state-of-the-art HTS coils in the VASIMR experiment will allow for greater design flexibility and increased operational performance. The HTS replacement coils will be designed to be conduction cooled via a single-stage Gifford-McMahon (G-M) cryocooler, operating at ~ 40 K.