Testing of the HelicitySpace Magnetic Field Compression Scheme.

Experimental results for a novel fusion propulsion concept proposed by HelicitySpace in collaboration with the Caltech and UMBC research teams are presented. The Helicity Drive is a novel magneto-inertial fusion propulsion concept for deep space travel [1]. The experiments were conducted at UMBC without plasma, closely matching theoretical predictions [2]. The experimental parameters were determined with a simulated peristaltic compressor [3], which is meant to adiabatically compress plasma preheated by magnetic reconnection. The nozzle consists of twenty Bitter-type magnets arranged as a transmission line, intended to compress merging plasma jets by forming a double-peaked traveling pulse. The pulses are initiated by an SCR trigger circuit which discharges a capacitor bank into the transmission line. Measurements of the time-varying, peristaltic magnetic field were performed with a B-dot probe, numerically integrated, and compared to theoretical and simulated predictions.