NASA says `impossible` space propulsion technology really works

Researchers at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston have revealed that a microwave thruster system that requires no propellant does actually works and it can change space exploration forever.

According to Wired UK, the study found that test results indicated that the RF [radio frequency] resonant cavity thruster design, which was unique as an electric propulsion device, was producing a force that was not attributable to any classical electromagnetic phenomenon and, therefore, was potentially demonstrating an interaction with the quantum vacuum virtual plasma, Discovery News reported.

The roots of the propulsion system tested by the NASA team trace back to a British researcher named Roger Shawyer, who claimed that his "EmDrive" generates thrust by rocketing microwaves around in a chamber. There was no need for propellant, as solar power could be used to produce the microwaves.

Shawyer said that his company, Satellite Propulsion Research Ltd., has successfully tested experimental versions of the thruster. However, many scientists have dismissed such claims, saying the propulsion system violates the law of conservation of momentum.

The NASA scientists determined that the Cannae Drive produces 30 to 50 micronewtons of thrust, less than 0.1 percent of that measured by the Chinese team, but nevertheless suggesting that the technology works.