The Marshall Center and industry partner PRT Advanced Maglev Systems Inc. of Park Forest, Ill., have just completed installation of a 50-foot track at Marshall. A maglev system to launch spacecraft into orbit would use magnetic fields to levitate and accelerate a vehicle along a track at very high rates of speed. The magnetically levitated spacecraft would be accelerated at speeds up to 600 mph, and then shift to rocket engines for launch to orbit. The weight of propellant is a major culprit in the high cost of conventional rocket launches.
Electricity is both inexpensive and environmentally safe.
The new, experimental track at Marshall is an advanced linear induction motor. Induction motors are common in fans, power drills and sewing machines, but instead of spinning in a circular motion to turn a shaft or gears, a linear induction motor produces thrust in a straight line. It's basically a rotary motor split in half and rolled out flat. When the coils of the linear induction motor are energized by alternating current, a magnetic field is created, providing thrust that pushes an aluminum carrier along the maglev track. Most of the weight is iron used in the motor.