WEBSTER, Texas and SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (Ad Astra Rocket Company PR) — Green hydrogen pioneer, Ad Astra Rocket Company, Costa Rica SRL, and Latin America’s asset management leader, Mesoamerica, are joining forces to form ProNova Energy, a joint venture dedicated to developing green hydrogen solutions for customers worldwide, with an initial focus in the Latin American region.

Green hydrogen is obtained by decomposing water into its constituents – hydrogen and oxygen – using renewable energy sources such as hydroelectric, wind and solar. The process, called electrolysis, is carbon free and does not contribute to global warming.

WEBSTER, Texas (Ad Astra Rocket Co. PR) — Ad  Astra Rocket Company’s VASIMR® VX-200SS  Plasma Rocket has completed 88 hours of  continuous operation at 80 kW at the company’s  Texas laboratory near Houston. In doing so, the  company establishes a new high-power world endurance record in electric propulsion. The test  also demonstrates the maturity of the VASIMR® engine technology as a competitive option for  high-power in-space electric propulsion with  either solar or nuclear electric power. Electric  rockets operating above 50 kW/thruster are  considered “high-power.” 

LeoLabs achievement represents the world’s most advanced commercial space radar for mapping low Earth orbit, deployed in record time

MENLO PARK, April 22, 2021 (LeoLabs PR) — LeoLabs, Inc., the leading commercial provider of low Earth orbit (LEO) mapping and Space Situational Awareness (SSA) services, today confirmed “fully operational” status for its Costa Rica Space Radar, effective immediately. This new phased-array radar reinforces LeoLabs’ leadership as the premier data and services provider to inform and protect the rapidly expanding commercial and governmental activities in LEO.

GREENBELT, Md. (NASA PR) — Twenty-seven asteroids have been named in honor of African American, Hispanic, and Native American astronauts, and one cosmonaut, who have helped expand our horizons beyond Earth and to inspire the next generation of space explorers.

WEBSTER, Texas USA and HALIFAX, NS, Canada – A new generation radio-frequency (RF) Power Processing Unit (PPU) for the VASIMR engine, built by Aethera Technologies Ltd. of Canada, has completed a series of full power acceptance tests at Ad Astra Rocket Company’s Texas facility near Houston. The unit completed these tests on August 12 by operating in a thermal steady-state with no anomalies at its full power rating of 120 kW.

The RF PPU is now ready to be incorporated into Ad Astra’s vacuum facility so that it can be tested with the VX- 200SS VASIMR prototype. These tests are part of Ad Astra’s ongoing program under the NASA NextSTEP partnership contract.

WEBSTER, Texas USA and Halifax, NS, Canada (Aethera Technologies/Ad Astra Rocket Company PR) – A $1.5 million funding agreement has been signed between Aethera Technologies Limited of Halifax, NS and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) for the development of advanced high-power radiofrequency (RF) power processing units for Ad Astra’s VASIMR® engine.

The agreement, announced by the CSA on May 25, 2018, adds a major boost to Aethera’s RF power processing unit (RF-PPU) development program. The critical and innovative technology outcomes from this program supports the ongoing partnership between Ad Astra and Aethera to develop advanced, high-power, in-space electric propulsion.

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House of Representatives Space Subcommittee Hearing In-Space Propulsion: Strategic Choices and Options Date: Thursday, June 29, 2017 – 10:00am Location: 2318 Rayburn House Office Building Hearing Purpose NASA is pursuing several in-space propulsion technologies to advance not only human exploration, but also uncrewed spacecraft operations. The hearing will explore NASA’s current portfolio of investments in in-space propulsion technologies, the state of the various technologies, and how they fit into future […]

WEBSTER, Texas (Ad Astra Rocket Co. PR) – Ad Astra Rocket Company has successfully completed all milestones and deliverables for the first of its three-year Next Space Technology Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP) contract with NASA. The $9 million-dollar, fixed price agreement, is structured as a one-year contract with two additional one-year extensions, based on successful completion of project milestones. After a successful year-one performance review, Ad Astra received NASA approval to proceed with year-two activities.

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There seems to be a trend of prominent space experts challenging each other to debates.

First, New Horizons Supremo Alan Stern challenged Neil deGrasse Tyson to debate whether Pluto should be restored to planetary status. Stern, whose mission will explore Pluto next year, believes it should be elevated from dwarf planet status. Tyson, the driving force behind Pluto’s demotion, refused to debate the subject.

Now, it’s Robert Zubrin’s turn. The Mars Society president has challenged Ad Astra Rocket Company Founder Franklin Chang-Diaz to a debate over how to best explore Mars. Near as I can tell from the press release, it would give Zubrin a chance to demonstrate that Ad Astra’s plasma-based VASIMR engine, which Chang Diaz is promoting for rapid trips to Mars, is pretty much a fraud.

Wow, who could turn down an invitation like that?

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Liberia, Guanacaste, Costa Rica (Ad Astra PR) — Ad Astra Rocket Company, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Ad Astra Rocket Company, Costa Rica, SRL (Ad Astra, CR) and Costa Rica’s state-owned Petroleum Refinery, RECOPE, have signed a US$400,000 contract setting forth the next phase of their ongoing collaboration in hydrogen technology development. The agreement was signed by Litleton Bolton Jones, President of the Board of RECOPE and Franklin Chang Díaz, Ad Astra’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. The partnership, which was formed in 2010, is exploring the operational viability of a hydrogen-based transportation infrastructure in Costa Rica, the primary goal of which is to reduce the nation’s reliance on imported oil. Hydrogen is a clean, renewable fuel that can be produced from water by wind and/or solar energy.

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