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Latest News

Revolutionary Thruster Set For Space Launch - April 2009
An ANU researcher’s revolutionary ‘plasma thruster’ will be developed for launch into space within the next four years, as part of a prototype satellite. It will be the first time in seven years that a piece of Australian hardware will be sent into space and the first time a satellite with a plasma engine will be tested. The European firm EADS-Astrium, the world’s largest aerospace and aeronautic company, approached Dr Christine Charles and colleagues in the Space Plasma Power and Propulsion (SP3) Group at ANU, to work in collaboration with the Surrey Space Centre at the University of Surrey (UK) to develop the new plasma thruster prototype. Read more here.

ABC's Catalyst Program Showcases Helicon Double Layer Thruster - August 2007
The Helicon Double Layer Thruster featured on the ABC's Catalyst program on Thursday evening, 2nd August 2007. The story included interviews with Professor Rod Boswell and Dr Christine Charles and showed footage of the HDLT prototype being tested in a new space simulation vacuum chamber at the ANU. The transcript of the story can be found on the Catalyst website.

Dr Christine Charles to Present National Science Week Public Lecture - August 2007
The inventor of the Helicon Double Layer Thruster, Dr Christine Charles presented a public lecture in Melbourne as part of National Science Week 2007. Entitled 'Plasmas Pave The Path To Planets or Just To The Shops?' her presentation will discuss how plasmas - hot ionised gases - are being harnessed to make microchips for computers, for thrusters to propel spacecraft and to make new fuel cells for clean energy and transportation.

IPELS 2007 - July 2007
SP3 organised the 9th International Workshop on the Interrelationship between Plasma Experiments in Laboratory and Space (IPELS 2007). The workshop was held in August 2007 at the Palm Cove Resort, Cairns. More information can be found on the IPELS 2007 website.

HDLT Features on ABC 2 TV's SkyWatch - March 2007
The Helicon Double Layer Thruster featured in a segment on SkyWatch which aired on ABC 2 TV's AustraliaWide program. The segment aired on Monday March 5 2007 and included an interview with Dr Christine Charles and PhD student, Michael West and footage of the Helicon Double Layer Thruster operating inside a new space simulation vacuum facility. The segment can be viewed online at ABC 2's website by following this link. More information about the Australian designed, built and tested Helicon Double Layer Thruster can be found here.

SP3's Fuel Cell Research Features in Materials Australia Magazine - February 2007
Materials Australia, the offical publication of the Institute of Materials Engineering Australasia, features an article about the hydrogen fuel cell research being undertaken at SP3. Entitled 'Plasma based fuel cell research: creating the next revolution', the article is by Devin Ramdutt and the SP3 Fuel Cell Research Team which comprises Dr Christine Charles, Dr Cormac Corr, Dr Amael Caillard and Professor Rod Boswell. The January/Febuary 2007 edition of Materials Australia can be found here.

Plasma Processed Fuel Cell Research Recieves Media Attention - December 2006
SP3's work on hydrogen fuel cells features prominently in the December 2006 issues of Materials Monthly, the ANU's Centre for Surface Engineered Materials newsletter, and Future Materials News. Both articles discuss how SP3 is developing new plasma based manufacturing techniques for better membranes and electrodes for low temperature fuel cells. These 'next-generation' fuel cells will be significantly cheaper, more efficient and provide cheap, carbon free emission transportation. A PDF version of the article in Materials Monthly can be downloaded here (~600 kB) and December edition of Future Materials News is available on the Future Materials website here.

DS4G Ion Thruster Photo Selected as Picture of the Month - November 2006
A photograph taken by Dr Orson Sutherland of the Dual Stage 4 Grid (DS4G) ion thruster during its recent testing campaign at the European Space Agency has been selected as the ANU College of Science's Picture of the Month. The photograph shows the grids of the DS4G illuminated by plasma while the thruster was being tested inside the CORONA vacuum facility. More information about the DS4G ion thruster can be found here.

SP3 Hosts Successful APCPST Conference - August 2006
SP3 hosted the 8th Asia-Pacific Conference on Plasma Science and Technology (APCPST8) and the 19th Symposium on Plasma Science for Materials in Cairns in August 2006. The conference was an outstanding success and was attended by over 200 researchers and students from the Asia-Pacific region. The proceedings and other details about the conference can be found on the APCPST website.

Latest Research

Helicon Double Layer Plasma Thruster

DS4G Ion Thruster

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Development