Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket

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This is about VASIMR as it appears in the 4005 setting. For general information about the subject, see Wikipedia's article of the same name

The Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR) is a standard electrothermal thrusting technology used by a majority of starships. Much like the ancient acronyms that were scuba or laser, the term's acronym has long fallen into obscurity, with most contemporary written mentions of the technology spelling it as "vasimr".

Vasimr technology generates thrust through ionizing an inert fuel (typically hydrogen, or other abundant noble gases) by exposing it to radio waves, heating it to within the range of a million degrees celsius, then accelerating the resulting plasma through a focused magnetic field generated by superconducting magnets.

The technology is best suited for transit in open space. To leave a planet's gravity well, ships are normally ferried into high orbit via a space elevator, or are propelled using other thrusting technologies, which includes chemical rockets or anti-gravity technology for special-case spacecrafts (e.g. a launch arcology). Due to the costs involved for leaving a planet's surface, many ships are simply not built for planetary landings, and instead spend their life cycles almost entirely in orbit or docked at space stations.

Interstellar transit is made possible by the mass-affecting Kimber Drive, which often cooperates with vasimr to allow a spacecraft to attain near-light speeds.