Maglev launch assist technology may enable commercial space travel

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Model of the maglev launch assist: a 40 kg vehicle was accelerated to 5 ms on the seven meter track. Credit: Wenjiang Yang et al.
Model of the maglev launch assist: a 40 kg vehicle was accelerated to 5 m/s on the seven meter track. Credit: Wenjiang Yang, et al.

The same technology used in magnetically levitated ("maglev") trains may give spaceships a low-cost, stable boost for the future of space travel—possibly even for joy rides. A research group from two universities in Beijing, China has constructed a maglev test vehicle that works on a model track made of a permanent magnet-high temperature superconductor (PM-HTS).


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