AIRCRAFT LAUNCHER

UNDER AN ON-GOING NAVY PROGRAM, STD RESEARCH CORPORATION HAS DEMONSTRATED A PORTABLE, T MW SELF-EXCITED MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC (MHD) POWER GENERATOR THAT IS INHERENTLY SAFE, LIGHTWEIGHT, INEXPENSIVE, RELIABLE, STORABLE, RESTARTABLE, INSTANTLY AVAILABLE, AND SELFCONTAINED. THE PERFORMANCE AND CAPABILITIES DEMONSTRATED IN THE INITIAL TESTS OF THIS GENERATOR ARE ADEQUATE TO DESIGN A 70MW POWER PLANT AND STORAGE SYSTEM THAT EASILY EXCEEDS THE REQUIREMENTS FOR ELECTROMAGNETIC AIRCRAFT LAUNCHERS ON NAVAL AIRCRAFT CARRIERS. IN PHASE I OF THE PROPOSED PROGRAM STD RESEARCH CORPORATION WILL PERFORM CONCEPTUAL DESIGNS OF SUCH MHD POWER PLANTS AND STORAGE SYSTEMS BASED ON THE DEMONSTRATED AND THE EXPECTED ULTIMATE PERFORMANCE OF THE PROTOTYPE MHD SYSTEM. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RESULTING SYSTEMS WILL BE COMPARED WITH THOSE OF OTHER CANDIDATE SYSTEMS AND RECOMMENDATIONS WILL BE FORMULATED FOR POSSIBLE GENERATING AND STORAGE SYSTEMS AND NAVAL USE.