The Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR) is an electro-magnetic thruster for spacecraft propulsion. It uses radio waves to ionize and heat a propellant and magnetic fields to accelerate the resulting plasma to generate thrust. It is one of several types of spacecraft electric propulsion systems.
The method of heating plasma used in VASIMR was originally developed as a result of research into nuclear fusion. VASIMR is intended to bridge the gap between high-thrust, low-specific impulse propulsion systems and low-thrust, high-specific impulse systems. VASIMR is capable of functioning in either mode. Scientist and former astronaut Franklin Chang-Diaz created the VASIMR concept and has been working on its development since 1977The Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket, sometimes referred to as Electro-thermal Plasma Thruster or Electro-thermal Magnetoplasma Rocket, uses radio waves to ionize and to heat propellant and magnetic fields to accelerate the resulting plasma to generate thrust. This type of engine is electrodeless and as such belongs to the same electric propulsion family (while differing in the method of plasma acceleration) as the electrodeless plasma thruster, the microwave arcjet, or the pulsed inductive thruster class. It can also be seen as an electrodeless version of an arcjet, able to reach higher propellant temperature by limiting the heat flux from the plasma to the structure. Neither type of engine has any electrodes. The main advantage of such designs is elimination of problems with electrode erosion that cause rival designs of ion thrusters which use electrodes to have a short life expectancy. Furthermore, since every part of a VASIMR engine is magnetically shielded and does not come into direct contact with ionized plasma, the potential durability of this engine design is greater than other ion/plasma engine designs.
The engine design encompasses three parts: turning gas into plasma via helicon RF antennas; energizing plasma via further RF heating in an ion cyclotron resonance frequency (ICRF) booster; and using electromagnets to create a magnetic nozzle to convert the plasma's built-up thermal energy into kinetic force. By varying the amount of energy dedicated to RF heating and the amount of propellant delivered for plasma generation VASIMR is capable of either generating low-thrust, high-specific impulse exhaust or relatively high-thrust, low-specific impulse exhaust.
VASIMR is not suitable to launch payloads from the surface of the Earth due to its low thrust to weight ratio and its need of a vacuum to operate. Instead, it would function as an upper stage for cargo, reducing the fuel requirements for in-space transportation. The engine is expected to perform the following functions at a fraction of the cost of chemical technologies:
Other applications for VASIMR such as the rapid transportation of people to Mars would require a very high power, low mass energy source, such as a nuclear reactor
In August 2008, Tim Glover, Ad Astra director of development, has publicly stated that the first expected application of VASIMR engine is "hauling things [non-human cargo] from low-Earth orbit to low-lunar orbit" supporting NASA's return to Moon effortsThe series' protagonist is an asthmatic 12-year-old boy, Arthur Penhaligon. The series begins on a Monday, with the main events starting a week later on the next Monday. Each book moves onto the next day of the week, over the course of about three weeks in Earth time, concluding on a Sunday. Each day features beings, collectively known as the Trustees, who each govern a portion of the House, which is the center of the Universe. The seven demesnes of the House are, in the order Arthur visits them: the Lower House, the Far Reaches, the Border Sea, the Great Maze, the Middle House, the Upper House, and the Incomparable Gardens.
In the beginning of the first book, Arthur lives a relatively normal life as an adopted child in a large and caring family. An asthma attack on a Monday that should have killed him brings him into contact with Mister Monday, who rules the Lower House. He eventually finds his way to the Lower House himself, where he is to find the cure to a plague brought to his world by its agents. By convenience, he is declared Heir to the Kingdom and given the Lesser Half of the First Key, which is shaped like the minute hand of a clock. Because of this Key's magical properties, Arthur is relieved of his asthma while in contact with the Key or in the House, and proceeds to a strange and dangerous set of adventures.
As Arthur discovers, the Will of the Architect (creator of the House and the "Secondary Realms" that surround it) was not fulfilled as it should have been. Instead, it was broken into seven pieces by the Architect's Trustees, the self-named Morrow Days. The Will was forced to act on its own, and its First Part chooses Arthur to be the Heir to the Kingdom. It thus becomes Arthur's responsibility to recover each of the missing pieces of the Will, defeat each Trustee - each of whom has been afflicted with one of the seven deadly sins - claim their domains by taking each Key, and ultimately fulfill the Will.
Author Garth Nix's approach to the narrative has drawn heavily on Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey...
The Crazies is an
American horror film directed by Breck Eisner. The story
revolves around a town whose water supply has been poisoned by an
unknown toxin. It is a remake of the 1973 film of the same name.
The citizens of Ogden Marsh, a small farming town in Iowa, are suddenly plagued by insanity and then death after a mysterious toxin contaminates their water supply. The town sheriff, his wife, a nurse, and the sheriff's deputy must avoid both the military and infection to escape with their lives.
A Nightmare on Elm Street is an upcoming 2010 American horror film written by Eric Heisserer and Wesley Strick, directed by Samuel Bayer, and produced by Michael Bay, Andrew Form, and Brad Fuller. It is a remake of Wes Craven's 1984 slasher film of the same name and designed to reboot the franchise. The film stars Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy Krueger, a role made famous by Robert Englund, while Rooney Mara takes over the role of Nancy Thompson, originally portrayed by Heather Langenkamp. The remake is set to be released on April 30, 2010.
"A group of suburban teenagers are being haunted in their dreams by a horribly disfigured killer known as Freddy Krueger."
Triangle (2009) is a British horror film, directed by Christopher Smith, and starring Melissa George, Rachael Carpani and Liam Hemsworth, the film was released in the UK on 16 October 2009.
A group of young people sailing on a yacht get caught in a storm, and are forced to board a passing ocean liner. Once on board, they realize that the ship is empty. Jess however feels that she has been there before. Eventually she realizes that she has been and attempts to unravel the mystery.
| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | "Pilot" |
| An ex-bank-employee takes the bank hostage; when he agrees to release the bystanders he finds that his main victim is replaced by Chance. After the attempted murder of Stephanie Dobbs (Tricia Helfer), the designer of a Californian bullet train, she hires Chance to protect her. He poses as her Japanese-English translator. Chance accompanies her on the train's first voyage – a three hour trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles. When an attempted poisoning is spotted by Chance, the killer, dressed as a waiter, takes a more direct approach. Chance is able to fight him off and kill him. Meanwhile Guerrero and Winston discover that Dobbs used to have a relationship with reporter Mark Hoffer, to whom Dobbs anonymously leaked damaging information about the train manufacturer. Dobb's husband knew about the affair, but waited to kill her until she finished designing the train so that he could receive the financial bonus for its completion. | |
| 2 | "Rewind" |
| Chance is hired by Tennant (Alessandro Juliani) to protect a hacker (Ali Liebert) that is flying over to meet him. The hacker, who goes by the screen name Casper discovered 'the skeleton key' to the internet, a means to bypass all security. But he only knows the flight and has no way of reaching her. Chance disguised as Martin Gill, a passenger, boards the plane along with Winston disguised as a flight attendant to identify both hacker and assassin. Chance subdues the assassin but shots fired in the struggle rupture a fuel tank and expose wiring, creating a fire in the planes conduits. An Air Marshal handcuffs Chance. With the plane on fire and the pilot out, Chance, with the help of a flight attendant, Laura (Courtney Ford), subdue the Air Marshal and flip the plane upside down to direct the heavier airstream above the plane through the conduit and blow out the fire. When the plane is upside down the flight computer freezes. Casper proposes to replace the computer with her laptop, but it must be patched in manually and the flight computer is at the bottom of the plane. Chance and Laura crawl into the fuselage and connect the laptop. Laura reaches for her concealed gun, but Chance already swiped it off her. While the plane is turning Laura attacks Chance and attempts to push him out of the plane, he injects her with Ketamine and she falls out the plane. Meanwhile Guerrero, with help from Sergei (Sean Owen Roberts), discover who hired the kidnappers. Casper makes it safely to Tennant. | |
| 3 | "Embassy Row" |
| Chance races against time and crashes a black-tie affair at the Russian Embassy to find a friend's killer. As he becomes embroiled in an international arms deal, he meets his match in a beautiful female counterpart Emma Barnes (Emmanuelle Vaugier). | |
| 4 | "Sanctuary" |
| Chance needs a miracle to help protect a reformed thief from his vengeful former accomplices as they race to recover priceless religious artifacts hidden in a remote Canadian monastery. | |
| 5 | "Run" |
| Chance is hired to protect a district attorney who is running from her family's past and marked for murder because of her investigation into an organized crime family. | |
| 6 | "Lockdown" |
| Chance is hired by the father of a weapons designer for a top secret defense company because they are holding his son hostage. The company fears their prized weapons engineer might whistelblow on them for covering up a situation involving the Burmese government using one of their secret weapons to crush dissent. The company killed the man's partner and it seems apparent they will kill him also after he completes his current task. Chance's goal is to sneak the engineer out of the highly-secured facility with no one noticing. The company's heads decide to cut their losses and uses every effort to make certain that their employee does not leave the building alive. Chance's ID is sent to a mysterious location after a computer signal bounces across several different continents. It is implied in the end of the episode by Guerrero that the signal belongs to Chance's yet unnamed "old boss", who has been hunting him down for years. Now, Chance's ex-boss is one step closer to finding him. | |
The Human Target (Christopher Chance) is an American comic book character created by Len Wein and Carmine Infantino: a unique combination of private detective and bodyguard who operates by impersonating his clients in order to eliminate threats to their safety. He first appeared in Action Comics #419 (December 1972).
Chance's early appearances came in back-up stories in Action Comics, a title much better known for featuring Superman tales published by DC Comics. Later, the feature appeared in Batman titles such as The Brave and the Bold and Detective Comics.
Christopher Chance starred in a limited series, a one-shot, and then an ongoing Human Target series written by Peter Milligan and published under DC's Vertigo imprint.
Human Target has twice been adapted as a television series: once briefly on ABC in 1992, starring Rick Springfield, and again on Fox. The latter show premiered on January 17, 2010, starring Mark Valley.