Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
An ion thruster, ion drive, or ion engine is a form of electric propulsion used for spacecraft propulsion. An ion thruster creates a cloud of positive ions from a neutral gas by ionizing it to extract some electrons from its atoms. The ions are then accelerated using electricity to create thrust.
Electrostatic ion thrusters have also achieved a specific impulse of 30–100 kN·s/kg, or 3,000 to 10,000 s, better than most other ion thruster types. Electrostatic ion thrusters have accelerated ions to speeds reaching 100 km/s .
The Dual-Stage 4-Grid (DS4G) is an electrostatic ion thruster design developed by the European Space Agency, [1] in collaboration with the Australian National University. [2] The design was derived by D. Fern from Controlled Thermonuclear Reactor experiments that use a 4-grid mechanism to accelerate ion beams.
The NEXT thruster has demonstrated, in ground tests, a total impulse of 17 MN·s; which as of 2010 was the highest total impulse ever demonstrated by an ion thruster. [2] A beam extraction area 1.6 times that of NSTAR allows higher thruster input power while maintaining low voltages and ion current densities, thus maintaining thruster longevity.
The Deep Space 1 and Dawn used the NSTAR, a solar-powered electrostatic ion propulsion engine. The NASA Solar Technology Application Readiness (NSTAR) is a type of spacecraft ion thruster called electrostatic ion thruster. [1] [2] It is a highly efficient low-thrust spacecraft propulsion running on electrical power generated by solar arrays.
Cold gas thruster; Electrohydrodynamic thruster, using ionized air (only for use in an atmosphere) Electrodeless plasma thruster, electric propulsion using ponderomotive force; Electrostatic ion thruster, using high-voltage electrodes; Hall effect thruster, a type of ion thruster; Ion thruster, using beams of ions accelerated electrically
The XIPS-25, or 25-cm Xenon Ion Propulsion System, is a gridded ion thruster manufactured by L-3 Communications. XIPS-25 engine is used on Boeing 702 class satellites for station-keeping as well as orbit-raising.
Field-emission electric propulsion (FEEP) is an advanced electrostatic space propulsion concept, a form of ion thruster, that uses a liquid metal as a propellant – usually either caesium, indium, or mercury. [1] A FEEP device consists of an emitter and an accelerator electrode.