MIT Develops More Cost-Efficient Rocket Technology

Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are developing a rocket aimed at keeping satellites that orbit the Earth on their proper track. The Mini-Helicon Plasma Thruster is a newly designed, smaller rocket that experts say operates on cheaper gas than the current propellants typically used for maintaining a satellite's orbit. In fact, it is the first rocket to run on nitrogen, the most abundant gas in Earth’s atmosphere. “It could slash fuel consumption by 10 times that of conventional systems used for the same applications,” said Oleg Batishchev, a principal research scientist in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT and project leader for the new system.