Dr George Hicks
Magdrive Ltd.


About the speaker:

Dr. George Hicks is a senior experimental physicist at Magdrive Ltd. He began his career at Imperial College, where he completed a 4-year PhD followed by 7 years of postdoctoral research. His expertise lies in ion and electron acceleration and plasma diagnostics. After a position working for Physics simulation company COMSOL, George has moved into the space industry joining Magdrive in 2023. At Magdrive, he is involved in various experiments and projects aimed at enhancing the thrust and specific impulse of the Magdrive thrusters, ultimately improving the efficiency and manageability of space propulsion systems.


Abstract:

Magdrive Ltd., founded in 2019 and based at Harwell Campus, UK, is a spacecraft propulsion company. This talk summarizes the development of the Magdrive Rogue thruster, a high-power advanced plasma thruster that uses an on-board pulsed power system to ionize solid metal propellant. The thruster operates at various repetition rates, achieving high thrust and specific impulse for applications such as station keeping, in-orbit servicing, and manufacturing. The Magdrive lab features diagnostics including a pulsed laser, optical spectrometer, and thrust balance, alongside in-house simulation code REWIND. Recent funding from the UK Space Agency supports the development of the Disruptive Experimental Electric Propulsion (DEEP) lab, which will host new vacuum chambers and clean rooms for enhanced electric propulsion testing and production capabilities.



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