Helicon Double Layer Thruster Development
Recent News - Background Information - Events - Publications & Presentations
Multimedia Gallery - Press Archive - Development Status - Project Collaborators - Glossary of Terms
Latest News
| 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. 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, will present 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. The public lecture is being held at the Melbourne Museum on Wednesday 22nd August starting at 7pm. More details can be found on the National Science Week or ANU College of Science websites. |
| Australian International Space School Students Tour SP3 Labs - July 2007 Attendees at the Australian International Space School held in Canberra recently were treated to a tour of the SP3 laboratories by Dr Devin Ramdutt and PhD students, Wes Cox and Michael West. The Year 11 & 12 students, from across Australia, were shown through the facilities and learnt about the hydrogen fuel cell and spacecraft propulsion research being undertaken at SP3. Photos of their visit and other activities while in Canberra, courtesy of Tony Virgo, can be found here. |
| HDLT Features on ABC 2 TV's SkyWatch - March 2007 The Helicon Double Layer Thruster recently featured in a segment on SkyWatch which aired on ABC 2 TV's AustraliaWide program. The segment aired on Monday March 5 and includes 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. |
| Engineering Model of HDLT Goes on Permanent Display At NASA Tracking Station - November 2006 A full scale engineering model of the Helicon Double Layer Thruster has gone on permanent display in the visitors centre at the Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex at Tidbinbilla, southwest of Canberra. The CSDSCC is the largest spacecraft tracking station in the Southern Hemisphere and an integral part of NASA's Deep Space Network which communicates with the hundreds of spacecraft orbiting the Earth and exploring the Solar System. The visitors centre at Tidbinbilla is open to the public from 9am to 5pm everyday (except Christmas Day) so head out there to see the displays including the engineering model of the HDLT. |
The Helicon Double Layer Thruster is being developed in the Space Plasma, Power and Propulsion Group (led by Professor Rod Boswell) at the Research School of Physical Sciences and Engineering at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia. Dr Christine Charles has invented the world's first Helicon Double Layer Thruster or HDLT. This new propulsion concept has the potential to propel humans to Mars and beyond and greatly decrease the costs of maintaining satellites and spacecraft in their desired orbits.
This website is designed as a resource for the general public, media, researchers and prospective students that contains the latest information about the development of the HDLT. Follow the links at the top of this page to find out more.
<img height=1 width=1 alt=""
src="http://t0.extreme-dm.com/c.g?tag=hdltanu&j=n">
Return to SP3 Research Home Page
