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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.
The gridded ion thruster is a common design for ion thrusters, a highly efficient low-thrust spacecraft propulsion method running on electrical power by using high-voltage grid electrodes to accelerate ions with electrostatic forces.
According to the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the ion drive used on Tiangong has burned continuously for 8,240 hours without a glitch, indicating their suitability for the Chinese space station's designated 15-year lifespan. [40] This is the world's first Hall thruster on a human-rated mission. [41]
A second coupler, known as the Ion Cyclotron Heating (ICH) section, emits electromagnetic waves in resonance with the orbits of ions and electrons as they travel through the engine. Resonance is achieved through a reduction of the magnetic field in this portion of the engine that slows the orbital motion of the plasma particles.
A thruster during test firing Artist rendition of VASIMR plasma engine 3D sketch of an electromagnetic propulsion fusion plasma thruster. A plasma propulsion engine is a type of electric propulsion that generates thrust from a quasi-neutral plasma.
A nuclear electric rocket (more properly nuclear electric propulsion) is a type of spacecraft propulsion system where thermal energy from a nuclear reactor is converted to electrical energy, which is used to drive an ion thruster or other electrical spacecraft propulsion technology.
The whole spacecraft, including the ion propulsion thrusters, was powered by a 10 kW (at 1 AU) triple-junction gallium arsenide photovoltaic solar array manufactured by Dutch Space. [ 59 ] [ 60 ] Dawn was allocated 247 kg (545 lb) of xenon for its Vesta approach, and carried another 112 kg (247 lb) to reach Ceres, [ 61 ] out of a total capacity ...
Spacecraft propulsion methods such as ion thrusters require electric power to run, but are highly efficient. In some cases their thrust is limited by the amount of power that can be generated (for example, a mass driver). An electric generator running on fusion power could drive such a ship.