Ion thruster - Wikipedia
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 …
Ion thrusters are being designed for a wide variety of missions—from keeping communications satellites in the proper position (station-keeping) to pro-pelling spacecraft throughout our solar system.
A Remarkable New Thruster Could Achieve Escape Velocity—and ...
2024年5月3日 · Ion thrusters are the most common primary engine powering satellites through orbital maneuvers today. But to travel from low-Earth orbit (LEO) to farther orbits—or even the...
Tech Today: NASA’s Ion Thruster Knowhow Keeps Satellites Flying
2024年5月6日 · Hall-effect thrusters, an advanced ion propulsion technology, use electricity rather than chemical reactions to propel spacecraft. Orbion’s founders saw the technology grow from an experimental concept to being regularly used on missions across the solar system.
Ion Propulsion - NASA Science
This surpasses Deep Space 1's 678 days of ion propulsion operation by a long shot. The thrusters work by using an electrical charge to accelerate ions from xenon fuel to a speed 7-10 times that of chemical engines.
Ion Thrusters – What They Are And How They Work
In spaceflight, an ion thruster or drive is a form of electric propulsion used by spacecraft in the vacuum of Space. It works by creating positively charged atoms or ions, which are accelerated at very high velocities through electrically charged grids at the back of the engine to produce thrust.
Gridded Ion Thrusters (NEXT-C) | Glenn Research Center | NASA
2017年1月25日 · In an ion thruster, ions are accelerated by electrostatic forces. The electric fields used for acceleration are generated by electrodes positioned at the downstream end of the thruster. Each set of electrodes, called ion optics or grids, contains thousands of …
The Most Powerful Ion Engine Ever Built Passes the Test
2023年11月4日 · NASA and aerospace company, Aerojet Rocketdyne, have successfully completed qualification testing of the Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS), which is a 12-kilowatt, solar electric...
Turion Ion Engine 20 (TIE-20): Advanced Space Propulsion - DWP
Discover the Turion Ion Engine 20 (TIE-20) by Desert Works Propulsion, a leader in advanced space propulsion. This high-efficiency, low-risk gridded ion thruster offers superior spacecraft maneuverability with high specific impulse and total impulse.
Next Generation Ion Engines Will Be Extremely Powerful
2024年4月26日 · These efforts have led to the NASA-H71M sub-kilowatt Hall-effect thruster, a small spacecraft electric propulsion (SSEP) system that will enable new types of planetary science missions.