Former Astronaut Chang Said Costa Rica Should Insert Itself In Aerospace Development.

Chang said that now is the time to take advantage of the success of the plasma engine that was developed in Costa Rica at his AdAstra laboratory in Liberia and soon will be launched into space.

The former astronaut is urging Costa Rican entrepreneurs to take advantage of the results of his experiments that soon will be tested in space.

The revolutionary plasma rocket engine is expected to eventually be cheaper to operate that conventional models and reduce travel time for space missions.

Chang's hopes that the plasma engine will boost commercial aircraft into higher orbits, stabilize space stations and then power the trip to Mars.

The engine works by stripping electrons from hydrogen atoms and accelerating the resulting plasma in an electric field. Expelling the plasma out of the back of the engine generates thrust. The technique is known as Variable Specific-Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR) technology, and was conceived in the 1970s.

The possibilities of the project for Costa Rican companies are endless. One of those businesses, said Chang, would be maintenance of the space station and the hundreds of satellites currently orbiting the earth.

For Chang, now is the time for Costa Rica to insert itself in the business that is at a crucial stage of aerospace development.