Electric propulsion is being increasingly used on space missions and could ultimately replace thrusters using chemical ...

To understand why, you need to know two things: how ion drive works and how the engines differ when using them in an atmosphere. Let’s start with a space-based ion engine, a topic we’ve ...

Let’s take a look at how ion thrusters work, and some of their interesting applications in the world of spacecraft! Chemical rocket engines provide huge thrust but are thirsty when it comes to fuel.

Unlike most interplanetary probes, Dawn is not propelled by a chemical rocket engine, but by a solar-electric ion propulsion system, particularly suitable for long-distance flights. This innovative ...

But the spacecraft will need to be capable of feats current ion engines can't achieve, such as reaching escape velocity (to resist the gravitation attraction of planets and other objects).

While these massive devices are marvels of human engineering, the real workhorses of the space industry are the immensely ...

Predicting the lifetime of an electric ion thruster is notoriously difficult. You have to account for the chamber wall ...

General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) has successfully tested the nuclear fuel that may one day propel and power the spacecraft of the future. The trials verify that the fuel can survive ...