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Electromagnetic propulsion (EMP) is the principle of accelerating an object by the utilization of a flowing electrical current and magnetic fields. The electrical current is used to either create an opposing magnetic field, or to charge a field, which can then be repelled.
Spacecraft electric propulsion (or just electric propulsion) is a type of spacecraft propulsion technique that uses electrostatic or electromagnetic fields to accelerate mass to high speed and thus generating thrust to modify the velocity of a spacecraft in orbit. [1] The propulsion system is controlled by power electronics.
With a conventional chemical propulsion system, 2% of a rocket's total mass might make it to the destination, with the other 98% having been consumed as fuel. With an electric propulsion system, 70% of what's aboard in low Earth orbit can make it to a deep-space destination. [24] However, there is a trade-off.
The Nano electrokinetic thruster is a theoretical space propulsion system based on the principle of electro-osmosis (also electroosmotic flow). It allows for a high specific impulse and high thrust -to-power ratio as well as a high final velocity which makes it suitable for a wide variety of applications.
To date, it is the only operational MPD thruster to have flown in space as a propulsion system. Experimental prototypes were first flown on Soviet spacecraft. The applied-field MPD thruster in development at the Institute of Space Systems of the University of Stuttgart reached a thruster efficiency of 61.99% in 2019, corresponding to a specific ...
Due to this lower thermal velocity, chemical propulsion units become exponentially less effective at higher vehicle velocities, necessitating the use of electric spacecraft propulsion such as PPTs. It is therefore advantageous to use an electric propulsion system such as a PPT to generate high interplanetary speeds in the range 20–70 km/s.
Although not presently in wide use for space, there exist proven terrestrial examples of "field propulsion", in which electromagnetic fields act upon a conducting medium such as seawater or plasma for propulsion, is known as magnetohydrodynamics or MHD. MHD is similar in operation to electric motors, however rather than using moving parts or ...
Magnetic sail animation. A magnetic sail is a proposed method of spacecraft propulsion where an onboard magnetic field source interacts with a plasma wind (e.g., the solar wind) to form an artificial magnetosphere (similar to Earth's magnetosphere) that acts as a sail, transferring force from the wind to the spacecraft requiring little to no propellant as detailed for each proposed magnetic ...