Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) systems achieve very high exhaust speeds and drastically reduce the fuel requirements for in-space transportation. VASIMR^® technology is a potential candidate for SEP missions at high power. The electrode-less design of the VASIMR^® engine enables a long lifetime and competitive performance compared to existing SEP technologies. 

In the picture above, click on the images to learn more about the corresponding missions (display wider than 800 pixels is required)

The SEP-VASIMR^® system is capable of, but not limited to, the following functions:

• Drag Compensation for Space Stations
• Large Orbital Debris Removal
• Cargo Transfer to the Moon
• Cargo to Support Human Mission to Mars
• In-space Resource Recovery
• Deep Space Catapult
• Asteroid Deflection

Nuclear Electric Propulsion (NEP) systems which are needed for a faster transportation to greater distances, such as:Human Mission to Mars, can provide much higher thrust than SEP technology