---
title: "NASA Engineer Says New Thruster Could Reach 99% Speed of Light"
description: "A new NASA thruster called the \"helical engine\" could violate the laws of physics by reaching 99% of the speed of light."
date: "2019-10-14"
modified: "2019-10-25"
authors:
  - name: "Jon Christian"
    job_title: "Executive Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-thruster-99-speed-light"
categories:
  - "NASA"
  - "Science & Energy"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "helical engine"
  - "NASA"
  - "space"
  - "the digest"
---

# NASA Engineer Says New Thruster Could Reach 99% Speed of Light

![Image via Pixabay/Kevin Sanderson/Tag Hartman-Simkins](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/nasa-thruster-99-speed-light.png>)
*\<em\>Image: Image via Pixabay/Kevin Sanderson/Tag Hartman-Simkins\</em\>*

## Thruster Buster

*New Scientist* is [reporting that](<https://www.newscientist.com/article/2218685-nasa-engineers-helical-engine-may-violate-the-laws-of-physics/>) NASA engineer David Burns is making some bold claims about a conceptual new spaceship thruster he calls the "helical engine" — a concept the magazine admits "may violate the laws of physics."

"The engine itself would be able to get to 99 per cent the speed of light if you had enough time and power," Burns told *New Scientist*.

## Light Speed

The engine, described in a [recent paper](<https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20190029657>) Burns posted to a NASA server, takes advantage of a weird glitch in Einsteinian physics.

By accelerating a loop of ions to nearly light speed and then manipulating their velocity — and hence, because of the laws of relativity, their mass — the engine achieves the ultimate space travel free lunch: forward thrust without shooting anything out behind.

## Caveat Engine

Even if the engine works in practice, it'll have other disadvantages. According to *New Scientist*, a helical engine that was 200 meters long would generate about as much force as typing on a keyboard — so, while Burns may be right that it could accelerate to near-light speed, it would take a very long time.

"I’m comfortable with throwing it out there," Burns told the magazine. "If someone says it doesn’t work, I’ll be the first to say, it was worth a shot."

**READ MORE:** [NASA engineer's 'helical engine' may violate the laws of physics](<https://www.newscientist.com/article/2218685-nasa-engineers-helical-engine-may-violate-the-laws-of-physics/>) \[*New Scientist*\]

**More on light speed:** [*Physicists Have a New Idea for Faster-Than-Light Travel*](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/faster-than-light-travel-warp-bubble>)

## Author
I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/jonchristian.net>)